Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as
text
Text may refer to:
Written word
* Text (literary theory), any object that can be read, including:
**Religious text, a writing that a religious tradition considers to be sacred
**Text, a verse or passage from scripture used in expository preachin ...
,
audio
Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to:
Sound
*Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound
*Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum
*Digital audio, representation of sound ...
,
images
An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
,
animations
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...
, or
video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to traditional mass media, such as printed material or audio recordings, which features little to no interaction between users. Popular examples of multimedia include video podcasts, audio slideshows and animated videos. Multimedia also contains the principles and application of effective interactive communication such as the building blocks of software, hardware, and other technologies.
Multimedia can be recorded for playback on computers, laptops, smartphones, and other electronic devices, either on demand or in real time (streaming). In the early years of multimedia, the term "rich media" was synonymous with
interactive multimedia
Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...
. Over time,
hypermedia
Hypermedia, an extension of the term hypertext, is a nonlinear medium of information that includes graphics, audio, video, plain text and hyperlinks. This designation contrasts with the broader term ''multimedia'', which may include non-interac ...
extensions brought multimedia to the World Wide Web.
Terminology
The term ''multimedia'' was coined by singer and artist Bob Goldstein (later '
Bobb Goldsteinn
Bobb Goldsteinn (born Bob Goldstein, June 10, 1936) is an American showman, songwriter, and artist. As a pop pioneer, he wrote The Village Stompers' international hit " Washington Square" and produced The GoldeBriars, Curt Boettcher's original Su ...
') to promote the July 1966 opening of his "Lightworks at L'Oursin" show in
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, Long Island. Goldstein was perhaps aware of an American artist named Dick Higgins, who had two years previously discussed a new approach to art-making he called "intermedia".
While the term didn't exist yet, the idea of ''multimedia'' could be taken back to when the 19th century composer
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
believed in the concept of ''
Gesamtkunstwerk
A ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' (, literally 'total artwork', translated as 'total work of art', 'ideal work of art', 'universal artwork', 'synthesis of the arts', 'comprehensive artwork', or 'all-embracing art form') is a work of art that makes use of al ...
'', meaning 'total artwork'. Wagner strived to combine multiple art forms- opera, drama, music - to create a perfect synthesis on stage. He looked down on the
Grand Opera
Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and orchestras, and (in their original productions) lavish and spectacular design and stage effects, normally with plots based on o ...
at the time, which emphasized individual talent, rather than the complete work as a whole. By combining these art forms, Wagner believed the most profound art could be made.
On August 10, 1966, Richard Albarino of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' borrowed the terminology, reporting: "Brainchild of song scribe-comic Bob ('
Washington Square') Goldstein, the 'Lightworks' is the latest ''multi-media'' music-cum-visuals to debut as discothèque fare." Two years later, in 1968, the term "multimedia" was re-appropriated to describe the work of a political consultant, David Sawyer, the husband of Iris Sawyer—one of Goldstein's producers at L'Oursin.
![Ford Show 1987](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Ford_Show_1987.jpg)
In the intervening forty years, the word has taken on different meanings. In the late 1970s, the term referred to presentations consisting of
multi-projector slide shows timed to an audio track. However, by the 1990s 'multimedia' took on its current meaning.
In the 1993 first edition of ''Multimedia: Making It Work'', Tay Vaughan declared "Multimedia is any combination of text, graphic art, sound, animation, and video that is delivered by computer. When you allow the user – the viewer of the project – to control what and when these elements are delivered, it is ''interactive multimedia''. When you provide a structure of linked elements through which the user can navigate, interactive multimedia becomes ''hypermedia''."
The German language society
Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache
The ' (, ''Association for the German Language''), or , is Germany's most important government-sponsored language society. Its headquarters are in Wiesbaden. Re-founded shortly after the Second World War in 1947, the is politically independent ...
recognized the word's significance and ubiquitousness in the 1990s by awarding it the title of
German 'Word of the Year' in 1995. The institute summed up its rationale by stating "
ultimediahas become a central word in the wonderful new media world".
