Integrating Multimedia Techniques into CS Pedagogy

Through its grants, the National Science Foundation sponsors workshops that inform faculty of current topics in Computer Science. Such a workshop, entitled, Developing Multimedia-based Interactive Laboratory Modules for Computer Science , was given July 27 -August 6, 1998, at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Each participant was expected to design and implement a small part of a laboratory module. This paper describes what some of the faculty members who participated in the workshop have done with the knowledge obtained from the workshop

The Virtual Runner Learning Game

A learning game has been developed which allows learners to study and learn about the significance of three important variables in human physiology (lactate, glycogen, and hydration) and their influence on sports performance during running. The player can control the speed of the runner, and as a consequence the resulting physiological processes are simulated in real-time. The performance degradation of the runner due to these processes requires that different strategies for pacing the running speed are applied by the player, depending on the total length of the run. The game has been positively evaluated in a real learning context of academic physiology teaching

The Comparison of the Learning Achievements Using the Online and Offline LADS (Learning Activities of Data Structure Course) Models

The objectives of this research were to develop the learning activities by using the online and offline LADS (Learning Activities of Data Structure Course) model, to compare the learning achievements using the online and offline LADS model, and to find out the satisfaction of the students with the learning activities of the online LADS model. The research methodology applied the experimental study and the pretest and posttest process. The sample were forty undergrad students divided into two groups of twenty students (online group and offline group). The research instruments were a test, a questionnaire, and the learning activities of the online and offline LADS models. The research statistics used were mean, standard deviation, and t-test. The results are as follows: the comparison of the learning achievement towards the Effectiveness Index (E.I.) of the learning activities with the online and offline LADS models was .6860 and .6801 respectively. Considering the learning achievements of the students (posttest), the students learning of the online and offline LADS models did not performed differently at the .05 level of significance. The degree of the satisfaction of the students with the online LADS model was very high as well (Mean = 4.53, S.D. = 0.54), while that of the students with the offline LADS model was high (Mean = 4.33, S.D. = 0.65). In conclusion, the online LADS model made higher satisfaction than the offline LADS model. It revealed that can be used the online LADS models for developing the data structure course successfully. Keyword: LADS model, effectiveness index (E.I.), the 1999 National Education Ac

Multimedia authoring, development environments, and digital video editing

Multimedia systems integrate text, audio, video, graphics, and other media and allow them to be utilized in a combined and interactive manner. Using this exciting and rapidly developing technology, multimedia applications can provide extensive benefits in a variety of arenas, including research, education, medicine, and commerce. While there are many commercial multimedia development packages, the easy and fast creation of a useful, full-featured multimedia document is not yet a straightforward task. This paper addresses issues in the development of multimedia documents, ranging from user-interface tools that manipulate multimedia documents to multimedia communication technologies such as compression, digital video editing and information retrieval. It outlines the basic steps in the multimedia authoring process and some of the requirements that need to be met by multimedia development environments. It also presents the role of video, an essential component of multimedia systems and the role of programming in digital video editing. A model is described for remote access of distributed video. The paper concludes with a discussion of future research directions and new uses of multimedia documents

Educational framework for adoption of vocabulary based on Wikipedia linkage and spaced learning

We propose a new educational framework supporting learners in adoption of vocabularyand knowledge for various personalized and engaging pedagogic purposes. The most essentialconcepts of learning topic are linked based on the shortest connecting paths in hyperlink networkof Wikipedia encyclopedia assisted with Wiktionary dictionary. In resulting pedagogic conceptualnetwork learner traverses links along learning path generated by method in sequential processhaving tailored variation and repetition computed based on theory of spaced learning. The learningpath is shown to learner as sequence of compact relation statements extracted from sentencessurrounding hyperlinks in Wikipedia articles, supplied with set of visualizations based on mainverb identified in them. Based on framework we have implemented prototype tool and promisingexperiments in educational setting indicated valuable support for adoption of new knowledge.Peer reviewe