EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS OF MULTIMEDIA

 See the UMUC-Verizon site for additional examples:

 http://www.umuc.edu/virtualteaching/module1/strategies.html

AUDIO 

Audio can help students discriminate and recognize sounds.  Example:  Auscultation Assistant (http://www.med.ucla.edu/wilkes/inex.htm)

Requirements: Speakers

VIDEO

If they can’t be there, video is the best way for students to see how to do something or how something occurs.  Example: Vital Signs (http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/courses/pom1/videos/vitals.cfm)

Requirements: QuickTime v.5.0 or higher

ANIMATION

Animation can delineate processes that take pages to describe.  Moreover, it can reveal processes that are not readily visible.  Example:  HHMI's BioInteractive - Neuroscience: Animations (http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/neuroscience/animations.html#mecp2)

Requirements: QuickTime v.5.0 or higher and/or Macromedia Flash

DIGITAL ARCHIVES

Digital archives offer students opportunities to see up close primary materials that are too far away or too fragile to examine.  Example:  African American Odyssey (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart1b.html#0102)

 TRAINING SIMULATION

Via simulations, students can learn a procedure by doing, whether they are mastering a software program or a piece of equipment.  Example:  Virtual Microscope (http://www.udel.edu/biology/ketcham/microscope/#)

Requirements: QuickTime v.5.0, Windows Media Player 9 series, Macromedia Flash Player, Flash 6 plugin

VIRTUAL LAB

Virtual labs enable students to perform dangerous tasks without risk (e.g., surgery), prepare for a real lab, or simply experiment to see what happens.   Example:  Ideal Gas Law  (http://jersey.uoregon.edu/vlab/Piston/index.html )

INTERACTIVE GRAPH

An interactive graph or table allows students to see the consequences of events or choices.  Example:  Supply and Demand (http://bized.ac.uk/stafsup/options/supply/interactive_markets_1.htm )

Requirements: Macromedia Flash Player 6, or higher

ONLINE DATABASE

Using ready-made data sets, students can search for items, test hypotheses, and measure outcomes. Example:  TimeWeb Data (http://www.bized.ac.uk/timeweb/sample_data.htm)

INTERACTIVE GAME

Interactive games can make problem-solving fun and give students immediate feedback.  Example:  Monty Hall Dilemma (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/hall.shtml)

INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA TUTORIAL

Multimedia tutorials usually combine text, images, animations, sound, and other resources to present information.  Often they require students to respond to questions off and on during the tutorial so that students can check their understanding right way and review the lesson if necessary. Example:  Medline Asthma Tutorial (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/asthma.html)

Requirements: Speakers

VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP

With their pictures and data, virtual field trips are almost as good as being there.  Example:  Grand Canyon Explorer (http://www.bobspixels.com/kaibab.org/).

3D VIRTUAL TOUR

3D virtual tours allow students not only to experience a place but to choose their route.  Also, if they swing their cursor around the screen, they can “walk” around a room or landscape.  Example:  Van Gogh Exhibit (http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/gogh/html/realspace/room1-room0.htm)

Requirements: Real Player

VIRTUAL SCAVENGER HUNT

Students can learn by searching virtual environments for specific objects. Example:  Weber Towers (http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/dce/soc426/one/index.htm)

VIRTUAL CASE STUDY

With pictures and text, case studies can stimulate problem-solving in a realistic setting.

CLIPP Pediatric Case (http://clipp.instruct.de/servlets/clipp/app/homepage.html?language=english )  Tip:  Log on as a guest.

Requirements: Quicktime