What is a Multimedia Resource?

The word multimedia comes from two Latin roots, multi and media:
multi-, meaning several or many, and media-, meaning in the middle.

This multimedia definition tells us that materials on the internet, or in

your class presentations, involve several forms of communication to connect
(that is, to be in the middle of) the sender and receiver.

Moreover, multimedia is a broad term for combining multiple media

formats. Whenever text, audio, still images, animation, video and
interactivity are combined together, the result is multimedia. Slides, for
example, are multimedia as they combine text and images, and sometimes
video and other types.

What is a Multimedia Presentation?

A multimedia presentation is a presentation file which is not limited to

just text in terms of content. For example, it would have interactive video,
sound, links, images, animated gifs and transitions in it.

DIFFERENT MULTIMEDIA RESOURCES

1. Text Materials

Text is still a primary way to transmit information. It is the simplest and

oldest resource. Text takes us back to how the internet started, as a means of
sending written messages back and forth between communicators.

This resource can be used in writing instructions, making

announcements, giving information, narrating events and the list goes on.
Simply print your presentation on any paper, or have it encoded as a word

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document. Just make it sure that the output is readable enough by your
audience.

Text is also used to augment other forms of communication, such as a

text description of a photograph, subtitles of audio and video, in slides, and
many more.

2. PowerPoint Slides

It is a presentation program developed by Microsoft. PowerPoint is

often used to create business presentations, but can also be used for
educational or informal purposes. The presentations are comprised of slides,
which may contain text, images, and other media, such as audio clips and
movies.

This resource is best to use in giving information, instructions, making

explanations and in narrating events.

3. Photographs and Other Still Images

Illustrations are perhaps the oldest form of media, Historically,

Gutenberg's printing press in the 1400's enabled mass distribution of
multimedia works containing both text and images. Small images such as
thumbnails or icons are often used as a visual "entry point" to larger images or
more detailed information.

Text and images

sometimes combine in a single
form, as many software programs
make it easy to create text art, a
form of lettering that combines a
strong visual element as well.

Simply take a photograph

of your subject and present it as
you orally give an information,
instruction, explanation, or a
narration. It is also possible that you use text as caption of the image.

4. Audio Files

Your website or
presentation can add sound,
from a musical background to
a spoken explanation, by
including audio files. Even
digital cameras, which is
image-based technology,
have been engineered these days to record sound as well. Many sound files
are compressed, which reduces the file size without greatly sacrificing sound
quality.

Simply record information, instruction, explanation, and narration using

your smart phone and play it before the class.

5. Video Presentations

Video presents
moving pictures and
typically combines
images and sound for a

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compelling multimedia experience. Of course, videos can include text as well,
which often appears as captioning for spoken words or as text in an image, as
in the case of a slide presentation. Video files are some of the most memory-
intensive multimedia applications, but clever streaming methods make their
daily practical use.

With your camera phone, simply record a video as you orally give
information, instructions, explanation or narration. You can also make a vlog
(short for video and blog) and make contents of different subjects.

6. GIFs and Other Forms of Animation

Animated files occupy a

middle ground between still images
and video. GIFs, which is an
abbreviation for graphic image files,
are small files that present a single
image or rapidly display a
sequence of a few images to give
the appearance of motion.

This group of resources is best to use when you explain and/or narrate
events that are just short. There are certain mobile apps that help you create
a GIF or any animation such as GIF Maker and Editor, Giphy Cam, GroupMe,
and many others. They can be downloaded for free into your smart phone.

Below is a table of the common file types of the multimedia resources.

 MULTIMEDIA
COMMON FILE TYPES
RESOURCES
1. Text TXT

Text with other elements DOC, DOCX, PDF

2. PowerPoint Slides PPT, PPTX, PPTM, POT, POTX

3. Images JPG, PNG, TIF, BMP

4. Audio MP3, WAV, WMA

5. Video AVI, WMV, FLV, MOV, MP4

6. Animation GIF, FLV

USABILITY OF THE MULTIMEDIA RESOURCES

It is very important to determine the applicability of these multimedia

resources in a class presentation specifically but not limited to in giving
information, instructions, making explanations, and in narrating events.
Following is a table indicating the applicable use of such resources.

Multimedia Resource It can be used in

giving making narrating
information and explanations events
instructions

1. Text   

2. Text with Other Elements   

2. PowerPoint Slides   

3. Images   

4. Audio   

5. Video   

6. Animation  

Additional

1. Creative Industry
The 'creative industries' in a nutshell… The term 'creative industries' describes
businesses with creativity at their heart – for example design, music, publishing,
architecture, film and video, crafts, visual arts, fashion, TV and radio,
advertising, literature, computer games and the performing arts.

2. Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an

 audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task but is more
likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousands of
years specifically for the purpose of keeping an audience's attention.

3. Commercial use is any reproduction or purpose that is marketed, promoted, or

sold and incorporates a financial transaction. Examples include, but are not
limited to, merchandise, books for sale (including textbooks), apps that will be
sold or have advertising, periodicals and journals with paid subscriptions.

4. Educational technology is the combined use of computer hardware, software,

and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning.