Multimedia CD-ROM Research Articles

Speech recognition for a digital video library

The standard method for making the full content of audio and video material searchable is to annotate it with human-generated meta-data that describes the content in a way that the search can understand, as is done in the creation of multimedia CD-ROMs. However, for the huge amounts of data that could usefully be included in digital video and audio libraries, the cost of producing this meta-data is prohibitive. In the Informedia Digital Video Library, the production of the meta-data supporting the library interface is automated using techniques derived from artificial intelligence (AI) research. By applying speech recognition together with natural language processing, information retrieval, and image analysis, an interface has been produced that helps users locate the information they want, and navigate or browse the digital video library more effectively. Specific interface components include automatic titles, filmstrips, video skims, word location marking, and representative frames for shots. Both the user interface and the information retrieval engine within Informedia are designed for use with automatically derived meta-data, much of which depends on speech recognition for its production. Some experimental information retrieval results will be given, supporting a basic premise of the Informedia project: That speech recognition generated transcripts can make multimedia material searchable. The Informedia project emphasizes the integration of speech recognition, image processing, natural language processing, and information retrieval to compensate for deficiencies in these individual technologies. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Multimedia language learning courseware: a design solution to the production of a series of CD-ROMs

Multimedia software combining video, sound, pictures, text and feedback in an interactive environment is ideally suited for developing a foreign language skill, but is costly and time-consuming to produce. This paper describes the production and the learning rationale of a series of six multimedia CD-ROMs that develop the listening skills of learners of Business English. The problems of cost, time, and quality which were encountered in the production of multiple courseware are described. The programming solution to these problems is put forward. This involved the creation of tools which enabled the subject expert to have complete and direct control over the language learning material.

Twelve tips on teaching basic surgical skills using simulation and multimedia

SUMMARY All doctors need a core of basic surgical skills, whether or not they eventually specialize as surgeons. Mastering any skill requires sustained deliberate practice, usually over several years. Ideally this should start early in undergraduate training and be reinforced at intervals. Simulation is well established in medical education and is ideal for learning surgical techniques. Realistic simulated tissue models allow initial training to be detached from the stresses of clinical practice. Small-group workshops run by experienced tutors provide learner-centred teaching. Computer-aided learning encourages regular practice, in preparation for supervised clinical experience when the basics have been mastered. This article describes a five-stage approach to learning surgical procedures using the author's multimedia CD-ROM in combination with simulated tissue: (1) watching an animated graphic; (2) watching a clinical video; (3) watching a demonstration on a simulated tissue model; (4) doing the procedure on a model; (5) doing the procedure on a patient, under supervision.

Testing a multimedia module in cancer pain management.

The technologies for providing better pain management for cancer patients are widely available, but barriers still exist that prevent their optimal use. One of the most important barriers is a knowledge deficit among primary care physicians in adequate pain assessment, in opioid pharmacology, and in the importance of an interdisciplinary approach to the management of pain. The authors prepared a CD-ROM multimedia cancer pain management module to overcome the physician knowledge barrier. Tests of the module with primary care physician and primary care resident volunteers indicate that the cancer pain management multimedia module meets its educational objectives.

The multimedia CD ROM: an innovative teaching tool for endoscopic sinus surgery.

The recent explosive growth in the use of endoscopic techniques in the performance of surgical procedures has created an important need for educational materials on this subject. However, limitations of currently available teaching tools frustrate the user and hamper the teaching and spread of these procedures. To improve on currently available methods, we developed a CD ROM video atlas of techniques in endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS). The multimedia CD ROM video atlas combines the best features of the surgical atlas with conventional videotapes. The component steps of procedures in ESS are presented to the viewer as brief, individual video sequences, accompanied by narration and a text of the highlights of each procedure. The use of digital video allows the user to access the segment of interest directly, in the order of preference, without having to sift through the other segments, as with conventional videocassettes. An interface allows control over playback of the video, and sequences can be reviewed instantly. Storage capacity of the CD ROM allows up to 60 minutes of video to be stored on each disk. The CD ROM combines the best elements of currently available educational tools and may represent a new approach for medical education.

