Major
elements of multimedia include text, video, sound, graphics, and animation. The
elements used in multimedia have all existed before. Multimedia simply combines
these elements into a powerful new tool.
Out
of all of the elements, text has
the most impact on the quality of the multimedia interaction. Generally, text
provides the important information. Text acts as the keystone tying all of the
other media elements together.
Sound is used to
provide emphasis or highlight a transition from one page to another. Sound
synchronized to screen display, enables teachers to present lots of information
at once. Sound used creatively, becomes a stimulus to the imagination; used
inappropriately it becomes a hindrance or an annoyance.
The
representation of information by using the visualization capabilities of video
can be immediate and powerful. While this is not in doubt, it is the ability to
choose how we view, and interact, with the content of digital video that
provides new and exciting possibilities for the use of digital video in
education. Video can stimulate interest if it is relevant to the rest of the
information on the page, and is not ‘overdone’. One of the most compelling
justifications for video may be its dramatic ability to elicit an emotional
response from an individual.
Animation is used to show
changes in state over time, or to present information slowly to students so
they have time to assimilate it in smaller chunks. Animations, when combined
with user input, enable students to view different versions of change over time
depending on different variables. Animations are primarily used to demonstrate
an idea or illustrate a concept. Video is usually taken from life, whereas
animations are based on drawings.
Graphics provide the most
creative possibilities for a learning session. They can be photographs,
drawings, graphs from a spreadsheet, pictures from CD-ROM, or something pulled
from the Internet. With a scanner, hand-drawn work can be included. Standing
commented that, “the capacity of recognition memory for pictures is almost
limitless”. The reason for this is that images make use of a massive range of
cortical skills: color, form, line, dimension, texture, visual rhythm, and
especially imagination.
Best interactive multimedia always consists of
all the five basic types of media, there must be a proper balance between them.
While creating a interactive multimedia, investigate about when is sound more
meaningful than a picture? How much text is too much? Does the graphic overwhelm
the screen?