Using multimedia concept maps to enhance the learner experience in business law

Students&rsquo; learning experience can be affected by difficulties in understanding the interrelationships between concepts and also between topics. Concept maps have been used in many disciplines (Kremer &amp; Gains, 1996) to structure information and express relationships between them. Their holistic approach with multiple pathways through the learning resource can make relationships and linkages between topics and subtopics obvious, and contribute to a meaningful and positive learning experience. This paper outlines the development and formative evaluation of two hypermedia concept maps which led to the development of a series of eleven concept maps to enhance the learning experience of students in a first year undergraduate business law unit.As part of the Stage 1 formative evaluation, two concept maps were developed together with supporting multimedia resources and trialled on the learners. Feedback was also obtained from technical staff. This phase was designed to assess and control the quality of the learning resource as well as the impact it had on the learning experience. The paper closes by discussing how information gained in Stage 1 was used in Stage 2 as a basis to modify the initially trialled maps and to develop the other supporting maps.<br /

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Francis Botto, Dictionary of Multimedia and Internet Applications ‐ A Guide for Developers and Users, Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, 1999. ISBN: 0–471–986240. Hardback, x+362 pages, £34.95

Enhancing student learning with case-based learning objects in a problem-based learning context: the views of social work students in Scotland and Canada

This paper summarizes the results of an evaluation of students' perspectives comparing learning from a multimedia case-based learning object with learning from text-based case studies. A secondary goal of the study was to test the reusability of the learning object in different instructional contexts. The learning object was deployed in the context of a problem-based learning approach to teaching social work students in three different courses in two different countries: Scotland (N=39) and Canada (N=57). Students completed a structured survey form including a series of statements using a five point Likert scale to quantify their views of the different case types (text-based and multimedia). Results indicate strong support for the use of multimedia case scenarios in social work education. Students felt their learning was enhanced using multimedia case studies compared to text-based case studies. A number of benefits, disadvantages and recommendations were identified that will help guide the future development, (re)use, and exchange of digitized learning resources in social work education

The sweet smell of success: Enhancing multimedia applications with olfaction

This is the Post-Print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2012 ACMOlfaction, or smell, is one of the last challenges which multimedia applications have to conquer. As far as computerized smell is concerned, there are several difficulties to overcome, particularly those associated with the ambient nature of smell. In this article, we present results from an empirical study exploring users' perception of olfaction-enhanced multimedia displays. Findings show that olfaction significantly adds to the user multimedia experience. Moreover, use of olfaction leads to an increased sense of reality and relevance. Our results also show that users are tolerant of the interference and distortion effects caused by olfactory effect in multimedia

A pedagogical framework for embedding C&IT into the curriculum

This paper proposes a methodology for effectively embedding communication and information technologies (C&IT) into the curriculum. This builds on existing frameworks for designing courses involving C&IT. A hypothetical illustration of this process is provided, and issues relating to the adoption and application of the methodology are identified