In common usage, ''multimedia'' refers to an electronically delivered combination of media including video, still images, audio, and text in such a way that can be accessed interactively. Much of the content on the web today falls within this definition as understood by millions. Some computers which were marketed in the 1990s were called "multimedia" computers because they incorporated a CD-ROM drive, which allowed for the delivery of several hundred megabytes of video, picture, and audio data. That era saw also a boost in the production of
educational
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...
multimedia
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
s. A standard CD-ROM can hold on average 700 megabytes of data, while the maximum size a 3.5 inch floppy disk can hold is 2.8 megabytes, with an average of 1.44 megabytes.
The term "video", if not used exclusively to describe motion photography, is ambiguous in multimedia terminology. ''
Video
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
'' is often used to describe the file format, delivery format, or presentation format instead of ''"
footage
In filmmaking and video production, footage is raw, unedited material as originally filmed by a movie camera or recorded by a ( often special) video camera, which typically must be edited to create a motion picture, video clip, television show or ...
"'' which is used to distinguish motion
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
from ''"
animation
Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...
"'' of
rendered motion imagery. Multiple forms of information content are often not considered modern forms of presentation such as audio or video. Likewise, single forms of information content with single methods of information processing (e.g. non-interactive audio) are often called multimedia, perhaps to distinguish
static
Static may refer to:
Places
*Static Nunatak, a nunatak in Antarctica
United States
* Static, Kentucky and Tennessee
*Static Peak, a mountain in Wyoming
**Static Peak Divide, a mountain pass near the peak
Science and technology Physics
*Static el ...
media from
active
Active may refer to:
Music
* ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea
* Active Records, a record label
Ships
* ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name
* HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...
media. In the
fine arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
, for example,
Leda Luss Luyken Leda Luss Luyken, née Valata, (born 1952 in Athens), Greece, is a Greek/American conceptual artist, who lives and works in Germany.
Biography
Leda Luss-Luyken was educated at the Ecole d'Humanité in Switzerland and studied arts and architectur ...
's
ModulArt Modular art is art created by joining together standardized units (modules) to form larger, more complex compositions. In some works the units can be subsequently moved, removed and added to – that is, ''modulated'' – to create a new work of art ...
brings two key elements of musical composition and film into the world of painting: variation of a theme and movement of and within a picture, making ''ModulArt'' an
interactive
Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but mo ...
multimedia form of art.
Performing arts
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
may also be considered multimedia considering that performers and
props
A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...
are multiple forms of both content and media.
In modern times, a multimedia device can be referred to an electronic device, such as a smartphone, a videogame system, or a computer. Each and everyone of these devices have a main function, but also have other uses beyond their intended purpose, such as reading, writing, recording video, streaming listening to music, and playing video games. This has lend them to be called "multimedia devices". While previous media was always local, many are now handled through web based solutions, particularly streaming.
Major characteristics
Multimedia presentations are presentations featuring multiple types of media. The different types of media can include
videos
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
,
animations
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...
,
audio
Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to:
Sound
*Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound
*Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum
*Digital audio, representation of sound ...
or
photos
A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now created ...
. Through these different types of media, they can convey a message to their target audience and effectively communicate with them. One example that is commonly used is video.
Videos
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...
are a great visual example to use in multimedia presentation because it can create a visual aid to an idea that is mentioned. If used in an education setting, this can benefit students, as they would be able to retain the information better. Another example of multimedia presentations used is charts and graphs. With the help of charts and graphs, this can allow the presenter to show their audience trends and the data associated with their research. This can give the audience a visual idea of how the company is doing.
Multimedia games and simulations may be used in a physical environment with special effects, with multiple users in an online
network
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
, or locally with an offline computer,
game system, or
simulator
A simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time. Simulations require the use of models; the model represents the key characteristics or behaviors of the selected system or process, whereas the s ...
.
The various formats of technological or digital multimedia may be intended to enhance the users' experience, for example to make it easier and faster to convey information. Or in entertainment or art, combine an array of artistic insights that includes elements from different art forms to engage, inspire, or captivate an audience.
![Classical spectacular laser effects](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/Classical_spectacular_laser_effects.jpg)
Enhanced levels of interactivity are made possible by combining multiple forms of media content.
