boston college creating engaging multimedia course content through the use of a database driven...
TRANSCRIPT
Boston College
Creating Engaging Multimedia Course Content
Through the Use of A Database Driven Template
EDUCAUSE 2007
Elizabeth ClarkInstructional Design and eTeaching Services,
Boston College
The Problem
• Faculty members have lots of content: text, images, audio, video, but too often they are presenting it to students in a linear, disconnected fashion.
The Problem
• This seems at odds with:– The goals of the educator– How we think and learn
“We Need A Better Book”
• Malleable material
• Visual learning• Maximizing class
time• Student
ownership
The “Rome Project”
• Case study: History of Roman architecture from 1370 - 1700
• Main idea: A walking tour of Rome• Complexity: The variety of factors that
influenced why, where and when buildings were erected
The “Shelley Project”
• Case study: One cultural moment• Ideas: Movement across media• Complexity: Tension and
reinforcement
Envisioning the site: Content
• Requirements:– Multi-platform use– Small file size
• Formats:– Text – Images– Audio and video
Envisioning the site: Structure
• Multi-purpose access:– Content relationships– Directed progression– Keyword searching
• Dynamic interface– User-driven– Clear navigation
Moving from the Specific to the General
• How do we move from creating time and resource intensive projects toward building an application that can be used and sustained by many faculty, one that is usable across a variety of disciplines?
• Can we turn this into a template?
MEMEO
• My Educational Multimedia Explorer Online
• Atoms, widgets and templates• The technology:
– PHP/MySQL– Flash Remoting– AJAX
MEMEO
• Building an effective user interface
– Basic feature: single items are added to a MEMEO instance and the metadata determines where it will “live”
– What Rome gave us: Timeline and map elements– What Shelley gave us: Topic and slideshow elements
MEMEO
• What we gained:
– Comparison function was improved– Tags added: This allows users to cross reference
items in the overall presentation– More functional search: It’s contextual, so if an item
exists in multiple areas, it will show in the search that way.
MEMEO
• What we gave up:
– Music isn’t attached to objects as in the Flash-based Shelley presentation
– Integration with Library databases– Filtering on the map
Adding Data
Adding Data
Adding Data
Adding Data
Where To Go From Here?
• Integrated user authentication• HTML or Drupal “wrapper”• Integration with other databases and
systems on campus• Extending content development to students• Sharing this with other academic institutions
Contact Information
Elizabeth ClarkDirector
Instructional Design and eTeaching Services
Boston College