| |
Multimedia Education
By virendra
Evaluating an existing title is one of the basic skills that we all need, particularly if we are the potential buyer of the title or if we are the potential user of the title. It is in fact a life long skill. It is a skill that I usually talk about and have exercises for the students as the first of most of the multimedia media courses that I teach.
Students are surprised to find out that there is different criteria for evaluating a title depending on the point of view of the evaluator. That is, are they actually the ones going to make a purchase? Are they the ones reviewing the title for an article in a magazine. Some magazines like only positive kinds of comments whereas other magazines will tolerate negative as well as positive comments. Often, a person will find them selves reviewing a title prior to actually implementing a similar title. This is often one of the initial steps we teach our students in developing a multimedia project is to become familiar with similar kinds of projects for similar kinds of audiences. In any case, the evaluation can drastically change depending on your point of view. It is important to have your point of view firmly in mind n the course of an evaluation.
Here are some ideas for a rubric.
First, does the title meet its goals and your goals? What is the title's objective? Who is its intended audience? Is the setting and experience appropriate to your goals and your audience's goals and are the setting and experience well developed? How much does it cost to operate this title? Is it worth the money? Is it worth paying more for more quality or other function? Is it appropriately easy to install, learn, and then use? It is interesting, compelling, lively, and action oriented and does any of this matter for your goal? Do others that you trust have an opinion on this title?
I recently bought an edutainment CD for a child. The purported objective is that the user, a child, ill be entertained by the soccer context while practicing basic mathematical skills. The intended audience is a child. Since the child in question loves soccer it seemed as if the setting and experience would be desirable. The cost of the CD was $14.00 so if you believe in the $3.00/hour rule, the child should use this CD between 3 and 4 hours. I installed this CD on my computer to see what it was like. The child has not gotten it yet. The installation was easy. It appears to be easy to use. I, personally, find the soccer intrusive on the learning portion and totally not integrated into the educational materials. Now, I am not the intended user. It may still be true that the child will be amused by the soccer and thus inspired to spend more time on task. However, if I had been able to try out the CD prior to purchase, I would have realized that at least I do not think any of the fancy multimedia soccer matters in a positive manner to the goal of learning math. I did consult with an educational magazine on this title. It was reviewed very favorably but either by someone who was constrained to only report positive features or perhaps by someone who did find that the intended audience does like it. We will see though when the child tries the CD.
About the Author
Mr virendra is a multimedia teacher in a reputed institute in india. http://www.scarletmultimedia.com
Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/12502.html
| If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/12502.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked. |
| |
|