Online
In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" or ...
multimedia is increasingly becoming object-oriented and data-driven, enabling applications with
collaborative
Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...
end-user innovation and
personalization
Personalization (broadly known as customization) consists of tailoring a service or a product to accommodate specific individuals, sometimes tied to groups or segments of individuals. A wide variety of organizations use personalization to improv ...
on multiple forms of content over time. Examples of these range from multiple forms of content on Web sites like photo galleries with both images (pictures) and title (text) user-updated, to simulations whose co-efficients, events, illustrations, animations or videos are modifiable, allowing the multimedia "experience" to be altered without reprogramming. In addition to seeing and hearing,
haptic technology
Haptic technology (also kinaesthetic communication or 3D touch) is technology that can create an experience of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user. These technologies can be used to create virtual objects in a computer ...
enables virtual objects to be felt. Emerging technology involving illusions of
taste
The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...
and
smell may also enhance the multimedia experience.
Categorization
Multimedia may be broadly divided into linear and non-linear categories:
*Linear active content progresses often without any navigational control, only focusing on the user to watch the entire piece by involving higher levels of emotional and sensory stimulation based on what's being shown as a
cinema presentation;
*Non-linear uses
interactivity
Across the many fields concerned with interactivity, including information science, computer science, human-computer interaction, communication, and industrial design, there is little agreement over the meaning of the term "interactivity", but m ...
to control progress as with a
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
or self-paced
computer-based training
Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...
so that the actions made will be based on how the user interacts within the simulated world.
Hypermedia
Hypermedia, an extension of the term hypertext, is a nonlinear medium of information that includes graphics, audio, video, plain text and hyperlinks. This designation contrasts with the broader term ''multimedia'', which may include non-interac ...
is an example of non-linear content.
Multimedia
presentation
A presentation conveys information from a speaker to an audience. Presentations are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product. Presenta ...
s can be live or recorded:
*A recorded presentation may allow interactivity via a
navigation system A navigation system is a computing system that aids in navigation. Navigation systems may be entirely on board the vehicle or vessel that the system is controlling (for example, on the ship's bridge) or located elsewhere, making use of radio or othe ...
;
*A live multimedia presentation may allow interactivity via an interaction with the presenter or performer.
Usage/application
![Steven Koonin BP 2005-02-22](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Steven_Koonin_BP_2005-02-22.jpg)
Multimedia finds its application in various areas including, but not limited to,
advertisements
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
,
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
,
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
,
entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...
,
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...
,
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
,
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
,
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
, scientific
research
Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...
and
spatial temporal applications. Several examples are as follows:
Creative industries
Creative industries use multimedia for a variety of purposes ranging from fine arts, to entertainment, to commercial art, to
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
, to media and software services provided for any of the industries listed below. An individual multimedia designer may cover the spectrum throughout their career. Request for their skills range from technical, to analytical, to creative.
Commercial uses
Much of the electronic
old
Old or OLD may refer to:
Places
*Old, Baranya, Hungary
*Old, Northamptonshire, England
*Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD)
*OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...
and
new media
New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...
used by commercial artists in multimedia.. Advertising companies rely heavily on social interfaces and television to promote products. Using these platforms, they are able to express their message or persuade a targeted audience. Business to business and interoffice communications are often developed by
creative services
Creative services are a subsector of the creative industries, a part of the economy that creates wealth by offering creativity for hire to other businesses. Creative Services also means a department within a company that does creative work such a ...
firms for advanced multimedia presentations beyond simple slide shows to sell ideas or liven up training. Commercial multimedia developers may be hired to design for
governmental services and
nonprofit services applications as well. In addition, the prominence of data mining within multimedia platforms in order to adjust marketing techniques based on the data they mine is a crucial and notable practice of commercial advertisement to efficiently understand the demographic of a target audience.
Entertainment and fine arts
Multimedia is heavily used in the entertainment industry, especially to develop
special effect
Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...
s in movies and animations (VFX, 3D animation, etc.). Multimedia games are a popular pastime and are software programs available either as CD-ROMs or online.
Video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s class as multimedia, as such games meld animation, audio, and, most importantly, interactivity, to allow the player an immersive experience. While video games can vary in terms of animation style or audio type or even lack thereof, the element of interactivity makes them a striking example of ''interactive multimedia''. ''Interactive multimedia'' defines multimedia applications that allow users to actively participate instead of just sitting by as passive recipients of information.
