Interactive Multimedia Learning Systems: An Experience in Developing IMLS for the IT-Skills Course Lejla Abazi-Bexheti, Zamir Dika, Artan Luma Department of CST, SEE University, Ilindenska bb, 1200 Tetovo, Macedonia
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Abstract. One of the new challenges in education is the call for the integration of ICT in teaching and learning. This paper reports on a research project on the development of Interactive Multimedia Learning Systems (IMLS). The principle objective of this project is to create an additional learning tool that combines on-screen text, graphics, animations, audio and video in order to improve the learning process. It also considers the data from the research studies in this area concerning the key issues in designing an IMLS. Further more it includes the experience in developing bilingual interactive multimedia learning system for the IT-skills1 course.
Keywords.
multimedia, interactivity, education
learning
system,
The number of educational applications that is using interactive multimedia is rising. The data collected from research studies in this area combined with the experience in developing such applications, make possible to detect what "works best" for a particular system and at the same time to produce an interactive learning system in a more efficient way [1],[6]. The main message than can be gleaned from the research studies is that during the development of the learning system, the key preoccupation of the designer should be: 1. To increase interactivity 2. To address the control to the learner 3. To have a proper feedback in order to enhance learning
1.1. Increasing interactivity 1. Introduction Innovations in the field of education are a constant issue. Currently, these innovations are often possible by the application of multimedia in teaching and learning. The promise of multimedia as a tool for enhancing learning is indeed fascinating. The prospect of actively engaging learners through multiple communication channels is, intuitively, very compelling as a means of facilitating learning for a larger percentage of our students. As a result, different learning systems are developed, and the interactive multimedia learning systems are among the most popular ones. This enthusiasm must, however, be tempered by the fact that various aspects influent in the successfulness of an interactive multimedia learning system. Therefore, a careful analyze of many aspects is required before starting the development of an interactive multimedia learning system.
For any kind of learning system, interactivity is concerning the activities made by the computer and the learner. Interaction depends from many variables. The research studies imply that it is important to design as much meaningful interactivity as possible [2],[4]. The learning system should provide opportunity for interaction in every three or four screens or, alternatively, about one interaction per minute. Also, if the action required is somehow obvious, it can reduce learner’s concentration. Besides these, it is more than necessary for the learning system to offer questions to the learner. In order to achieve better results in learning, the system should offer questions after each learning module. The questions help in evaluating the learner’s knowledge and at the same time they promote the learner to a more serious approach of the learning content.
1.2. Addressing the control to the learner 1
IT-skills course, is taught in the first year of studies in all departments at SEE-University
The learner control is about the level of control that the system allows to the learners,
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that is control about what they will learn and how they will learn. In most of the cases learners can make proper decisions about the more effective path of moving throw the program. The control should be addressed to the learner when longer information sequences should be completed by the learner in indeterminate order. In that way, the motivation and the attention of the learner will be sustained, he will have the control and he won’t be forced to follow a certain order that finally will not impact in learning. Even so, the research studies suggest that in some cases, the learner shouldn’t choose the more effective path [5]. Actually, the control shouldn’t be addressed to the learner in situations when materials have a specific required order. Learning might suffer if the sequence is chosen improperly.
1.3 Feedback Feedback informs the learner for the correctness of his answer. The feedback can help learners to improve learning and at the same time to judge how much they have learned. It is very important the feedback to be placed in the same screen with the question and the answer. The information containing the test results has a significant role in the learning process, and if it’s late it can confuse the learner. The feedback can be also used for verification of the correctness. Learners might not understand why their answer is correct or incorrect. Therefore the feedback should contain some specific information about the answer.
2. Developing IMLS for the IT-skills course The multimedia learning system for IT-skills covers the learning material planned in the syllabus of this course. The course includes basic knowledge from the IT field, word-processing, spreadsheet, HTML etc. Having in mind the above mentioned instructions and the current tendency in the design of the multimedia learning environments, an attempt has been made to present the lectures in a way which would create a positive learning atmosphere for the student. The whole development procedure is scheduled in three phases: conceptual, logical and physical design.
1. Conceptual design – defines the basic frames of the project. It determines the dimensions and the structuring of learning content. 2. Logical design – determines the logical solution of the system. It consists of identifying the logical modules of the system and defining each module’s purpose and functions. 3. Physical design – includes the implementation of the project: creation of interface and multimedia components as well as selecting the software for their realization.
2.1 Conceptual design This phase includes critical analyze of educational requirements, specific aims, and proposal for the content. Here are established all characteristics that are crucial for learning (level of instructions, language, content of the learning entities). Actually, in this phase is formed the basic script which is the framework of the IMLS. The conceptual design is the most important part of the production and if the content of the script is correct, many hours of unnecessary programming and modifications will be saved. It was decided that this IMLS will include materials according to the syllabus of the subject, and the content will be offered in two languages: Albanian and Macedonian (the languages in which the course is delivered). It will also offer an interactive test for each topic. The final version of the IMLS will be published in DVDformat although it can be easily adapted for distance learning, i.e. it can be converted in Web-format.
