What is multimedia?

Multimedia is any combination of different types of content. This content can include text, images (including photos), audio, video, animation, games or interactive content forms. In most cases the content is integrated via computers to enhance a user’s understanding of the information presented. The information has the potential to be a live broadcast or previously made. Multimedia has become inherent to the websites and blogs that makeup the internet.

Evolution of the Word

Multimedia comes from the word medium, but has evolved to include “facilitating or linking communication” to assist in conveying a message. (Dowling, 4) With the increase in media types and efficiency some have declared that the media chosen is as important as the content itself as Marshall McLuhan has said, “The medium is the message” and therefore affects the perception of the content.

Use as Design Elements

Multimedia can be used to contribute to the design of the webpage. Carroll cites using images to to help with the “balance, contrast and unity” of web design. (Carroll 106) This can also contribute to the scan-ability of a web page by breaking up large chunks of text. Using these elements can improve the navigation and usability of a website.

Benefits in Educational Situations

Multimedia can be used to to show “what things look like, how they move and how they change” or to demonstrate “processes that learners may not otherwise have the opportunity to see,” furthermore this can be used to “bring the real world into the classroom.” (Institute for Learning)

Examples of and Choosing File Types

When choosing a file format to use in a website, the web designer should be mindful of what the viewer will need to play the media. Care should be kept to avoid requiring the viewer to download software to view the media. The size of the file should also be noted, larger files take longer to download. Will the viewer stream or download the media? These all have an effect on the viewers experience.

Image

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File types include:

.JPG
.PNG
.TIFF
.RAW
.BMP
.GIF

Animation

File types include:

.PNG
.FLA
.GIF
.SWF

Audio

Media:Schubert-D.935.2.ogg

File types include:

.AAC
.FLAC
.M4A
.MP3
.OGG
.WMA

Video

File types include:

.FLV
.AVI
.MOV
.MP4
.MPG
.WMV

Works Cited

Carroll, Brian. (2010). Writing for Digital Media. New York: Routledge. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
Dowling, Jennifer Coleman. (2011). Multimedia Demystified. McGraw-Hill. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
Institute for Learning and Research Technology. “Why Use Multimedia?” Young-Train.net. <http://www.young-train.net/multimedia/tutorials/video_audio_multimedia/page_04.htm>.Retrieved 11 July 2013.

Outside sources

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