What does it take to create a multimedia project?
This is a good question. First of all, it takes time! You need to spend time up front identifying the goals and objectives of the project. Then you need to answer several questions:
· How will your product be used by the student or client?
· What are the characteristics of your end-user?
· What is the timeline and budget?
· What media options do you have available?
· Which ones would best suit your purpose?
Then you will need to spend time creating your storyboard and establishing the sequence of how the information will be delivered. You will need to determine what will be said and in what format: narrated video, animation, text, or using graphic images. After this, you decide the layout of the project. Where will images, text, animations and videos be placed using media design and learning principles.
When the multimedia project is completed, it will contain at a minimum two different types of media: words and images. However, with all of the technology options available today, I think audio should be included in some way on anything that is not specifically designed to be a print piece.
Do you feel as if your options are empowering or limited?
There are so many options available for multimedia projects that it is almost overwhelming. I used to think that I integrated technology well into my classroom. As I’ve learned more about all of the multimedia options available to me, I have realized that I really was only scratching the surface of how technology and using multimedia could enhance my instruction and improve student learning. It is easy to get in a teaching rut because there is just not enough time in the day to research new things. However, if I had known how many programs are out there that are both free and easy to use, I definitely would have felt empowered to try some new things in the classroom.
Are there any new applications that you may not have thought about using previously?
If I were still in the classroom, I would be revamping all of my presentations to simplify and make them more engaging and interactive. I have used Power Point for decades, but I had never thought about using the record presentation feature to narrate the it. I have also seen and used some of the animation features, but it would have never occurred to me that I could create an animated presentation using the tools already in the program.
Once I tackled updating all of my presentations, I would be seriously considering utilizing the AR/VR technology that is making its way to classrooms. The students use it when they play video games, so it would be an easy transition to make in the classroom (for them anyway!).
Recommended Multimedia Applications
In today’s world, much of the multimedia used for education is consumed in the form of videos. In 2018, a Pew Research Center survey showed that 51% of YouTube viewers are using the platform to learn how to do new things. Within this statistic it was shown that 35% of the American adult population is using YouTube for educational purposes (Smith et al., 2018). According to Google, 86% of YouTube users in the 18-54 demographic groups use YouTube to learn new things (Shalavi, 2018). In 2022, statistics have shown that YouTube is the second-most used website, and 62% of American users visit the platform daily. Tutorial videos are very popular, especially with Gen Z users, with more than 50% report using these types of videos weekly (McLachlan, 2022). In light of this, it is very important for multimedia to have video, audio, stock photos, and animations.
My favorite video application is Screencast-O-Matic. I started using it in 2017, and have basically used it just for screen-casting and some light editing, though I vaguely knew it had more features than I used. I noticed recently that my app needed to be updated. When I ran the update, I saw that there are many features that have been added since I first started using the program. I learned that it has a storyboard feature, the capability to create videos with multiple audio tracks, import stock photos, sound effects, and animations. Previously made videos can be imported and edited or incorporated into a new video. Their newest update even has the ability to turn a video into a quiz. The program has a library of royalty-free music, and access to a stock photo library comes with an upgraded subscription. There is a free, limited version. There are several upgrade options, and they are reasonably priced ($24/annually for lowest subscription), especially considering the capabilities of the program. This program is fairly easy to use, and can create professional-quality videos.
My previous experience in adding audio to videos has been limited to just narration or voice-overs. In doing research, I found a blog post from Free Technology for Teachers. It provided a list and summary of several different sources of audio for videos. My two favorites from this list were The Free Music Archive and SoundBible.com. The Free Music Archive has links to royalty-free music (which can be downloaded by paying for a license) and links to “free to download” audio tracks. You can search for tracks based on genre or curator in the free to download area of their website. SoundBible.com is a library of free sound-effects that can be imported into videos.
Stock photos are important in designing multimedia of all kinds. I have used photos from Pexels.com for many of my blog posts. I have recently discovered Burst for stock photos. I like Burst it better than Pexels because the photos there can be downloaded in high or low resolution. Both of these sites offer free photos that have creative commons licenses.
I have used Doodly and Doodlemaker to create animated explainer videos. These are both fairly simple to use, but they are also very limited in their capabilities when compared to Screencast-O-Matic. This week, I heard about an online animated GIF creator called Brush Ninja. This is free, and it is a very simple way to make an animated GIF, photo collage, or comic book. This is something that teachers could use to spice up their presentations, and there are countless ways that even young students could use it. I am trying figure out how I can incorporate this into my own multimedia design work. Here is a video from Richard Byrne explaining how to use it.
I look forward to utilizing these resources more fully and also to exploring so many others that have come to my attention in recent weeks, so that I can help teachers learn how to improve their technology integration.
References
Byrne, R. (2010, August 20). 7 sources of free sounds for multimedia projects. Free Technology for Teachers. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/08/7-sources-of-free-sounds-for-multimedia.html
Byrne, R. (2022, February 23). Make animated gifs, Emoji Art, and more with Brush Ninja. YouTube. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://youtu.be/Abxx78RBX5E
McLachlan, S. (2022, February 14). 23 YouTube stats that matter to marketers in 2022. Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://blog.hootsuite.com/youtube-stats-marketers/
Shalavi , G. (2018, October). Grow a subscriber base with educational content - think with google. https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-strategies/video/educational-content/. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/marketing-strategies/video/educational-content/
Smith, A., Toor, S., & Kessel, P. van. (2018, November 7). Many turn to YouTube for children's content, news, how-to lessons. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/11/07/many-turn-to-youtube-for-childrens-content-news-how-to-lessons/?utm_source=AdaptiveMailer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=11-6-18+Youtube+content&org=982&lvl=100&ite=3395&lea=786973&ctr=0&par=1&trk=
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