Podcasting and Vidcasting: The Future of Tech Comm

Advancing technology allows us to use the new technologies of podcasts (audio recordings delivered as .mp3 files) and vidcasts, or more properly, broadcast video to convey technical information. Effective audience analysis will determine whether multimedia is right for our users. We use the same correct rhetorical principles to communicate information aurally and visually as we do when creating text.

Agnew, Beth. Seneca College (2006). Presentations>Multimedia>Video>Podcasting

PowerPoint Heaven - Shadow Fighter Series

Shadow Fighter is a PowerPoint Movie. An animated show or movie done in PowerPoint mimicking the style of Arcade Fighting games. Shadow Fighter Series will show you how PowerPoint can do extreme complex animations similar to Macromedia Flash!

Tohlz, Shawn. PowerPoint Heaven (2006). Design>Multimedia>Presentations>Microsoft PowerPoint

PowerPoint Is Evil

Imagine a widely used and expensive prescription drug that promised to make us beautiful but didn't. Instead the drug had frequent, serious side effects: It induced stupidity, turned everyone into bores, wasted time, and degraded the quality and credibility of communication. These side effects would rightly lead to a worldwide product recall. Yet slideware--computer programs for presentations--is everywhere.

Tufte, Edward. Wired (2003). Articles>Presentations>Multimedia>Microsoft PowerPoint

Practical Hypermedia: Using Hypertext and Multimedia in the Real World  

Multimedia and hypertext are two of the hottest topics in technical communications today. Multimedia, in one form or another, has been around for decades—so has hypertext. Both have been of enormous interest to the technical communicator specifically, and the computer user in general. Lately, we have seen advancements in computer technology that can allow a computer user to produce presentations of considerable quality. Just as the advent of the Macintosh ushered in the era of desktop publishing, the rapidly falling prices of digital video cards and image editing software are about to pave the way for another revolution in desktop computing.

Radecki, Steven Lewis. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Multimedia>Hypertext

Practicing Professional Communication Principles by Creating Public Service Announcements    

A primary goal of most introductory business and technical communication courses is to introduce students to the idea that the professional communication most of them will engage in is different from the writing they do for academic purposes. This overall idea covers several principles concerning professional writing. First, in an academic essay, a student may tell all he or she knows about a topic to an expert reader (the instructor); in professional writing situations, however, writers are most likely sharing only a small part of the information they know with nonexpert readers. Second, when writing in professional situations, writers must actively envision audiences different from themselves, audiences that will have different concerns and purposes than the writers do. Finally, the audience, purpose, and medium of a professional communication situation drive the choices a writer will make. If students are to understand these principles, discussing them in class is insufficient; students must also practice them. Implementing active learning that applies these principles authentically can be challenging. The makeup of many business and technical communication courses means that not all students share expertise in a given field that they can draw on for common assignments. Hypothetical assignments may not give students a deep sense of context, and students may continue to perceive the instructor as the real audience for such assignments.

Frederick, Terri. Business Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Education>Business Communication>Multimedia

Principles and Guidelines for Multimedia Script Development  

This workshop is designed to provide some orientation and ground rules for practitioners who are beginning to think about developing multimedia projects. The objectives of the workshop are 1) to explain the technology and theory of multimedia communication; 2) to present an overview of multimedia script development; 3) to provide strategies for developing a concept and an information map; and 4) to show approaches to multimedia scripting. Workshop participants will be involved in hands-on activities to guide them through the preliminary stages of multimedia concept and script development.

Heba, Gary M. STC Proceedings (1995). Design>Multimedia>Management

Producing a Multimedia Product-Planning Phase  

Today, multimedia has become a popular way to present information. Many times it increases the effectiveness of the message. Many aspects of the message and its target audience need to be examined to determine if multimedia is the best media. If it is, planning becomes crucial in the process of developing a multimedia project.

Henke, Kristine A. STC Proceedings (1994). Design>Multimedia>Planning

Producing a Multimedia Product—Design Phase  

Multimedia is an exciting new technology that gives technical communicators a broad range of tools for designing information. Considerations such as: content and organization, style, installation and distribution, legal issues, and cultural issues bring new challenges for technical communicators. By following a four step process of brainstorming, reviewing technical source material, preparing an information map, and developing storyboards, technical communicators can take on the opportunities that multimedia creates.

Iverson, Ellen Roscoe. STC Proceedings (1994). Design>Project Management>Multimedia

Producing a Multimedia Product: Production Phase  

Producing multimedia requires new tasks and skills for technical communicators. Based on the authoring program of your choice, you need to make decisions regarding backgrounds, organization, audio and video, text and graphics, and navigation. You will also make decisions regarding media types such as text, graphics, images, animation, sound, and video.

