art of multimedia in education thesis

INFORMATION TO USERS

This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films

the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and

dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of

computer printer.

The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the

copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations

and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper

alignment can adversely affect reproduction.

In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript

and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized

copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion.

Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by

sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing

from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps.

ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA

800-521-0600

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

THE ART OF MULTIM EDIA IN EDUCATION

Supervisor:

Examining board:

by

Ilia Goldfarb

BCS / BEd Kalinin State University, 1980

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment o f the Requirements for the Degree o f

M aster of Education

in the Graduate Academic Unit

o f Faculty o f Education

Jennifer Pazienza, BA, MEd, PhD

Gerald Clarke, BA, MAT, DA (Chair) Ellen Rose, BA, BEd, MEd, DPhil Jane Fritz, BSc, MScCS, DPhil

This Thesis is accepted

3pan o f Gradual^ Studies

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW BRUNSWICK U February 2004

© Ilia Goldfarb, 2004


1*1 Library and Archives Canada

Published Heritage Branch

395 Wellington Street Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada

Bibliotheque et Archives Canada

Direction du Patrimoine de I'edition

395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 C anada

°~ 4 9 4 -0 6 9 0 l-5

NOTICE:The author has granted a nonexclusive license allowing Library and Archives Canada to reproduce, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, communicate to the public by telecommunication or on the Internet, loan, distribute and sell theses worldwide, for commercial or noncommercial purposes, in microform, paper, electronic and/or any other formats.

AVIS:L'auteur a accord^ une licence non exclusive permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou autres formats.

The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission.

L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur et des droits moraux qui protege cette these.Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimis ou autrement reproduits sans son autorisation.

In compliance with the Canadian Privacy Act some supporting forms may have been removed from this thesis.

While these forms may be included in the document page count, their removal does not represent any loss of content from the thesis.

Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la protection de la vie privee, quelques formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de cette these.

Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant.

CanadaReproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Abstract

With the recent widespread acceptance o f computer-based training and

e-leaming, and the development o f broadband network services that allow for

transmission o f multimedia-rich materials over the Internet, it is now the right time to

revisit the importance o f multimedia, particularly visual media, in the overall success

of educational multimedia products.

This research focuses on description and analysis o f different approaches in

development o f multimedia products and their impact on the overall quality o f the

final product. In particular, this research study investigates what could be done to

improve the overall visual quality o f educational multimedia products. The research

program involves inquiry into several multimedia development projects and involves

several e-learning and multimedia development companies. Research shows that

within educational multimedia development only carefiil consideration o f a client’s

needs will achieve long lasting success and client satisfaction with the “look and feel”

o f the final product.

ii


Acknowledgements

Special thanks go to my supervisor Dr. Jennifer Pazienza who provided

constant assistance and encouragement and offered her help and knowledge during

the course o f this research.

M y appreciation goes to Dr. Ellen Rose, M cCain-Aliant Telecom Professor of

Instructional Design and M ultimedia for her assistance and expertise.

I would also like to thank all the individuals and companies that participated

in interviews and questionnaires, for their valuable time and efforts that helped me to

complete the study.

The ongoing support and encouragement from my family has been greatly

appreciated.

iii


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract ii

Acknowledgments iii

Table o f Contents iv

List o f Tables vi

List o f Figures vii

I Introduction 11.1. Background and Problem Definition 11.2. Purpose o f the Study 31.3. Significance 41.4. Limitations o f this Study 41.5. Outline o f Thesis 5

II Multimedia in Education 62.1. Introduction 62.2. Importance o f Visuals in Educational Resources 72.3. “Instructional” vs. “Creative “ Approach to Developing 13

Multimedia Resources2.4. Summary 18

III Research Program Design and Methodology 193.1. Program Design and Methodology 193.2. Participant Selection 223.3. Questionnaire Design 233.4. Data Collection and Analysis 27

IV Production o f Educational Multimedia: Personal Experiences 294.1.CBT Developers Training Course 294.2.Edutainment Product Development - CD-ROM Book Adventure 334.3.Development o f the Web site for the University Led E-Leaming Project 374.4.Summary 43

V Production o f M ultimedia: Surveys o f Multimedia DevelopmentCompanies 445.1 .Description o f D ata Collection 44

5.1.1. Participants in the Study 445.1.2. Questionnaire and Interview Data Collection Process 45

5.2.Data Coding 465.3.Data Description 48

iv


VI Data Analysis and Discussion 496.1. Research Survey Data Analysis 49

6.1.1. Who makes the final decisions on the “look and feel”? 496.1.2. Team Structure and Workflow 546.1.3. Team environment and communication issues 566.1.4. Who has input on the quality o f the final product 59