In the
arts
The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...
there are
multimedia art
Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...
ists, whose minds are able to blend techniques using different media that in some way incorporates interaction with the viewer. Another approach entails the creation of multimedia that can be displayed in a traditional fine arts arena, such as an
art gallery
An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...
. Although multimedia display material may be volatile, the survivability of the content is as strong as any traditional media. Digital recording material may be just as durable and infinitely reproducible with perfect copies every time.
Education
In
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
, multimedia is used to produce
computer-based training
Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...
courses (popularly called CBTs) and reference books like encyclopedia and almanacs. A CBT lets the user go through a series of presentations, text about a particular topic, and associated illustrations in various information formats.
Learning theory in the past decade has expanded dramatically because of the introduction of multimedia. Several lines of research have evolved, e.g.
cognitive load
In cognitive psychology, cognitive load refers to the amount of working memory resources used. There are three types of cognitive load: ''intrinsic'' cognitive load is the effort associated with a specific topic; ''extraneous'' cognitive load refe ...
and
multimedia learning
E-learning theory describes the cognitive science principles of effective multimedia learning using electronic educational technology.
Multimedia instructional design principles
Beginning with cognitive load theory as their motivating scientifi ...
.
From multimedia learning (MML) theory, David Roberts has developed a large group lecture practice using PowerPoint and based on the use of full-slide images in conjunction with a reduction of visible text (all text can be placed in the notes view' section of PowerPoint). The method has been applied and evaluated in 9 disciplines. In each experiment, students’ engagement and active learning have been approximately 66% greater, than with the same material being delivered using bullet points, text, and speech, corroborating a range of theories presented by multimedia learning scholars like Sweller and
Mayer. The idea of media convergence is also becoming a major factor in education, particularly higher education. Defined as separate technologies such as voice (and telephony features), data (and productivity applications), and video that now share resources and interact with each other, media convergence is rapidly changing the curriculum in universities all over the world. Higher education has been implementing the use of social media applications such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc. to increase student collaboration and develop new processes in how information can be conveyed to students.
Educational technology
![Interactive multimedia educational game](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Interactive_multimedia_educational_game.jpg)
Multimedia provides students with an alternate means of acquiring knowledge designed to enhance teaching and learning through various mediums and platforms. In the 1960s, technology began to expand into the classrooms through devices such as screens and telewriters. This technology allows students to learn at their own pace and gives teachers the ability to observe the individual needs of each student. The capacity for multimedia to be used in
multi-disciplinary
Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...
settings is structured around the idea of creating a hands-on learning environment through the use of technology. Lessons can be tailored to the subject matter as well as be personalized to the students' varying levels of knowledge on the topic. Learning content can be managed through activities that utilize and take advantage of multimedia platforms. This kind of usage of modern multimedia encourages interactive communication between students and teachers and opens feedback channels, introducing an active learning process especially with the prevalence of
new media
New media describes communication technologies that enable or enhance interaction between users as well as interaction between users and content. In the middle of the 1990s, the phrase "new media" became widely used as part of a sales pitch for ...
and
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
. Technology has impacted multimedia as it is largely associated with the use of computers or other electronic devices and
digital media
Digital media is any communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronics device. ' ...
due to its capabilities concerning research, communication, problem-solving through simulations and feedback opportunities. The innovation of technology in education through the use of multimedia allows for diversification among classrooms to enhance the overall learning experience for students.
Social work
Multimedia is a robust education methodology within the social work context. The five different multimedia which supports the education process are narrative media,
interactive media
Interactive media normally refers to products and services on digital computer-based systems which respond to the user's actions by presenting content such as text, moving image, animation, video and audio. Since its early conception, various fo ...
, communicative media, adaptive media, and productive media. Contrary to long-standing belief, multimedia technology in social work education existed before the prevalence of the internet. It takes the form of images, audio, and video into the curriculum.
First introduced to
social work
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
education by Seabury & Maple in 1993, multimedia technology is utilized to teach social work practice skills including interviewing, crisis intervention, and group work. In comparison with conventional teaching method, including face-to-face courses, multimedia education shortens transportation time, increases knowledge and confidence in a richer and more authentic context for learning, generates interaction between online users, and enhances understanding of conceptual materials for novice students.