Donney, Jerome R. STC Proceedings (1994). Design>Multimedia

Producing for the Ear

'Writing for the ear' is an effective way of making content engaging and interesting. Examples of this are audio-based sentence structure, writing around audio clips, making informed word choices and creating a narrative arc for your podcast. Listeners, who are often occupied with other things while listening, need audio and content that transports them to another state of mind. With this in mind, Bond explains techniques and provides examples of how podcasters can anticipate what their audience expects to hear, and how they meet listener expectations while still providing something new.

Bond, Stacy. Podcast Academy (2006). Articles>Multimedia>Audio>Podcasting

Production Design for Dialogue Recording

Bad audio will certainly sink an otherwise good project! That being said, let's look at how other Departments can help the Sound Department improve the quality of the recorded dialogue.

Ginsburg, Fred. Equipment Emporium (2006). Articles>Multimedia>Audio

Proposed Multimedia Courseware Documentation Design  

With the growth of multimedia, design techniques to manage the contents and data structures for the media are becoming required We call this courseware in distinction from hardware or software, and we produce a production model by developing a uique technique not in imitation of the conventional ones using the following three points, layout, framework and linkage management.

Hayashizaki, Akira. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Education>Multimedia>Documentation

A Proven Method for Developing Successful Multimedia Projects  

In today's fast-paced, 'I-want-it-all-now' society, technical communicators are challenged to deliver their messages through interactive media. However, most technical communicators don¡¯t really know how to successfully plan, produce, and manage multimedia development projects. There is a method that enables communicators to effectively deliver information that is engaging, while saving time, money, and a lot of heartache. A brief overview of this methodology follows. and the development team creates a detailed cost estimate and the project schedule. The Requirements Determination Document, project estimate, and project schedule are housed in the Project Workbook. The team refers to this workbook during production. Concept and Design. In this phase, team members define the thematic treatment used to create storyboards, scripts, technical design, and prototypes. This information is

Ebinger, Ginger. STC Proceedings (1998). Design>Multimedia

Psychologically Unsound 15 Second Sitcoms

"It made me laugh, I love it," is not what you want to hear about an expensive TV commercial. Did it leave you with a powerful desire to obtain the benefit the product offers, so that you plan on purchasing it? Find out why silly TV commercials, that fail to communicate why the product is superior, are doomed to drain budgets and let the competition gain ground.

Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Multimedia>Marketing>Cognitive Psychology

Putting the Poetry of Film to Use Online  

This article helps technical communicators become better informed producers of interactive, cinema-like new media objects (help systems, public information and ordering kiosks, promotional technical presentations on the web, and so on) by providing a summary of how cinema works, and then by proposing a few ways that some basic cinema editing and display techniques can be integrated into on-screen technical communications practice. The author makes the claim that if we are to begin thinking and working like film makers, the fundamental poetics and information designs we use in our new media design and development work must also change.

Gillette, David. STC Proceedings (2005). Articles>Documentation>Multimedia>Video

Quantitative Evidence For Differences Between Learners Making Use Of Passive Hypermedia Learning Environments  

This paper presents a summary of the results of several relatively large studies which attempted statistical analysis of audit trails created by learners accessing information in typical hypermedia or hypertext learning environments, and interpreted them in relation to learner characteristics and study tasks. Significant differences in the information access strategy, amount of information accessed, student estimates of achievement and knowledge outcome were observed between learners in these studies. This paper concluded that some learners may be systematically disadvantaged where support for (or the delivery of) the curriculum depends on hypermedia, such as via a networked learning environment delivered passively over the WWW. It is suggested that the audit tools available from the WWW provide an opportunity to develop multi-discipline evaluation mechanisms which may enable researchers to provide learners with standard 'learning profiles' with which to reflect on their own learning effectiveness when using hypermedia educational materials.

Quentin-Baxter, Megan. ACM Computing Surveys (1999). Articles>Education>Multimedia

Quick Interactivity Using Adobe Acrobat  

This article describes how to quickly add an interactive interface to any collection of Portable Document Format (PDF) documents. It demonstrates how one document author put on three hats - DTPer, Designer and “Programmer” - to deliver a quick and inexpensive solution to providing interactive, serverbased access to company policies and procedures.

Miller, Gordon. STC Proceedings (1998). Design>Multimedia>Interactive

Recordable DVD: Worth the Wait or Worth Waiting For?