6.2. Discussion 62

VII “Look and Feel” Assistant Tool 667.1. Background 667.2. Client-centered interface design approach 687.3. “Look and Feel” advisor tool 70

VIII Conclusions and Recommendations 748.1. Conclusions 748.2. Recommendations 76

8.2.1. Visual Communication in Education: Course Outline 768.2.2. Assistant tools and other recommendations 78

REFERENCES 80

Appendix 1 Application for Review o f Research Involving Humans 86Appendix 2 Data Description 101

1. Data on participants in the study 1012. Data on the development teams and companies 1033. Data on the development team environment 1094. Who is making the final decision on the “ look and feel”

and effectiveness o f the multimedia product? 1205. Suggestions on improvements 126

v


List of TablesTable 5.1. Coding system for the entertainment multimedia sector

Table 5.2. Coding system for the educational multimedia sector

vi


List of Figures

Figure 4.1. Structure for the CBT Development Team 32

Figure 4.2. Structure for the Creative Design Team 32

Figure 4.3. Structure o f the Edutainment Book Adventure Development Team 35

Figure 4.4. Structure o f the E-Learning Project Development team 38

Figure 7.1. “Look and feel” advisor tool architecture 71

Figure A 2.1. W orkflow chart for company Ed-A 107

Figure A2.2. Workflow chart for company Ed-B 107

Figure A2.3. W orkflow chart for company Ed-C 107

Figure A2.4. W orkflow chart for company Ed-D 108

Figure A2.5. W orkflow chart for company Ed-F 108

Figure A2.6. W orkflow chart for company G-FI 108

vii


Chapter I. Introduction

1.1. Background and Problem Definition

Recently, with the rapid development o f computer technology and the capability

for integration o f different media came an explosion o f computer-based multimedia

applications. M ultimedia can be defined as the interactive use o f text, graphics,

animation, pictures, video and sound to impart information. Multimedia is not a modem

creation; it “was bom as soon as our distant ancestors decided they could liven up their

Friday night storytelling sessions with cave paintings, dance and song” (Welsh, 1998).

Numerous educational multimedia products are used in educational institutions

today. They are normally produced by the multimedia development teams. Most

frequently a multimedia development team for educational materials consists o f a Project

Manager, Subject M atter Expert, Instructional Designer(s), Developer(s) and Graphic

Axtist(s). These days the traditional approach to the development o f a multimedia product

places Instructional Designers as major leads in the overall “ look and feel” of the final

product and gives them the last word on what material goes into the final product (Rose,

2000). In my thesis, I refer to this approach as “Instructional.” Personally, based on my

experience i n m ultimedia d evelopment, I feel t hat t his a pproach i s p roblematic, a 11 he

least. Unfortunately, Instructional Designers are, in general, not well prepared for the

important multimedia design and visual decision-making task because, typically, they are

insufficiently trained in the art o f multimedia and, especially, in the art o f visual

presentation.


To give some examples: in the program curriculum for Graduate Studies in

Instructional Design, Development & Evaluation at Syracuse University’s School of

Education (2001) there is only one course, out o f 34 available, that teaches students some

basic literacy in visual communications, and this course is not a required course but an

elective. The same applies to the curricula o f the University o f Houston (2001), the

University o f South Alabama College o f Education (2001), the University o f Pittsburgh,

the University o f Kentucky, and the University o f Memphis (2001) Instructional

Technology Programs, where visual and media literacy is at the bottom o f the course list,

or not taught at all.

It is interesting to note that the International Board o f Standards for Training,

Performance and Instruction (IBSTPI), in the Instructional Design Competencies

document (IBSTPI standards, 2000), states that the ability to effectively communicate in

visual form is an essential professional foundation competency for Instructional

Designers. In the course o f this study, I thoroughly reviewed several books considered to

be essential reading for Instructional Designers, such as The Systematic Design o f

Instruction by Dick, Carey and Carey (2001) and Designing Instructional Systems by

Romiszowski (1981). In these books, to my great surprise, I did not find any mention of

the importance o f visual communications skills. In addition to the above books, I also

reviewed several respected educational scholarly journals, such as Educational

Technology Research and Development and Educational Technology for the past three

years, and found only one article remotely related to visual communications in

instructional design (Lohr, 2000). Only recently, while completing my thesis, I

discovered a newly published book, by the same author (Lohr, 2003), that teaches visual

2


literacy for educators. Lohr admits that her book is a response to the growing need for

visual literacy for Instructional Designers: “ ...m ost people receive years o f training in

verbal communication but receive almost no assistance in the art and science of

communicating visually” (p.5). This book was recommended for Instructional Designers

during the AECT (Association for Educational Communications and Technology) 2003

Convention in Anaheim, CA, USA, as the only book on the subject o f visual literacy for

educators.

