Technical

Reflection

Artifact:
EDTEC 541 Designing Multimedia Courseware for Language Learning

EDTEC 561 Group Learning On Line

Go to EDTEC 541 Assignments Website
EDTEC 561 Assignments website

I selected two artifacts for presenting this standard. One is a web-based course on Designing Multimedia Courseware for Language Learning that I created while enrolled in EDTEC 541, Web-Based Multimedia Development. Another is a web page, Group Learning On Line, which I created while taking EDTEC 561, Advanced Web-Based Multimedia Development. The latter has become an entry of Encyclopedia for Educational Technology. These two assignments demonstrate my mastery of the technical standard, “Use software and other tools appropriate to the task”. In design and development processes, I used Adobe Dreamweaver, Flash, Fireworks, Microsoft Movie Maker, and Wisdom-Soft AutoScreenRecorder to create multimedia objects and interactive environment.

Project Description

The main focus of EDTEC 541 and 561 was to use multimedia tools to create graphic, animation, video, and audio.

I created the first artifact, Designing Multimedia Courseware for Language Learning, in order to

find out how various technologies could be used to enhance the effectiveness of web-based learning and

find out how in-person teaching courses could be transferred to online teaching.

I used Adobe Dreamweaver to create the web pages because the Jane Doe template provided by the instructor made it an easier way to start a new exploration for a novice like me. The assignment required students to choose topics from “something you already know about” and “something that really engages you”. I selected a syllabus I created one year before as the topic for the assignment. I chunked the original syllabus into meaningful units and re-organized the contents into web pages. Course content was linked to external web 2.0 tools, such as Delicious and Google Docs. I also used an open source learning management system, ATutor, to create a discussion board. To provide a brief introduction for users, I created a tutorial for site navigation with Microsoft Movie Maker and Wisdom-Soft AutoScreenRecorder.

The second artifact of mine is a web page created for Encyclopedia for Educational Technology. The assignment required students to complete the following tasks:

analyzing audience and content,

drawing a storyboard,

establishing a prototype, and

testing the web page for usability, readability and learnability

The audiences of my second artifact were the new users of educational technology. The purpose of the artifact was to provide a quick briefing on how to complete a professional task, such as fostering an online group discussion. First, I created a proposal to communicate with the editors about my plan. Then, I sketched a storyboard, wrote the text, created diagrams to explain complicated ideas, tested the prototype to prospective audiences, made necessary modifications, and submitted for implementation.

Demonstrating Technical Standard

During these two assignments, I used software to conduct web page development, image editing, animation and video creation. The processes covered a wide range of technical conducts including layout and navigation design, interface and screen design, script and storyboard writing, prototyping, and site management. The experiences advanced my technical skills in:

using CSS and web page templates to shorten design duration in Dreamweaver;

Using Fireworks to tailor images into desired sizes and shapes;

Using screen capture tools to create tutorials for complicated procedures;

Using free tools for color matching; and

Using a web-based tool to check accessibility.

Problems & Opportunities Encountered

Since I was working with new software, the main problem I faced while developing the web pages was how to use the newly learned software. Sometimes I had an idea but the software could not carry it out; then I had to search for shareware over the Internet and learn to use the tool in a very short time. For example, when I completed my project, I thought it would be nice to give my audiences a tour of what's on the web site and where to find it. But, Dreamweaver did not provide the function to create a video tutorial and using Flash for that purpose was too complicated. I searched over Google and finally completed the tutorial with a free handy screen recorder.

While completing these projects, I became more certain that the field of distance education offers many opportunities to students. My positive experiences in using open source software resulted in my recognition that the day for effective distance education has arrived.

Lessons Learned

The following are lessons learned from the project:

There are rich resources for solving technical difficulties available on the Internet, such as professional discussion forums and Atomic Learning.

For small projects, speed prototyping could be an alternative option for the design and development process; however, the analysis phase in ADDIE model should not be skipped.

Using templates to customize an ideal user interface could be time efficient for non-artist designers.

The Use of graphics and diagrams to visualize concepts and principles or to illustrate procedures are useful skills for writing short essays.