Shirley Reushle, Instructional Designer, Distance Education Centre, USQ
This interactive paper presents and demonstrates a multimedia system (CD ROM and Web based), designed and developed for Unit 51340 Introduction to Management Science. Introduction to Management Science is the first subject within the discipline of Logistics and Operations Management.
This unit has been growing in popularity over the past 7 years (from 50-60 students to 250-300 students per year). As the title of the unit suggests, it is an introductory unit which provides the basics of Management Science to students who wish to take the discipline as their first or second major, or study it as an option.
The Unit Leader for Introduction to Management Science, in conjunction with colleagues from the Distance Education Centre of the University of Southern Queensland, has been designing and developing a multimedia system for this subject. This project is supported under the Flexible Delivery Programme of the University of Southern Queensland. The members of the multimedia team include:
Dr Mehryar Nooriafshar, Unit Leader, Faculty of Business, USQ
Ms Shirley Reushle, Instructional Designer, Distance Education Centre, USQ
Mr David Grant, Computer Systems Officer, Distance Education Centre, USQ
It should be noted that this multimedia system is not intended to be an alternative method or means of delivering the unit. The main objective of this project is to provide supplementary and additional components which enhance and complement the existing material and teaching methods.
Hence, the external students , who miss out on the lectures and tutorials, will benefit from that additional explanation which is provided during a traditional face to face lecture.
Audio is used when a lecturer enters a lecture room and starts talking to the students. Text is used when a reference to a section of a book is made. When an image is placed on the overhead projector or drawn on the board, and the lecturer starts explaining various features by moving the hands or the pointer over it, an attempt to make "animations" is simulated.
Therefore, a number of different types of media are utilised in delivering a lecture. These media (audio, text with links, video/animation) make the lifeless text and images alive (a living book). Those students who are studying in distance mode cannot take advantage of the teacher/student interaction which takes place within a classroom.
Multimedia can offer all of the students the same opportunity with added features such as the ability to allow the learners to sit in the driver's seat and steer the way towards the goals they wish to set. In the case of this particular product, a prescribed route or series of routes are incorporated into the system for the benefit of those users who wish to have more guidance.
In developing an interactive multimedia program for unit 51340 Introduction to Management Science, the team's aim is to move to a more learner-centred, individualised approach to teaching and learning - a move from reception learning to discovery and interactive learning resulting in learning outcomes moving to metacognitive and transfer-based education. To achieve this, instruction needs to move from the linear or hierarchical arrangement of content to a knowledge representation involving networks of associations, an aim which the team believes can be achieved through a well designed multimedia program. Decisions about the design and development of the program have been based on current theories of learning and instruction.
The existing technology allows us to incorporate text, audio, video/animation and computer software. However, with the rapid progress of technology, new form of media such as taste, smell or even human thought may also be possible one day.
In distance education, units which consist of a high level of conceptual, visual and practical content such as 51340 Introduction to Management Science create particular challenges. The use of multimedia enables distance education students to enhance their learning in ways which have been traditionally available only in the on-campus lecture/tutorial/laboratory demonstration situation. However, multimedia provides far more than a replacement for on-campus instruction. It has the capacity to cross all instructional barriers and be considered as a multi-campus resource.
In parallel with this multimedia system, a supplementary Web Page has been designed and developed by the author. This Page provides the external students with the highlights of the lectures given during the week. These highlights have links to images, videos and sounds clips. The highlights of the lectures and tutorials, in the form of multimedia, are posted on the internet. Hence, this information can be delivered to any student with internet access. The 51340 Web Page is dynamic, as it is updated by the author on a regular basis (at least once a week).
Refer to the Page - Introduction to Management Science.
The Web Page also provides a link to the Departmental Web Page initiated and coordinated by the author. Click on the image at the end of the paper to link to the Page.
Hence, by going to the above Web Page, the external students will also have the benefit of receiving what the lecturer has or ought have provided in the lecture room. The students can also communicate with the lecturer by clicking on the author's e-mail address. (Refer to the Page - Introduction to Management Science).
For instance, by clicking on a link which takes them to a video of the lecturer performing a complex differentiation (for first year Business students), a great deal of their time will be saved.
Download FnOfFn.AVI unzip it and then run (open) it
It should be noted that these animations are based on the "animations" and drawings which the author whould have made on the board, in a classroom situation.
The capabilities of the internet to handle and deliver multimedia material continue to improve. Hence, it is anticipated that the multimedia system for Introduction to Management Science will be available on the internet as well as CD ROM. It is envisaged that in the near future, the Web will be the preferred option for distribution.
One of the main features of this multimedia is its ability to facilitate the teaching of complex concepts to all students regardless of their geographical location and their means of interaction with the University. Hence, the system will make it possible for all the students to enjoy that extra level of explanation which is usually conveyed in a lecture or tutorial situation.
For instance, if a student encounters difficulties in grasping the following concepts by reading it they can click on a link which takes them to a specially designed animation:
Partial enumeration as opposed to complete enumeration is a method of constraining our search for an optimal solution. In a complete enumeration approach, we consider all the possible solutions and select the most promising (largest or smallest) one. In a partial enumeration approach, we guide and bound our search and look at a selected number of possibilities instead of looking at them all.
