1 The Look and Feel of Multimedia Dr. Robert L. Oakman Computer Science University of South Carolina at Columbia

2 Prologue The book has merits as an information-storage-and-retrieval machine that, strange to say, are not nowadays obvious to some people to who they should be obvious: it is very compact and portable does not have to be plugged in to an electric outlet is user-paced (the reader turns the pages at his own speed) random access is available (you can flip back to any page you wish) it can mix verbal and nonverbal information Louis B. Wright, former Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, 1976

3 Hypertext and Multimedia Hypertext - a computer application that integrates at least one medium with text, such as more text, sound, or graphics Multimedia - integrating all media together in one computer application with some kind of navigation system between them creates a multimedia application

4 Digital Multimedia Digital multimedia is the field concerned with the computer-controlled integration of text, graphics, still and moving images, animation, sounds, and any other medium where every type of information can be represented, stored, transmitted, and processed digitally. Francois Fluckiger, Understanding Networked Multimedia

5 Advantages of Multimedia Studies show...that people retain: 10 percent of what they see 20 percent of what they hear half of what they see and hear (the multimedia advantage) and 80 percent of what they see, hear, and do (the interactive advantage) Sharon Begley in Newsweek, May 31, 1993

6 Multimedia as a Mode of Content Delivery Constructivism is a set of beliefs about knowing and learning that emphasizes the active role of learners in constructing their own knowledge The construction of knowledge is viewed to be the result of a learner’s attempts to use his/her existing knowledge to make sense of new experiences. This entails both the modification of concepts and the reorganization of knowledge structures.... Constructivism stands in stark contrast to the view of learning in which individuals passively receive well-organized knowledge. R. J. Dufresne, W. J. Gerace, W. J. Leonard, J. P. Mestre, and L. Wenk, Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 1996.

7 Characteristics of Multimedia Graphical User Interface - usually navigated with a mouse Hyperlinking - different media resources can be created and linked (text, sound, graphics, digitized photos and video) Interactivity - users may choose to open hyperlinks in any order Connectivity - ability to share multimedia resources over a network in some applications

8 Features of Multimedia Systems They must be computer controlled They are integrated Their information must be represented digitally The interface to the user may permit interactivity Francois Fluckiger

9 Multimedia Uses in the Professional Community Authoring and presentation tool Annotation of traditional text materials with additional resources (sounds, graphs, video) Creation of value-added content resources using CD-ROM as a distribution medium Computer-based training: training videos, tutorials Distribution of multimedia over the Internet for distance learning: interactive communication and feedback

10 Potential Problems with Multimedia Many authoring systems have a high learning curve Authors are slow to embrace multimedia: –Some fear it will replace them –They are uncomfortable with technology –They do not understand the potential advantages –They do not have access to good machinery

11 Consequences Much authoring is done by media people, not content authors Often flashy presentation is more important than ease of use, authorial intent, or intellectual soundness Use of copyrighted video and visual materials is often a problem Publishers often do not understand the potential and are unwilling to commit resources, including copyright charges

12 Milestones in the History of Multimedia Memex (1945) - Vannevar Bush –“It affords an immediate step...to associative indexing, the basic idea of which is a provision whereby any item may be caused at will to select immediately and automatically another.... The process of tying two items together is the important thing.” Xanadu (1965) - Ted Nelson –First use of the term hypertext. Vision of linking of all knowledge and redefining copyright so that computers would control who accesses protected materials and automatically assign royalties.

13 Augment/NLS ( ) - Doug Englebart At SRI, Englebart invented the mouse and worked to develop the NLS (oN-LineSystem), which included storage of many journal articles with cross references among them. Eventually it included over 100,000 items, the first extended instance of hypertext. Many people from Augment then moved to Xerox PARC and invented the GUI used there and later in Macintosh.

14 Xanadu (1965) - Ted Nelson Nelson, coined the term hypertext in He envisions building a computer repository that links of all knowledge--a universal hypertext. Storage of all this information could not be on personal systems, only one’s most used personal subset of data; the rest would be accessible over a network. Nelson would redefine copyright so that computers would control who accesses protected materials and automatically assign royalties. Nelson’s company has gotten limited parts of Xanadu working since 1990.

15 Hypertext Systems Hyperties (1983) - Ben Shneiderman - Hypertext that works with DOS plain text screens and arrow keys. Resembles showing “definitions” and seeing what a link will be. Guide (1986) - Peter Brown - Popular commercial system for Macs,DOS, and Windows machines using three link anchor symbols for pop-up notes, jumps within the text, and in-line replacement text, called stretchtext.

16 Hypercard (1987) - Bill Atkinson First important graphics-based hypermedia system, bundled for free with Macintosh. Easily the most famous system of the late 1980s. Features easy linking of sound, text and graphic resources and a scripting language called Hypertalk. Incorporates GUI components like cards and buttons for making links with scripts.

17 Milestones: The Last Ten Years HyperCard (1987) - Bill Atkinson –Easy linking of resources and a scripting language World Wide Web (1989) - CERN –Developed at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics; interactive sharing of interconnected texts on the Internet Mosaic (1993) - NCSA –The first graphical web browser, developed at the National Center for Supercomputer Applications Netscape Navigator (1994) - Marc Andreessen –The first commercial web browser lInternet Explorer (1995) - Microsoft’s web browser

18 Examples of Documents With and Without Multimedia Hemingway - The Sun Also Rises SCUREF course on Toxicology Forest Management CD-ROM

19 GUI Multimedia in Metaphoric Terms Associative memory - Memex from Life, September 10, 1945

20 GUI Multimedia in Metaphoric Terms Hypertext footnotes - Hyperties

21 GUI Multimedia in Metaphoric Terms Stack of cards - HyperCard

22 GUI Multimedia in Metaphoric Terms Slide show - PowerPoint

23 GUI Multimedia in Metaphoric Terms Network map - Authorware, Apple Media Tool

24 GUI Multimedia in Metaphoric Terms Musical score on which events are placed - Director

25 GUI Multimedia in Metaphoric Terms Resources dropped in a container - MediaLink

26 GUI Multimedia in Metaphoric Terms Typesetting codes inserted in a page - HTML and VRML SCCC 284A Syllabus SCCC 284A Syllabus Instructor: Reggie Riser Office: CS