2.2 Logical design Logical design should answer the question: How this system is going to function? The main intend of the logical design is to define the logical modules of the system and to describe the purpose and the function of each module. The IMLS for IT-skills is consisted of two fundamental logical modules: 1. the resource base; 2. the application (that controls the resource base).
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Figure 1. UML state diagram of the system
The resource base is consisted of all learning entities that are prepared according to the script prepared in previous phase. The general concept of every entity focuses on the identification of the problem, the explanation of the solution, the presentation of the solution procedure, the presentation of the key screen and further explanation or illustration with a suitable multimedia form. As an illustration (example), for most of the procedures will be recorded a capture screen (presentation video). The recorded example should be simple. Finally, HTML document, for each learning entity will be created. In each HTML document all resources prepared for the certain entity will be connected. These documents form the resource base which will be further integrated in the system. The construction of the second module - the application, was scheduled after the completion of the resource base. Actually, the construction of this module started with the design of an UML state diagram of the learning system. This diagram contains the information for all possible states of the system and for all the paths that the learner can choose. Fig.1 shows the state diagram for the IT-skills’ IMLS. Each state is presented with a rounded rectangle. The upper part of the rectangle
describes the state of the system and the lower part the learner’s activity. According to the conceptual design, each state is linked by arrows with all the possible following states. As it is shown in the diagram, the learner can switch the system from one language to another in every state of the system. In this manner, the system helps the learners to gain knowledge of the IT terminology in both languages. Fig. 2 shows the basic logical solution for the learning system.
Figure 2. Logical solution of the IMLS
The approach can be divided in two levels. In the first level, each of the HTML documents is mapped into a corresponding movie, which via XML loads the proper HTML document. In these movies, according to the state diagram are integrated all the links that make possible passage to other states. The second level enables
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the access to the whole system as a unit. It does on the fly integration of the selected movie depending of the choice made by the learner.
and designed complex interface will attract more the learners.
2.3 Physical design Once we had a clear vision for each element (what should it consist of, how it will be realized, where and how it will fit in the system), we started the physical design which provides a deeper approach in realizing and integrating of all the elements.
2.3.1 Multimedia elements First of all, for each lesson is prepared a textual content. Most of the content is prepared having in mind the most necessary and most useful tools while working with computer. The aim of each lesson is to present a concrete procedure (step by step) for solving different situations which are decisive for improving IT skills of every learner. Next, multimedia examples are created. Presentation videos (capture screens) are multimedia objects that represent recording of the screen. Actually, each procedure that is described in the text is realized practically in the computer. Simultaneously is added sound i.e. speech that describes the whole procedure, and all together are saved in files that will later be object of links placed in the text. Animations are used to create a movement through the screen. In this system animations are used to present the starting of the application and for the creation of dynamic menus.
2.3.2 Interface The key to good interactive multimedia systems is the nature and the level of interaction between the user and the application. The possibilities for the screen design are endless but the two main extremes are: simple and complex. Every approach has its advantages and disadvantages. The primary advantage of keeping the screen simple is that there are fewer chances the users to suffer from a direct overload of the senses. As Stemler [7] points out, the multimedia packages might become a nightmare when designers try to through everything in a single screen just because there is a possibility for that. Many researchers from this area support this approach. On the other hand a well thought
Figure 3. The concept of the interface
Trying to follow the above mentioned reasoning and several available models in modern applications (ex. MS Encarta, Windows Explorer, etc.) the interface for the IT skillsIMLS was designed. Fig.3 explains the concept of the interface. In different situations, different elements are shown on the screen. The display of these elements, as well as the common behavior of the system is controlled by a program code. Defining the elements on the user interface alludes defining the background, the interaction buttons and other additional elements (Fig. 4).
Figure 4. A screen of the IMLS
2.3.3 Testing system An educational application wouldn’t be complete if it doesn’t offer to the user the opportunity for testing i.e. to check his knowledge for the area that is presented. Therefore interactive system for testing is also developed and during the learning process, students can interactively test themselves on each topic. The database consisting of questions and possible answers is created. Also, a movie that manages the testing system via program code is created. There are 2, 3, 4 or 5 possible answers offered for each question, of which only one is correct (Fig.5). There is a random selection of the questions from the database, and a random listing order of the answers. The random listing order of the answers decreases the probability of identical repetition.
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The application consists of a movie (introduction animation) that initiates the program, movies that control the navigation through the system as well as movies that display certain content from the resource base.
