1.
www.le.ac.uk
Multimedia
Learning Materials
for scholars at a
distance
Terese Bird tmb10@le.ac.uk
Learning Technologist and SCORE Research Fellow
Institute of Learning Innovation
Open University of China
4 June, 2013

2.
What will we talk about?
• Virtual Learning Environments/Learning
Management Systems
• Comparing the formats
• Text
• Sound
• Video
• Interactive

3.
Leicester’s Virtual Learning Environment

4.
What format for content?
• It’s usually faster to read than to listen or watch
• A picture paints a thousand words
• Photos can mislead
• More is communicated by voice than just the words
(Nie, Armellini, Witthaus, & Barkland, 2010)
• Video: some things must be demonstrated
• Interactivity encourages exploration

5.
Mobile is important
• In mid-2012, 51% of UK citizens
owned a smartphone (The
Paypers, 2012)
• 14% of adults in Europe owned
tablet in 2012 (Lomas, 2013)
• 35% of UoL Medical School 3rd
years own an iPad
Photo by mike cogh on Flickr

6.
What format for content?
Medium Positives Negatives
Text •Speed
•Pre-existing material
•Flat
•Does not communicate
emotion
Image •Much communicated in
a single simple package
•Can be misleading
without context
Sound •More communicated by
voice than just words
•Convenient for
multitasking
•Smaller file than video
•Not seen as flashy as
video?
Video •Most info
communicated
•Great for
demonstrating skills
•Bulky and padded
•Demands attention

7.
Text – think ebooks!
• PDF with appropriate images
• iBooks Author – PDF and .ibook (iPad) formats
• Free with latest Mac OS
• Print to PDF – it’s beautiful
• For the .ibook formats – can include video

8.
Take advantage of iBooks Author

9.
Take advantage of iBooks Author
• Free with latest Mac OS
• Saves as pdf and text

10.
Now make an epub
• Copy and paste the text into Pages.
• Add photos.
• Add video if you’re sure the devices can handle it
– iOS: iBooks
– Android: Kobo, Ibis Reader
• Let it flow!
• Tips: Only inline. No floating objects.

11.
Calibre
• Take a Word doc
• Save as html
• Import into Calibre
• Save as epub or mobi
• Pdf to epub doesn’t really work
• Also try epubbud.com

12.
Picture books!
• Just use simple pdf!!!
• Brilliant results!
• Maps, drawings, images

13.
Handy guide to ebooks
File
format
What device What
software
positives negatives
pdf Everything Adobe
plugin, Mac
OS
Runs on everything Does not flow,
does not take
advantage of
the device’s
power
epub Everything
but Kindle
Calibre Flows, takes
advantage of the
devices’s power
Open source,
somewhat
futureproof
mobi Kindle Calibre Kindle is big Kindle only
.ibooks Apple iBooks
only
Ibooks
Author
Beautiful & easy
iPad is market
leader
Apple iBooks
only

14.
Handy guide to Flickr images
Photo by milomingo on Flickr

15.
Sound
• Why sound?
– Copyright is easier – recorded lectures
– File size is smaller
– Listeners can do something else at the same time
– No bad hair days – staff like it!
– Voice communicates more than the printed word
– Effective and easy way to close distance

16.
How?
• Audacity
• Garageband
• Window Sound Recorder
• But please save as mp3 (wma and wav are dead)
• And apps!!!...

17.
Audioboo
• Like YouTube for sound
• Record in browser
• Attract comments in browser
• Or simply upload
• RSS out, iTunes out  it’s like magic
http://tinyurl.com/audiobooitunes
• Can send these to Apple if you like
• 5-minute sound limit

18.
Soundcloud
• A bit more socially aware
• The app lets you record so good for students to
record their own stuff and post up
• Very intuitive
• 2 hour TOTAL limit on sound
• Can share out via iTunes
http://soundcloud.com/101/podcasting-101

19.
Sound threaded discussions
• Wimba Voiceboard
• Voice Thread
• Voxopop

20.
Examples of use
• Audio feedback – increased marks & retention
http://www.le.ac.uk/duckling
• Voice discussions
• Audioboo – Field use – listen to teacher’s description
of a flower, student audio-records her own
comments and findings
• Student can record, using Audioboo for iPhone (don’t
use iPad app yet)

21.
Lecture podcast series on iTunes U

22.
Video
• How many of you have made a Youku video?

23.
How to embed a video
• In YouTube, click Share – Embed – to get code

24.
How to embed YouTube into Moodle
• In Moodle, select Compose a web page,
• Change to html, paste in embed code

25.
How to embed a Vimeo or YouTube video
into your website
• This video on ScreenR will show you:
http://www.screenr.com/fiF7

26.
ScreenR

27.
Recorded lectures
• Record the face or just the slides?
• Streaming or download?
• Automatic enterprise, or one-by-one?
• Huge server space required, expensive
• Students like them to revise, good for language
issues

28.
Editing movies – keep it simple
• iMovie – free with Mac – saves as .mov, .mp4
• Windows MovieMaker – but doesn’t save as mp4
• Only go to Final Cut Express if you have to!
– Bleeped out sounds
– Fuzzed out faces
– A cut-out logo floating over the image

29.
Narrated Powerpoint-type presentation
• Screen capture software: QuickTime, Camtasia,
iShowU, or ScreenR
• Speak out your presentation and record, save as a
.mov file or .mp4
• Put on Youku or iTunes U, link from there into your
learning environment
• Slideshare – load presentation, add narration, link
from there into environment

30.
Easy interactive
• Internally-linked Powerpoint, save as pdf
• Prezi

31.
Easy interactive
• QR codes
• http://www.qrstuff.com/
• Can be used in
practicals, museums
Photo: victuallers2 on Flickr

32.
Thank you!!!
• Conole, G. (2013). The 7Cs of Learning Design. SlidesharePresentation. Retrieved March 21,
2013, from http://www.slideshare.net/GrainneConole/7-cs-learningdesignmooc
• Lomas, N. (2013). Forrester: Tablet Ownership In Europe To Rise 4x In 5 Years — 55% Of
Region’s Online Adults Will Own One By 2017, Up From 14% In 2012 | TechCrunch.
TechCrunch Website. Retrieved February 27, 2013, from
http://techcrunch.com/2013/02/20/forrester-tablet-ownership-in-europe-to-rise-4x-in-5-years-55-o
• Nie, M., Armellini, A., Witthaus, G., & Barkland, K. (2010). Delivering University Curricula:
Knowledge, Learning and INnovation Gains — University of Leicester. Leicester. Retrieved
from http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/beyond-distance-research-
alliance/projects/duckling
• ThePaypers. (2012). The Paypers. Insights in payments. Retrieved January 3, 2013, from
http://www.thepaypers.com/news/mobile-payments/smartphone-adoption-in-uk-reaches-
51-students-lead-the-way/747745-16