Transcript Using Multimedia in the Workplace

Using Multimedia in the
Workplace and the Classroom
Bob Bergland
Missouri Western State College
STC Region 6 Conference
Oct. 16, 19986 Presentation
Multimedia includes
Sound
Video
Animations
Hypertext
Graphics
Types of Multimedia
• Presentations
• Web
• CD-ROM
• VHS Tape/TV
Multimedia can be used for...
Oral presentations
Sound effects
Background music
Moving text
Animations
Movie files
MM Oral Presentation Do’s
Consider audience gender (sounds, video examples)
Use color to increase information recognition
Check text/font readability and compatibility
Use MM to eliminate complex text
MM Oral Presentation Don’ts
Overemphasize audio cues
Have visual overload
Use color/3-D in distracting ways
Assume you have copyright permission
– From Lisa Mason (TC, Feb.1997)
Multimedia can be used for...
Oral presentations
Product promotions
Product demonstrations
Training
Online/CD-ROM Documentation/manuals
Factors to consider before using
MM
Timeline
Working prototype of product needed? (prototype to
production timeframe)
Production time
Scheduling contract work time
Editing/Review time
Reproduction time
Factors to consider before
using MM
Cost
In-house personnel time
Contract personnel costs
Hardware/software
Production costs
Distribution costs
Factors to consider before
using MM
Customer compatibility
Platform concerns
Hardware capability (processor, RAM/disk space, sound
card, CD-ROM, WWW connection)
Software compatibility
Factors to consider before
using MM
Is this really the best medium?
Would paper/straight hypertext better communicate your
information?
Given the cost/time constraints, will your production
quality be high enough to represent your company well?
Will you be able to update this multimedia project easily?
s of Multimedia
Web Advantages
Quick distribution time
Cheaper and quicker updates
Less quality expected
Web Disadvantages
Download times
Broadcast quality
Server space/limitations on capabilities/time
Types of Multimedia
CD-ROM Advantages
Better quality
Low download times
More capabilties
CD-ROM Disadvantages
Cost & Reproduction time
Updating
Space considerations (DVD)
Rewards of Using Multimedia
Can present information in the most efficient, easyto-understand manner
Fun for user--increases chance of use
Impresses client
Changes in Technical
Communication
User expectations
Editing/Revising
Changes in skills/roles of TW professionals, teachers
and students
Needed changes TW curriculum
Revision/Editing Changes
• Definition of Editing
• Fundamentals of User Testing
• Updating/Timeliness
• Copy Editing
• Archiving
Changes in skills needed for
technical writers/TW students
• Need more technology skills
• New critical thinking skills
-rhetorical skills
-media choice
-design skills
• Reconceive role in field, company-changes definition of technical
communication
Changes in TW curriculum
• Introduction to New Media/Multimedia
• Videography/Cinematography
• Multimedia and Web
• Editing Sound and Video
• New Media Ethics/Law
PROBLEMS and Promises for
Programs
• Cost
-hardware (computers, storage media, video/sound
equip, servers)
-software (web, multimedia)
• Retraining/Recruiting Faculty
• Decline of Writing Skills
-Trade off of tech vs writing segments/courses
• Turf Wars
Problems and PROMISES for
Programs
• Prestige (within and without university)
• High placement rate
• High salaries for graduates
• Better prepared students
• Chance to expand department
• Opportunity to gain from other depts,
perspectives--multidisciplinarity
Reconception of
Technical Writing Teacher
as...
• A teacher of media
• A teacher of technology
• A teacher of print and the visual
• A professional in a field in a state of flux
• Someone who must still be a student
• A teacher who must not abandon teaching core
skills--writing, editing
Acknowledgements
Hardware/software provided through MWSC
Funding for Results Program
Student projects: Scott Faubion, Jeanette
Browning, Stephanie Sandvoss
Available on PDF (after Sun.)
www.mwsc.edu/~bergland/multimedia.html
[email protected]