It may be a bit hasty to declare the end of the CD-ROM era, but the signposts are pointing in that direction. Although the CD provides a convenient way for presenters to store multimedia, distribute data and back up hard drives, the medium's space limits in the coming era of 100GB and larger hard drives and ever more ambitious multimedia projects will become increasingly evident. Indeed, many see the recordable DVD as the next killer app in computing – the one that makes the most compelling use of all that digital horsepower sitting idle on desktops everywhere, at home and at the office. More than a million recordable-DVD drives were sold in 2001, and the market research firm International Data Corp. (IDC) predicts that number will grow to more than 30 million by 2005. Apple, Compaq, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Sony and other major computer manufacturers already ship recordable-DVD drives with their top-of-the-line models. Drives supporting the highly anticipated DVD+RW format (a format presenters should like because of its greater flexibility and superior write speed) have finally hit the market. And, as with almost all digital technology, recordable-DVD drives and media, not to mention video camcorders and software, are getting cheaper and more widely available by the day.

Kawamoto, Wayne. Presentations (2003). Articles>Presentations>Multimedia>DVD

Requirements for Embedding Macromedia Flash Movies in Microsoft Powerpoint Presentations

Embedding is based on the Shockwave Flash Microsoft ActiveX component, an ActiveX component created by Macromedia that allows its content to run in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Flashgeek.com (2005). Articles>Presentations>Multimedia>Flash

Research-Based Guidelines For Visual Interface Design  

Whether it is for a help system, a multimedia training product, or a software application, there are two key elements needed for good screen design: knowledge of the applicable research, and the ability to balance aesthetic appeal with functionality. This paper focuses on research into the specific human factors that affect how users interact with the visual display of information, and provides guidelines for how to apply the research results. The author adds information from his own interface design and usability testing experiences at Microsoft.

Prekeges, James G. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>User Interface>Multimedia>Visual Rhetoric

Review: Review of 'Podcasting Solutions: Complete Guide to Podcasting'

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Podcasting Solutions: A Complete Guide to Podcasting by Michael W. Goeghegan and Dan Klass. I was able to digest the material quickly. The frustrating thing for me was that the title just didn't seem to fit the approachable and practical content that made the book such a treasure. For example, the subtitle 'A Complete Guide' is a bit overstated, because it is not a compendium but a getting starting guide. Especially as time goes by and the field progresses, and more techniques and tools are developed, this book will become more out of date.

Albing, Bill. KeyContent.org (2006). Articles>Reviews>Multimedia>Podcasting

A Review of Digital Video Production in Post-Secondary English Classrooms at Three Universities  

Digital video production in composition courses is both new and exciting. However, this newness comes with challenges and obstacles as well as more questions than answers. What exactly is so fun, attractive, liberating, and transgressive about digital video work? Is it the time invested in editing minutes or hours of footage into seconds of film clips? Is it the sheer thrill of having the power to overlay images, words, and sounds to produce an effect impossible in the real world and highly effective in the multimodal, rhetorical one? Is it that the composition teacher is finally asking for a product where grammar (understood as punctuation and sentence structure) is mostly invisible? Is it the crisis moments when the software, the hard drive, and/or the accompanying hardware crashes and we are still left with a classroom full of students to teach? Or, is it the mesmerizing effect of the screen that promises sustained attention to a composition assignment? The answer, we think, in all cases is 'yes'--yet sometimes that yes is a hesitant one.

Meeks, Melissa and Alex Ilyasova. Kairos (2003). Articles>Education>Multimedia>Video

Rich Media Management and Business Agility

Understanding how rich media assets are used by the enterprise, of course, remains the central prerequisite for the enterprise’s ability to capitalize on the deployment of a rich media content management platform. The keys to a successful platform for rich media management include an approach to development based on service-oriented architectures (SOA) and a rich underlying content repository that exposes both the content and its metadata.

Trippe, Bill. Gilbane Report (2004). Articles>Content Management>Multimedia

Say It in Multimedia: Crash Course in New-Media Literacy  

Come to our demonstration to learn how to combine media to better communicate complex concepts. We’ll show step-by-step procedures, tutorials, and games—all using multimedia to communicate hard business and technical information.

Horton, William K. III and Katherine W. Horton. STC Proceedings (1996). Design>Multimedia>TC

Script Design for Information Film and Video-Intermediate  

In this all-day seminar we'll expand the knowledge we garnered in the basic seminar on script design for the information film and video or on our experience. We'll explore advanced concepts in the grammar of film and video and learn new filmic design techniques. Throughout the seminar we'll view and critique a number of films and videos to see how other producers have applied such filmic techniques to solving specific communication problems.

Shelton, S. Martin 'Marty'. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Multimedia>Writing