3. Evaluation
Figure 5. A screen of the testing system
2.3.4 Creation of the application In this phase were analyzed important issues like defining the authoring program that will be used for the development of the system. Basically, authoring tools allow us to sequence and time the occurrence of events, determining which graphics, sound, text and video files shall come into the action at what point. Selecting multimedia authoring software is much more involved than determining which word processor or spreadsheet to use. Unlike word processors that contain basically the same features, one authoring program can differ dramatically from the next. A commonly used categorization for the authoring programs is which of the following metaphors best fits the project: timeline (linear design with some navigational aids), flowchart (icons are placed into a flow-line to show the sequence or progression of events), or book (a book is populated with pages) [3]. Other important issues while choosing a program for developing an application are: 1. portability (i.e. Is the authoring environment and run-module cross-platform?); 2. performance (i.e. How responsive is the authoring environment and run-module); 3. productivity (i.e. How fast can a prototype be produced?); 4. extensibility (i.e. What programming tools or options are available). The importance of each of these issues is determined by the production objectives. According to the above criteria, an authoring program that meets best the requirements of our project was chosen. Next, the application was developed and all components were integrated in one functional unit. During the integration of the components, the interface elements are positioned in the screen, and program code is added to control various activities in the system.
The crucial moment in every production of a multimedia system is testing its functionality and correctness of the applicative solution. While testing, some faults and mistakes were identified, and they were removed. The IMLS was designed for a particular course, therefore during the evaluation we aimed to evaluate the impact of the system in improving the course delivery as a whole, rather than simply the resource being used. The IT skills course is taught in the first year of studies in all faculties. The number of students that attends this course is 1200. The course is taught in groups which are consisted from 20 students. In order to observe the impact of the IT-skills IMLS in improving learning, during the academic year 2005/2006 samples of the system (DVD-s) were distributed to randomly chosen 30 groups, i.e. half of the total number of students. At the end of the academic year, the results of the students that used the IMLS and the students that didn’t were compared. Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 show the received results at full time and part time students2, respectively. It was concluded that full time students that used the IMLS as additional learning tool had in total 8% greater success rate comparing to those that didn’t. Also, in part time studies, the students that used the IMLS had in total 9% greater success rate comparing to other part time students that didn’t use the IMLS.
Figure 6. Distribution of the IT-skills grades at full time studies 2
50 % of the studies take place at the University and the other half is based in distance learning
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Figure 7. Distribution of the IT-skills grades at part time studies
All the students who used the IMLS completed a questionnaire in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the IMLS. The results are given in Table 1. It was concluded from these results that the IMLS developed according to the syllabus of the IT-skills course is a very effective tool for enabling students to accomplish the objectives of the course. Table 1. Evaluation results of the IMLS Evaluation questions
4
3
2
1
Were the contents easy to understand? Were the contents helpful to accomplish the objectives of this course? The interactivity level of the IMLS was: The control is addressed to the user: The feedback from the IMLS is:
17%
80%
3%
0%
11%
65%
24%
0%
9%
79%
12%
0%
15%
74%
9%
2%
6%
82%
11%
1%
4: Very easy/ Very helpful/ High/Most of the time/ Very satisfactory 3: Easy/ Helpful/ Medium/ When necessary/ Satisfactory 2: Difficult/ Not helpful/ Low/ Not enough/ Not satisfactory 1: Very difficult/ Not really helpful/ Very low/ Not at all/ Poor
electronic book, i.e. electronic hypertext based Handbook with interactivity similar to an encyclopedia. When looking at the content, the system has a hierarchical structure which has been derived from the formal analysis of the ITskills’ course curriculum. Based on the capabilities that this system offers to the users in interaction, the users have a free approach (browsing). In the teaching units there are different types of multimedia elements that allow interactivity with the users. Further, we plan to test the Web-format of the IMLS and the impact of the system in distance education.
5. References [1] Bradley C, Boyle T, Haynes R. Design and evaluation of multimedia learning objects. In: Lassner D, McNaught C, editors. Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2003 World Conference on educational multimedia, hypermedia & telecommunications; 2003, June 23-28, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Chesapeake, VA : AACE; 2003. p. 1239-1245. [2] Elin L. Designing and Developing Multimedia. Allyn & Bacon; 2000. [3] Hutchinson, S.E.; Sawyer S.C.; Computers, Communications, and Information. The McGraw-Hill Company; 1998. [4] Mayer R. Multimedia learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2001. [5] Reeves T C, Hedberg J. G. Interactive Learning Systems Evaluation. NJ: Educational Technology Publications; 2003. [6] Samaras H, Giovanakis T, Bousiou D, Tarabanis K. Towards a new generation of multimedia learning research. AACE Journal 2006, 14(1):330. [7] Stemler, L. Educational Characteristics of Multimedia: A literature review. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 1997; 6(3/4): 339-359.
4. Conclusions and further work The emphasis in this study has been put on the created multimedia system for learning for the IT-skills course. This concept is similar to an
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