Book Review

Book reviewed in this article:The Darwin Multimedia CD‐ROM, 2nd edition

The development and pilot testing of a multimedia CD-ROM for diabetes education.

The multimedia CD-ROM program, Take Charge of Diabetes, was found to be accurate, easy to use, and enjoyable by the clients and health professionals who completed the pilot study. Participants perceived an increase in knowledge after completing the five modules. Two of the participants verbally stated that the program clarified information for them and they wished they had had such a program when they were first diagnosed with diabetes. Further evaluation is needed to generalize the effect of the program on knowledge of diabetes because the pilot study was not designed to fully evaluate the effectiveness of the program on knowledge level or behavior change. Behavior change resulting in better control of blood sugar levels and hemoglobin A1c within normal range is the goal for diabetes education. The person who lives with diabetes must learn self-care methods. To accomplish that, the person must be able to comprehend the material presented. CAI programs provide an individualized, interactive, and interesting way to learn about diabetes and self-care, using visual effects and audio to support the written text. CAI can provide an element of excitement that is not available with other conventional methods. Providing prompt reinforcement of correct answers in quiz sections and including positive written messages can increase patients' self-confidence and self-esteem. Computer-assisted instruction is not intended to replace personal contact with physicians and diabetes educators, but rather complement this contact, reinforce learning, and possibly increase self-motivation to take charge of one's diabetes.

Review of Abortion & Reproductive Rights: A Comprehensive Guide to Medicine, Ethics & the Law

Abstract Researchers will find this multimedia CD-ROM a useful tool for investigating the medical, ethical & legal issues of abortion and reproductive rights. The CD-ROM offers text, hyperlinks graphics, video, and slides from a variety of sources.

The Multimedia Bard: Plugged and Unplugged

The relationship between live theatre and the rapidly developing multimedia technologies has been ambiguous and uneasy, both in the practical and the academic arena. Many have argued that such technologies put the theatre and other live arts at risk, while others have seen them as a means of preserving the elusive traces of live performance, making current work accessible to future generations of artists and scholars. A few performance and production teams have entered the fray, deliberately pushing the technology to its limits to see how useful it may (or may not) be in dealing with the theatre. One such team – comprising Lizbeth Goodman, Tony Coe, and Huw Williams – forms the Open University BBC's Multimedia Shakespeare Research Project, and on 4 September 1997 they presented their work as the annual BFI Lecture at the Museum of the Moving Image on London's South Bank. What follows is an edited and updated transcript of the lecture – which was itself a ‘multimedia performance’ – intended to spark debate about the possibilities and limitations of using multimedia in creating and preserving ‘live’ theatre. Lizbeth Goodman is Lecturer in Literature at the Open University, where she chairs both the Shakespeare Multimedia Research Project and the new ‘Shakespeare: Text and Performance’ course. Tony Coe is Senior Producer at the OU/BBC, where Huw Williams was formerly attached to the Interactive Media Centre, before becoming Director of Createc for the National Film School, and subsequently Director of Broadcast Solutions, London. Together the team has created a range of multimedia CD-ROMs designed to test the limits and possibilities of new technologies for theatre and other live art forms – beginning with Shakespeare

Information seeking in a multimedia environment by primary school students

Three multimedia CD-ROMs were placed in two grade-six classrooms for the duration of a class project. The 53 students, working in small groups, were free to search them during designated class periods. Sample sessions at the workstations were captured along with a recording of the searchers' voices. The retrieved information was incorporated by each group into a written assignment, an oral class presentation, and a three-dimensional model. The search strategies were analyzed using a case study methodology. The content of the CD-ROMs and the students' work were analyzed to identify from which sources the students had drawn their information. The students were able to cope effectively with the physical manipulation of the three different CD-ROM interfaces, although they found certain features easier than others. Constructing effective search strategies was more difficult, and relatively little use was made of the searching in contrast to the browsing facilities. Students demonstrated an ability to extract selectively information and to evaluate sources in terms of usefulness as well as enjoyment and ease of use. Class assignments may have to be redesigned if the full capabilities offered by multimedia instructional products are to be fully exploited.

