1. We always hear the word "blackboard" when all we see is green chalkboard in the classroom. Can you find out why?
Answer:
It is called blackboard because the characteristic feature of any classroom is the blackboard on which text is written and drawings are made with the help of calcium sulphate chalk. These boards are typically made of sheets of dark grey or black slate stone. In recent years, green colored boards have largely replaced blackboards. Studies reveal that green color relaxes the eyes and prevents fatigue. Furthermore, the human eye is highly sensitive to the green color, and for this reason, the use of green boards has extensively increased.
.2. What is Project based multimedia learning? What Principles of teaching are very much illustrated by PBML?
Answer:
Project-based learning is an old and respected educational method. The use of multimedia is a dynamic new form of communication. The merging of project-based learning and multimedia represents a powerful teaching strategy that we call “project-based multimedia learning.” This book provides background information and guidelines for developing and implementing your own units based on this strategy.
Students respond to information differently. Thus, it is often to our advantage as teachers to use many different formats and modes to teach the subject matter of a lesson. This is why teachers normally use some combination of lecture, text and hands-on laboratory for conveying information. With the advent of the Internet and the multiple formats that can be communicated over the World Wide Web, we now have several new and exciting ways to present information.
3.What are the elements of PBML?
Answer:
A Multimedia Learning environment involves a number of components or elements in order to enable learning to take place. Hardware and software are only part of the requirement.
Text
Out of all of the elements, text has the most impact on the quality of the multimedia interaction. Generally, text provides the important information. Text acts as the keystone tying all of the other media elements together. It is well written text that makes a multimedia communication wonderful.
Sound
Sound
Sound is used to provide emphasis or highlight a transition from one page to another. Sound synchronized to screen display, enables teachers to present lots of information at once. This approach is used in a variety of ways, all based on visual display of a complex image paired with a spoken explanation (for example, art – pictures are ‘glossed’ by the voiceover; or math – a proof fills the screen while the spoken explanation plays in the background). Sound used creatively, becomes a stimulus to the imagination; used inappropriately it becomes a hindrance or an annoyance. For instance, a script, some still images and a sound track, allow students to utilize their own power of imagination without being biased and influenced by the inappropriate use of video footage. A great advantage is that the sound file can be stopped and started very easily.
Video
The representation of information by using the visualization capabilities of video can be immediate and powerful. While this is not in doubt, it is the ability to choose how we view, and interact, with the content of digital video that provides new and exciting possibilities for the use of digital video in education. There are many instances where students, studying particular processes, may find themselves faced with a scenario that seems highly complex when conveyed in purely text form, or by the use of diagrams and images. In such situations the representational qualities of video help in placing a theoretical concept into context.
Animation
Animation is used to show changes in state over time, or to present information slowly to students so they have time to assimilate it in smaller chunks. Animations, when combined with user input, enable students to view different versions of change over time depending on different variables.
Graphics
Graphics provide the most creative possibilities for a learning session. They can be photographs, drawings, graphs from a spreadsheet, pictures from CD-ROM, or something pulled from the Internet. With a scanner, hand-drawn work can be included. Standing commented that, “the capacity of recognition memory for pictures is almost limitless”. The reason for this is that images make use of a massive range of cortical skills: color, form, line, dimension, texture, visual rhythm, and especially imagination.
4.Why we use PBML?
Answer:
Teaching methods abound—some sound, some not so sound. If you have been teaching for many years, you've no doubt seen several new ways of teaching come into vogue. Some have taken hold; many have faded away; a few have become infamous.The answer lies in the concept of “value added.” Project-based multimedia learning can add value to your teaching. In economics, value is added to a product when it is somehow made better or more useful to the consumer. Although we don't use the term much in everyday life, we are surrounded by examples. Our cereal has vitamins that are not part of the basic grains.
5.What are the disadvantage of the use of PBML?
Answer:
Disadvantages:
Disadvantages:
Misuse or overuse of media: Many multimedia programs are basically a technological remake of an existing technology. Oftentimes this "remake" consists of "bells and whistles" simply for the sake of having "bells and whistles," rather than improving the learning potential.
Limited structural guidelines: Because multimedia is a relatively new field, it is difficult to measure or compare new multimedia programs to any standard, as none exists (Hasebrook, 1997). As a result, distance education providers have limited structural guidelines upon which to base their operations.
Limitations of technology: Multimedia that transmits across networks between the supporting organization and the personal computer takes up bandwidth. A user with an older modem or a slower processor may not have access to the video, audio, or graphics required in a particular module.
Limited support: When multimedia technology is implemented, technical support for learners and faculty is often non-existent. This can result in the misuse of the technology.
Difficult adaptation: Not all learning styles easily adjust to multimedia learning. For example, Gregorc’s Abstract-Random (AR) learners are capable of adapting to other teaching methods, but the long-term "style flexing" can be stressful (Ross, 1997).
Cost: The price of upgraded technology, as well as costs of hardware and software, can be substantial to the supporting organization when implementing and operating a multimedia instruction program. Learners incur costs as well. They must have access to advanced technology (e.g., upgrade their home computers or purchase a new computer in order to participate in the course). The cost of training instructors in the new technology must also be considered.
6.What are the steps involved in the PBML strategy?
Answer:
Goals and objectives are always the starting points of planning. When we plan a multimedia learning project as a teaching strategy. we begin by clarifying our goals and objectives. Determining how much time is needed and extent of student's involvement in decision making. Setting up forms of collaboration. Identifying and determining what resources are needed, and deciding on the mode to measure what student learns. So steps involve are 1. Planning, 2. Researching, 3. Organizing, 4. Developing, 5. Communicating, and 6. Evaluating.
