Media

Overview

The web was initially about text. The novelty of being able to communicate digitally resulted in many innovators using the Internet to change the process of sharing resources and disseminating knowledge. However, the popularity of the Internet grew astronomically once pictures, animations, and other dynamic resources were added.

Elearning is following a similar path. Early resources were text-based - still a novelty (being able to learn at a distance of time and space)...but the full potential of elearning will be linked to the development of multimedia resources.

Resources

General

The Role of Different Media in Designing Learning Environments
"As a broader array of communication tools is developed, designers of learning environments need a better understanding of what kinds of communication each medium is best suited for. Each of the new media have different affordances and constraints. One of our principles for the design of learning environments is "Render unto each medium what it does best." This paper is an attempt to state some of what we know about what different media are good for."

Changing the Interface of Education with Revolutionary Learning Technologies
"Technologies such as streaming video, virtual learning environments, and teleoperated experiments are entering the Web-based learning arena. Along with the development of a second-generation online education infrastructure, it will be necessary to consider changing the interface of education—reinventing pedagogy for the new interface, including multimedia and hypermedia enhancements, and creating the educational standards necessary for generalized deployment."

Understanding the Web as Media
"We were trying so furiously to make the medium do what we wanted it to do, few of us stopped to ask, "What is the web good for? What can the web do that other media can't do? What can the web NOT do that other media CAN do?" In other words, what are the unique media characteristics of the web? What are its inherent strengths and weaknesses? How does the web "fit in" with existing media? Let's answer some of these questions... "

Instructional Media
"Instructional learning goals should drive media selection, application, and the course development process. Characteristics of the distance learner and the impact of technology are also important considerations in instructional media selection and course development."

Berkeley Multimedia Research Center
Focused on Berkeley (surprise), but still a useful resource.

DubIt
"DubIt is the perfect tool to quickly add voice annotation and sound effects to a movie or image, because DubIt uses the familiar VCR-style "Media Player" interface that everyone knows how to use."

Audiolink
"For over 15 years AudioLink has provided developers and producers with high quality and personal service - from small conversion jobs to multiple unit training courses containing thousands of files. Specializing in Narrative sound for the Web, CD-ROMs, & Voice Portals."

Choosing the Best Media for the Message
"...the choice (and perhaps the frustration) of deciding which technology to choose for educational content has been with us for decades. And as the arsenal of technologies grew over time -- one technology building upon another -- so did the choices."

Teletraining Institute
"As the nation's largest and most experienced training source for distance learning, the Teletraining Institute provides training for educators, corporate trainers and government instructors."

Eyeball
" Eyeball Networks is the leader in real-time Internet video communications."

GoldWave
"GoldWave is a comprehensive digital audio editor. It is currently rated as one of the best on the ZDNet Software Library, receiving 5 stars!"

I-Netwerks
"I-NETwerks provides tools and application development services that enable non-developers to easily create integrated multimedia presentations and events on the web."

IVTweb
"Interactive Video Technologies (IVT) provides rich-media software and services to Fortune 1000 companies to communicate with Customers, Investors, Employees and the Market."

JibeInc
Peer-to-peer rich media. Neat concept - especially for bandwidth rich activities like video.

Video on Demand - Kasenna
" Kasenna is a software technology company building a standards-based video delivery platform for acquiring, managing, distributing and delivering audio and video content over IP and HFC networks."

MIT Media Library
Always interesting stuff happening here.

NewMedia Innovation Centre
"Where industry, academia and government share resources and ideas to push the boundaries of how we think about new media."

Polycom
"Founded in 1990, Polycom develops, manufactures and markets a full range of high-quality, easy-to-use and affordable voice and video communication endpoints, video management software, web conferencing software, multi-network gateways, and multipoint conferencing and network access solutions."

Playback Media
"Playback Media is a next generation e-Learning content provider that helps organizations influence behavioral change among employees more rapidly, effectively and economically via concise, engaging, scenario based streaming video content. Playback Media delivers completion rates of 87%, exceeding the industry average by 300%!"
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Conferencing

Centra
" At Centra, we are committed to one goal: to provide superior Web collaboration solutions that not only enable the delivery of information in a variety of live and self-service formats, but also add unprecedented value through capabilities to capture interactions and content, personalize and manage information, and instantly re-use it across the enterprise."

Conferencing on the Web
" A comprehensive guide to software that powers discussions on the Web."

Genesys
" Genesys Conferencing provides innovative communication solutions. Our services allow professionals to conduct effective, efficient virtual meetings and managed events in real time, reaching participants anywhere in the world."

HorizonLive
HorizonLive.com, Inc. is a leading provider of synchronous platforms supporting live, web-based collaboration, elearning, web conferencing, and interactive webcasts.

Placeware
"PlaceWare has years of experience delivering world-class professional event productions and online meeting collaboration."

Webex
"WebEx provides the global network that powers all of your interactive multimedia business communications needs."

Cuseeme
"Click to Meet 3.0 supports a range of ad-hoc and scheduled web conferences with employees, partners, and customers without incurring per minute, per participant costs that can run upwards of hundreds of dollars per conference. It combines the best of the web conferencing world with the best of the video conferencing world in an integrated, easy to use application."
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Streaming

Streaming Learning Centre
Good resource listing - need to subscribe (free) to access.

Velocedge
"As its name implies, Velocedge prides itself on the speed with which it is able to operate and the knowledge that allows it to effectively use that speed. It has successfully designed and implemented satellite based, web supported, interactive distance learning systems for a wide variety of forward thinking companies."

Desktop Streaming Media Production
" This tutorial will explain the process of preparing video and audio for delivery via the Internet. Its purpose is to outline the basic steps involved and offer suggestions for simplifying the process."

RealMedia Development Site
"The new streaming technologies have made it easier than ever for people to receive a quality education by bringing the classroom to the student. Imagine... a professor at one university campus delivering a lecture while students in a classroom two cities away watch the same lecture in real time. In a residence hall not far away, a student recovering from an operation watches a lecture recorded from an earlier class she had missed delivered on-demand right in the comfort of her own room. In a city 2,000 miles away, a student is using the on-demand lectures to take part in the same course delivered completely online. With the advent of streaming technology and the possibilities it creates, scenarios like these have been repeated all over the world."

Impatica
"Interactive, plugin-free, rich streaming media"

ISMA
" The Internet Streaming Media Alliance, Inc. is a non-profit corporation formed to provide a forum for the creation of specification(s) that define an interoperable implementation for streaming rich media (video, audio and associated data) over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. The Internet Streaming Media Alliance provides a forum for the creation and sponsorship of market and user education programs to accelerate the demand for products based on these specification(s)."

Streaming Solutions for Education
"Watch "High Impact Learning Solutions with Streaming Media", a free online seminar presented by RealNetworks and Compaq. This broadcast is approximately 35 minutes in length."

ScreenWatch
"Do-it-yourself" click and stream solution.

Softv
"sofTV.net sells software products that allow end-users to create online streaming media presentations, e-learning modules, live conferences and broadcast content, in minutes."

Streambox
"Streambox supplies digital video solutions and components to systems developers; including OEMs, integrators, and service operators."

Streampipe
"Streampipe provides services that enable organizations to broadcast live and on-demand events to a global audience over the Internet, also known as "Webcasting."
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Animation

Web Animation: Learning in Motion
"Add to a new acceptance new access, as well. Animation software and the hardware required to run it have come of age. Never before have students been given the tools to produce animation as easily, cheaply, and quickly as they can right now. And the lower price point, combined with an increasingly tech-savvy educator staff, means many schools can now offer kids the same professional-level tools used to create the blockbuster features named above."

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