Similarly, another link will activate a different animation for the following concept:
Suppose we have a limited amount of a resource available, and we wish to allocate it to a number of different activities. According to our predictions from the planning stage, each activity uses different portions of the resource and generates different benefits. Our objective is to maximise our benefits and use up all the available resource on the most beneficial and at the same time the least demanding activities. Operations research provides a number of different techniques to approach this problem. These techniques have one thing in common, they approach problems by adopting 'partial enumeration'.
The purpose of instruction today should be to develop high level thinking (metacognitive) and problem-solving skills and to transfer education to real situations, thus equipping learners with the skills to cope with the complex and ever-changing character of tasks. Traditional methods of instructional design are often based on behaviouristic theories which are indeed adequate for acquiring procedural and psychomotor skills. However, when tasks involve problem solving, or large amounts of knowledge, designers tend to rely more on cognitive-based theories of learning and instruction. Cognitive models focus on how information is transformed mentally, on factors within the learner rather than within the environment, more a complex network of associations than a collection of concepts or facts organised in a linear fashion (Vazquez-Abad & Winer 1992). Well-designed interactive multimedia can simulate the activity of the human mind and represent knowledge in a way similar to human memory.
Various features have been considered in designing and presenting the materials:
Various proponents of learning theory were considered. Gagne's (1990, quoted in Joyce, Weil & Showers 1992) belief in sequencing instruction so that one activity builds on another and the view of constructivists that teaching authentic tasks in context is a desirable part of instruction have influenced how content was structured in this unit.
In order to support the principle that learning is a process of knowledge construction rather than knowledge absorption or reproduction (Reeves 1992; Jonassen 1993), the opportunity for learner control of the learning environment is an essential design feature. Learning is perceived as a dynamic process and not just the acquisition of static, isolated facts.This learner-centred approach requires teachers to be facilitators rather than lecturers and views the learner as an active participant in the learning process and not passively receiving information. A great deal of research indicates the positive results of learner control - improved attitudes, motivation, achievement and decreased anxiety. Learner control has been achieved through a variety of methods in this multimedia program.
Learners are encouraged to navigate their own paths through the material (in a `guided discovery' environment), and have tools such as glossaries; a `help' facility; and a notepad (a computer facility allowing the student to take notes while operating within the program).
Directly related to the concept of learner control is that of the degree of interactivity of the program. Interactivity refers to the active participation of the learner in the learning process and its essence is learner control. Interactivity is available in this program through providing facilities for having control over the various forms of media presentation as well as an interaction with the lecturer.
Studies in cognitive psychology show that, in addition to prior knowledge and ability, learning is significantly affected by motivation (Vazquez-Abad & Winer 1992; Keller 1992; Clark 1992). Educators generally agree that an emotional element is essential in successful instructional systems.
This need to create motivation has been recognised by the team in designing and developing this multimedia program. Sustained motivation usually results in an element of success. Students therefore need to be able to ascertain how they are going or whether they are on the right track. Such information is provided by feedback.
Since the Unit Leader's e-mail can be launched from within the Page, a very convenient method of two way communication between the lecturer and the students is provided. Hence, the students will have the opportunity of simulating a situation where the lecturer visits them for as long they wish and regardless of their geographical location.
There are relatively few documented studies (and, hence, lack of empirical evidence) into the effects of multimedia programs on learning and, indeed, there are many unanswered questions which need to be addressed. Do students using multimedia materials learn more effectively than those using more traditional materials? What type of learner is most likely to explore a multimedia environment and are specific learner types likely to benefit more from this type of instruction? Does the use of multimedia actually encourage higher level thinking skills? Can multimedia programs simulate practical experiences previously provided in a face-to-face learning situation?
Evaluation is an essential design consideration and an integral part of all aspects and levels of the design and development process. The team's concept of evaluation is that it is a process that demands a systematic approach; it involves obtaining useful information; it describes and then requires the judging of worth or value; and the overall purpose is to serve some form of decision making, aimed at improvement. Stufflebeam's (1971) CIPP (Context, Input, Process, Product) model has been adopted to evaluate this project. This model provides a framework for examining each stage and all aspects of the developmental process on a cyclical basis.
In addition, specially designed fill-out forms are included on the Web Page so that students can send comments and feedback to the Unit Leader.
The Web Page also provides a link to the Departmental Web Page initiated and coordinated by the author. Click on the following image to link to the Page:
Mehryar Nooriafshar & Shirley Reushle © 1997. The author assigns to Southern Cross University and other educational and non-profit institutions a non-exclusive licence to use this document for personal use and in courses of instruction provided that the article is used in full and this copyright statement is reproduced. The authors also grants a non-exclusive licence to Southern Cross University to publish this document in full on the World Wide Web and on CD-ROM and in printed form with the conference papers, and for the document to be published on mirrors on the World Wide Web. Any other usage is prohibited without the express permission of the authors.
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