Speech recognition for a digital video library

The standard method for making the full content of audio and video material searchable is to annotate it with human-generated meta-data that describes the content in a way that the search can understand, as is done in the creation of multimedia CD-ROMs. However, for the huge amounts of data that could usefully be included in digital video and audio libraries, the cost of producing this meta-data is prohibitive. In the Informedia Digital Video Library, the production of the meta-data supporting the library interface is automated using techniques derived from artificial intelligence (AI) research. By applying speech recognition together with natural language processing, information retrieval, and image analysis, an interface has been produced that helps users locate the information they want, and navigate or browse the digital video library more effectively. Specific interface components include automatic titles, filmstrips, video skims, word location marking, and representative frames for shots. Both the user interface and the information retrieval engine within Informedia are designed for use with automatically derived meta-data, much of which depends on speech recognition for its production. Some experimental information retrieval results will be given, supporting a basic premise of the Informedia project: That speech recognition generated transcripts can make multimedia material searchable. The Informedia project emphasizes the integration of speech recognition, image processing, natural language processing, and information retrieval to compensate for deficiencies in these individual technologies. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Introduction to multimedia CD-ROM authoring for contact lenses

Basic concepts of multimedia CD-ROM authoring are covered. Storyboarding, flowcharting, structure types, and CD-ROM prototyping are explained. Cross-platforming considerations, image, and video capture are also discussed.

Children’s interactions and learning outcomes with interactive talking books

How do pairs of children interact when using a multimedia CD-ROM storybook (“talking books”), and do their patterns of interaction reflect the gender composition of the pair? Do different types of pairs interact differently and remember the activity differently? These questions were addressed with a classroom experiment in which 8 year old boy/boy, boy/girl and girl/girl pairs worked through the screenpages of a CD-ROM storybook prior to completing a cued-recall comprehension test and a free-recall story writing exercise. During the storybook activity measures of computer interface use and measures of verbal interaction were recorded. Differences between pairs of children were recorded in the use of the computer interface, and verbal interactions were related to interface activity. The comprehension test delivered no differences between pairs, but the free-recall story writing exercise found superior performance for girls who had previously worked together. The measures of verbal interaction taken during the storybook activity did not predict subsequent performance, although disputes over the control of the mouse were related to free-recall story writing.

Collaborative practice of science construction in a computer-based multimedia environment

This paper discusses a case study of nine pairs working collaboratively in a multimedia CD-ROM science environment. The main goal of the study was to investigate the ways in which the collaborative use of a multimedia-based encyclopaedia can foster science learning. By focusing on pupils' discursive, cognitive and collaborative activities, the study highlights pupils' information handling and knowledge construction in the multimedia context. Also the pupils' developing understanding of the science concepts dealt with in the tasks are considered. The research data consist of video and audio recordings, interviews, questionnaires and field notes collected from one 6th grade primary classroom. The results show that the pupils' activities during task-processing were highly procedural and product-oriented. The nature of the activity was also reflected in the pupils' poster displays indicating rather surface-level and incoherent understanding of the science concepts. The pupils were also found to have inefficient skills in accessing and retrieving information from the multimedia software. Although the findings are strongly linked with the nature of the collaborative task designed around the multimedia context and with the sociocultural background of the pupils, the study illuminates common problems related to the use of multimedia-based CD-ROMs in learning and points out aspects which need to be considered in order to make collaborative learning more effective in multimedia environments.