In an attempt to examine the impact of multimedia technology on students’ study, A. Elizabeth Cauble & Linda P. Thurston conducted a research in which Building Family Foundations (BFF), an interactive multimedia training platform, was utilized to assess social work students’ reactions to multimedia technology on variables of knowledge, attitudes, and
self-efficacy
In psychology, self-efficacy is an individual's belief in their capacity to act in the ways necessary to reach specific goals. The concept was originally proposed by the psychologist Albert Bandura.
Self-efficacy affects every area of human endea ...
. The results states that respondents show a substantial increase in academic knowledge, confidence, and attitude. Multimedia also benefits students because it brings expert to students online, fits students’ schedule, allows students to choose courses that suit them.
Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning suggests, "people learn more from words and pictures than from words alone." According to Mayer and other scholars, multimedia technology stimulates people's brains by implementing visual and auditory effects, and thereby assists online users to learn efficiently. Researchers suggest that when users establish dual channels while learning, they tend to understand and memorize better. Mixed literature of this theory are still present in the field of multimedia and social work.
Language communication
With the spread and development of the English language around the world, multimedia has become an important way of communicating between different people and cultures. Multimedia Technology creates a platform where language can be taught. The traditional form of teaching English as a Second Language in classrooms have drastically changed with the prevalence of technology, making easier for students to obtain language learning skills. Multimedia motivates students to learn more languages through audio, visual and animation support. It also helps create English contexts since an important aspect of learning a language is developing their grammar, vocabulary and knowledge of pragmatics and genres. In addition, cultural connections in terms of forms, contexts, meanings and ideologies have to be constructed. By improving thought patterns, multimedia develops students’
communicative competence The concept of communicative competence, as developed in linguistics, originated in response to perceived inadequacy of the notion of linguistic competence. That is, communicative competence encompasses a language user's grammatical knowledge of syn ...
by improving their capacity to understand the language. One of the studies, carried out by Izquierdo, Simard and Pulido, presented the correlation between "Multimedia Instruction (MI) and learners’ second language (L2)" and its effects on learning behavior. Their findings based on
Gardner's theory of the "
socio-educational model The desire to learn is often related to the concept of ‘motivation’. Motivation is the most used concept for explaining the failure or success of a language learner. Second language (L2) refers to a language an individual learns that is not his/ ...
of learner motivation and attitudes", the study shows that there is easier access to language learning materials as well as increased motivation with MI along with the use of
Computer-Assisted Language Learning
Computer-assisted language learning (CALL), British, or Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI)/Computer-Aided Language Instruction (CALI), American, is briefly defined in a seminal work by Levy (1997: p. 1) as "the search for and study of applicat ...
.
Journalism
Newspaper companies all over are trying to embrace the new phenomenon by implementing its practices in their work. While some have been slow to come around, other major newspapers like ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' and ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' are setting the precedent for the positioning of the newspaper industry in a globalized world. To keep up with the changing world of multimedia, journalistic practices are adopting and utilizing different functions of multimedia through the inclusions of visuals such as varying audio, video, text, etc. in their writings.
News reporting is not limited to traditional media outlets. Freelance journalists can make use of different new media to produce multimedia pieces for their news stories. It engages global audiences and tells stories with technology, which develops new communication techniques for both media producers and consumers. The Common Language Project, later renamed to
The Seattle Globalist
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
, is an example of this type of multimedia journalism production.
Multimedia reporters who are mobile (usually driving around a community with cameras, audio and video recorders, and laptop computers) are often referred to as
mojos
The Mojos were a British beat group from the 1960s, best known for their hit UK single, " Everything's Alright", with two other singles charting low in the UK Singles Chart in 1964.
Biography
The band formed under the name the Nomads as a d ...
, from ''mo''bile ''jo''urnalist.
Engineering
Software engineer
Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development.
A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term ''p ...
s may use multimedia in
computer simulations
Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be dete ...
for anything from entertainment to
training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...
such as military or industrial training. Multimedia for
software interfaces are often done as a collaboration between
creative professional
A creative professional who is also known as a creative specialist is a person who is employed for the extraction of skills in creative endeavors. Creative professions include writing, art, design, theater, television, radio, motion pictures, rela ...
s and software engineers. Multimedia helps expand the teaching practices that can be found in engineering to allow for more innovated methods to not only educated future engineers, but to help evolve the scope of understanding of where multimedia can be used in specialized engineer careers like software engineers.
Multimedia is also allowing major car manufactures, such as Ford, and General Motors, to expand the design, and safety standards of their cars. By using a game engine and virtual reality glasses, these companies are able to test the safety features, and the design of the car, before a prototype is even made. Building a car virtually reduces the time it takes to produce new vehicles, cutting down on the time needed to test designs, and allowing the designers to make changes in real time. It also reduces expenses, since with a virtual car making real world prototypes is no longer needed.
Mathematical and scientific research
In
mathematical
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
and scientific
research
Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...
, multimedia is mainly used for modeling and simulation. For example, a
scientist
A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...
can look at a
molecular model
A molecular model is a physical model of an atomistic system that represents molecules and their processes. They play an important role in understanding chemistry and generating and testing hypotheses. The creation of mathematical models of molecu ...
of a particular substance and manipulate it to arrive at a new substance. Representative research can be found in journals such as the ''
Journal of Multimedia
The ''Journal of Multimedia'' was a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Academy Publisher. It covered the study of multimedia algorithms and applications, information retrieval, artificial intelligence, multimedia compression, s ...
''. One well known example of this being applied would be in the movie
Interstellar where Executive Director
Kip Thorne
Kip Stephen Thorne (born June 1, 1940) is an American theoretical physicist known for his contributions in gravitational physics and astrophysics. A longtime friend and colleague of Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan, he was the Richard P. Fey ...
helped create one of the most realistic depictions of a blackhole in film. The visual effects team under
Paul Franklin took Kip Thorne's mathematical data and applied it into their own visual effects engine called "Double Negative Gravitational Renderer" a.k.a. "Gargantua", to create a "real" blackhole, used in the final cut. Later on the visual effects team went onto publish a blackhole study
Medicine
Medical professionals and students have a wide variety of ways to learn new techniques and procedures through interactive media and online courses and lectures. The methods of conveying information to students have drastically evolved with the help of multimedia. From the 1800s to today, lessons are commonly taught using chalkboards. Projected aids, such as the epidiascope and slide projectors, were introduced into the classrooms around the 1960s. With the growing use of computers, the medical field has begun to incorporate new devices and procedures to assist in teaching students, performing procedures, and analyzing patient data. As well as providing that data in a meaningful way to the patients.
Virtual reality
Virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
is a platform for multimedia in which it merges all categories of multimedia into one virtual environment. It has gained much more attention over recent years following technological advancements and is becoming much more commonly used nowadays for various uses like virtual showrooms and video games. Virtual reality was first introduced in 1957 by cinematographer Morton Heilig in the form of an arcade-style booth called Sensorama. The first virtual reality headset was created by American computer scientist Ivan Sutherland and Bob Sproull, his student, in 1968. Virtual reality is used for educational and also recreational purposes like watching movies, interactive video games, simulations etc.
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
uses this technology to show customers the interior and exterior of their cars via their Immersion Lab.
In
Pima County, Arizona
Pima County ( ) is a county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,043,433, making it Arizona's second-most populous county. The county seat is Tucson, where most of the population ...
their police force is trained by using Virtual Reality to create scenarios for police to practice in.
[ Many video game platforms now support virtual reality technology, including Sony's PlayStation, Nintendo's Switch as part of their Labo project, as well as the Oculus VR headsets that can be used for Xbox and PC gaming, with it being more preferable to pair with a PC due to it only being compatible with the original Xbox One and providing limited capabilities.
]
Augmented reality
Augmented reality became widely popular only in the 21st century; however, some of the earlier versions of such were things like the Sega Genesis Activator Controller back in 1992 which allowed users to literally stand in an octagon and control in game movement with physical movement or to stretch back even further the R.O.B. NES Robot back in 1984 which with its array of accessories was able to also provide users with the sensation of holding a firearm. These multimedia input devices are among some of the earliest of the augmented reality devices by allowing users to input commands to facilitate a different user experience.
While virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...
strives to be a totally immersive multimedia experience, completely replacing reality with a digital simulation, augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...
limits itself to overlaying digital output or content onto the real world. Augmented reality can be defined as "an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to overlay digital information on an image of something being viewed through a device (such as a smartphone camera)". Augmented reality systems can be used for tasks such as overlaying speed, altitude and heading information on an aircraft Heads-Up Display, or projecting images or animations into a real-life scene, such as in the game Pokémon Go
''Pokémon Go'' (stylized as ''Pokémon GO'') is a 2016 augmented reality (AR) mobile game, part of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, developed and published by Niantic in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for iOS and Android ...
. Sony uses augmented reality technology in their PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
controllers with their haptic feedback feature to give users a greater sense of immersion while playing video games. For example, while users are playing Call of Duty
''Call of Duty'' is a first-person shooter video game Media franchise, franchise published by Activision. Starting out in 2003, it first focused on games set in World War II. Over time, the series has seen games set in the midst of the Cold W ...
and want to shoot their gun at the enemy, the triggers on the controller will provide tension to the player that will make it feel like they are actually pulling the trigger on a gun. The game Astro's Playroom
''Astro's Playroom'' is a Platform game, platform video game developed by Japan Studio's Team Asobi division and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. A sequel to ''Astro Bot Rescue Mission,'' the game comes pre-instal ...
that comes with a PlayStation 5 console showcases the different ways a game can make players feel more immersed and the depth and potential that the haptic feedback feature has for the future of gaming.
Associations and conferences
In Europe, the reference organisation for the multimedia industry is the European Multimedia Associations Convention.
Scholarly conferences about multimedia include:
* ACM Multimedia
ACM Multimedia (ACM-MM) is the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)'s annual conference on multimedia, sponsored by the SIGMM on multimedia in the ACM. SIGMM specializes in the field of multimedia computing, from underlying technologies to ...
* IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...
International Conference on Multimedia & Expo
See also
* Artmedia
Artmedia was one of the first scientific projects concerning the relationship between art, technology, philosophy and aesthetics. It was founded in 1985 at the University of Salerno. For over two decades, until 2009, dozens of projects, studies, e ...
* Audiovisual
Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions.
Audiovisual service prov ...
* Multi-image
* Multimedia cartography
Multimedia cartography is the collection of geographical information in a manner that allows presentation through various display interfaces.
Through multimedia, technology allows for differing ways of presenting geographic information. The presen ...
* Multimedia Messaging Service
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from a mobile phone over a cellular network. Users and providers may refer to such a message as a PXT, a picture message, or a multimedia ...
* Multimedia search {{Unreferenced, date=June 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot)
Multimedia search enables information search using queries in multiple data types including text and other multimedia formats.
Multimedia search can be implemented through multimodal search int ...
* New media art
New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of new media, electronic media technology, technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video g ...
* Non-linear media
Non-linear media is a form of audiovisual media that can be interacted with by the viewer, such as by selecting television shows to watch through a video on demand type service, by playing a video game, by clicking through a website, or by interact ...
* Postliterate society
A post-literate society is a hypothetical society in which multimedia technology has advanced to the point where literacy, the ability to read or write, is no longer necessary or common. The term appears as early as 1962 in Marshall McLuhan's ''T ...
* Transmedia storytelling
Transmedia storytelling (also known as transmedia narrative or multiplatform storytelling) is the technique of telling a single story or story experience across multiple platforms and formats using current digital technologies.
From a producti ...
* Social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
* Universal multimedia access
The Universal Multimedia Access (UMA) addresses the delivery of multimedia resources under different and varying Computer networking, network conditions, diverse terminal equipment capabilities, specific user or creator preferences and needs and ...
* Video Game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
* Web documentary
A web documentary, interactive documentary, or multimedia documentary is a documentary production that differs from the more traditional forms—video, audio, photographic—by applying a full complement of multimedia tools. The interactive multim ...
* Kraftwerk
Kraftwerk (, "power station") is a German band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk were among the first successful acts to popularize the ...
References
External links
*
History of Multimedia from the University of Calgary
Multimedia in Answers.com
{{Authority control
Communication design
Design
Film and video terminology
Film production
1960s neologisms