Multi-Media Computer Programs in Nutrition Education

LEARNING OUTCOME: To identify factors associated with multi-media computer programs which enhance learning. Use of computers as educational tools has increased rapidly during the past few years. Some types of computer programs may increase learning more effectively than others. With multi-media programs emerging as one of the newest educational tools, it is prudent to determine whether there are beneficial aspects of these types of programs versus conventional programs. In this study, students in two sections of a college-level introductory nutrition course were randomly assigned to either a drill-and-practice program (n=90) or multi-media CD-ROM program (n=91). Nutrition knowledge was assessed in both groups by the same 40-point objective test to obtain pretest and posttest data. Students completed eight computer modules related to nutrition: digestion, carbohydrates, protein, lipids, macrominerals, microminerals, fat-soluble vitamins, and water-soluble vitamins. During the study, the amount of time each student spent on the computer was automatically logged by the computer with data accessed at the end of the study. Analysis of covariance indicated no difference in mean posttest scores between the two groups, with both groups answering 68% of the questions correctly. Using a t-test for analysis, there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the two groups in the amount of time spent on the computer, the drill-and-practice group averaged 6.5 hours versus the multi-media CD-ROM group which averaged 2 hours. These results suggest that one beneficial aspect of multimedia computer programs is an enhanced learning pace which may be related to the components of multi-media programs (audio, video, and graphics). Integration of these various learning mediums may promote more interaction between the student and the information processed.

ACHEMA 97: THE FUTURE ON DISPLAY

In opening ACHEMA 97 early last month in Frankfurt, Germany, Utz- Hellmuth Felcht stated his conviction that this 25th ACHEMA, an era is coming to an end that has provided the foundation for a new future, which in many ways will be very different. Felcht, chairman of DECHEMA, the German society that organizes ACHEMA—the huge exhibition and congress devoted to chemical technology—was referring to one aspect of this year's event. He was commenting on how the application of new multimedia CD-ROM technology was supplementing ACHEMA's traditional concept of discussions around the exhibits with discussion in front of the virtual object anywhere in the world at any time. But in talking about the end of one era and the beginning of a new and different future, Felcht might well have been referring to the chemical technology itself. Because certainly at ACHEMA 97, it was difficult to escape the conclusion that chemical technology has in many ...

Implications of the internet for the construction industry

This paper is an adaptation of a section of the Building IT 2005 multimedia CD-ROM ( Building IT 2005, Construction IT Forum, Cambridge, 1995). The paper discusses the implications of network technology for the construction industry. Introductory material about the Internet (and links to interesting resources) is included in the publication cited and a much more extensive guide is available in A.H. Bridges, The Construction Net E. & FN Spon, London 1996.

The object shop—using CD-ROM multimedia to introduce object concepts

This paper describes key features of a new multimedia CD-ROM pack produced by television makers in collaboration with computer science educators --- by the BBC for the Open University Computing Department. The pack, The Object Shop, forms an early component of an undergraduate course which introduces object-oriented computing and software development to students new to computing. Building on the results of empirical evaluation, The Object Shop has been designed to help students with no programming experience to understand core object programming concepts. Throughout the CD-ROM, video, animated graphics and an underlying object-oriented simulation of a virtual shopping environment provide an accessible introduction to the central ideas of object-oriented programming. The key power of the multimedia approach is that the student-user is able to gain a sound operational understanding of concepts before learning the details of programming code or syntax. Users can continually monitor their progress through a series of task-based, assessed exercises.

Materials That Make the Mark Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Offers reviews of resource materials, software, and websites intended to help teachers make sense of integrating technology in the classroom. Presents reviews of five resource books; four instructional software programs that purport to teach phonics; three software programs of interactive literature on CD-ROM; an interactive, multimedia CD-ROM program for assessing reading comprehension; and three language arts web sites.

Evaluating multimedia presentations

The paper reports the basis for a cognitive walkthrough method to support the evaluation of multimedia (MM) expository presentations (e.g. ‘how to do it’ type tasks). The walkthrough is founded upon an analysis of the cognitive processes and representations formed by the comprehension of an MM presentation. Issues include evaluation of attention, topic focus and information types. The walkthrough provides a series of guidelines for evaluation based on these cognitive models, such as the use of media, scripting and presentation techniques. The value of the guidelines is validated by several empirical studies. An eye tracking study is reported, providing evidence as to how visual attention responds to MM materials. A series of comprehension studies then investigate the effectiveness of a presentation before and after our guidelines were applied. The paper is illustrated with an example evaluation and studies of a commercially produced CD-ROM MM presentation ‘The Biology of Cancer’.