1.2. Purpose of the Study

W ith the recent widespread acceptance o f computer-based training and

e-learning, and the development o f broadband network services that allow for

transmission o f multimedia-rich materials over the Internet, it is now the right time to

revisit the importance o f multimedia and, particularly, visual media in the overall success

of educational multimedia products.

My research study focuses on description and analysis o f different approaches in

development o f multimedia products and their impact on the overall quality o f the final

product. In p articular, I i nvestigate w hat c ould be d one t o i mprove t he o verall v isual

quality and learning impact o f educational multimedia products.

The objectives o f this study are:

• To study, describe and analyze approaches, currently used by the industry, in the

development o f educational multimedia products;

• To study, describe and analyze common approaches used in the development o f

gaming multimedia products;

3


• Based on results o f the analyses o f different approaches in development o f

m ultim edia products, to offer recommendations that, i f implemented, will improve

the visual quality o f educational multimedia products and their learning impact.

1.3. Significance

The significance o f the proposed study is that it will describe and evaluate the

current, most widely used, practices in multimedia development, and, after thorough

review and analysis, offer recommendations that will summarize responses from industry

practitioners and create a basis for changes that will lead to better educational multimedia

products. In the future, in order to further advance our knowledge o f the impact of

different approaches in designing multimedia, it would be highly beneficial to conduct a

follow-up study. This further study should utilize two teams o f developers -

“Instructional” and “Creative”- for the same project and analyze the results in terms of

learning and visual impact. This future research project could constitute the first phase,

the diagnostic phase (Baskerville, 1999; Hopkins, 1985), o f the action research program

on the use and effectiveness o f different approaches in development o f educational

multimedia.

1.4. Lim itations of This Study

One o f the limitations o f the scope o f this study is that it does not include

evaluation o f the possible limitations to the “Creative” design approach, such as the lack

of skills, lack o f project financing, etc. Another limitation o f this study is that the scope

of participating companies is limited to one geographic location - the province of New

Brunswick.

4


1.5. Outline o f the Thesis

Chapter II presents background material and a literature review o f the current

state o f multimedia usage and development in education. Chapter III discusses the

research program design and methodology, data collection, and analysis. My personal

experiences and observations on production o f educational multimedia are described in

Chapter IV. Surveys o f multimedia production companies are covered in Chapter V.

Chapter VI presents analysis and discussion o f research results. Chapter VII describes the

assistive tool that could be utilized by the industry to solve some o f the “ look and feel”

design problems. A summary o f the main conclusions and recommendations is presented

in Chapter VIII o f this Thesis. The possible solutions for improving the visual quality o f

the educational multimedia products are also presented.

5


Chapter II. Multimedia in Education

2.1. Introduction

“The world o f just text is irrevocably dead” (ArtsEdNet, 1997). This statement

belongs to Allen D e Bevoise, one o f North America’s leading innovators in

interactive technology. And he is not the only digital media guru who thinks this way.

The director emeritus o f the National Gallery o f Art, J. Carter Brown, advisor and

consultant to Bill Gates and the founder o f OVATION - The Arts Network, the

premier provider o f arts and cultural programming on US television, also believes in

the central place o f images in education: “We are in a new age where the image can

now be central, thanks to technology in a large part. Images are around us. Today,

they have the potential to be as fundamental to education as words and numbers,

adding significantly to the excitement, depth and relevance o f what and how children

learn” (ArtsEdNet, 1997).

A c omprehensive d efinition o f m ultimedia, a s a seamless i ntegration o f the

different media types, is given by Heller and co-authors:

...m ultim edia is defined as seamless integration o f two or more

media. I f two or more media are attached to each other, but not

in a seamless way, we refer to them as multiple media.

Depending on its roots, multimedia takes on different

characteristics. If the root is education, then the focus o f

multimedia discussion is the delivery o f education, and the

media are analyzed in term o f their effectiveness in delivering

information. (Heller et al., 2001, p .l)

6


Numerous educational multimedia products are used in educational

institutions today. They vary from online and offline multimedia tutorials for adults,

e-Leaming and corporate training, to edutainment CD-ROMs (products that combine

entertainment and education) for children. In addition to this, with the recent

explosion o f the Internet, educational resources for teachers on the Internet are even

becoming topics o f popular books (Leshin, 199S). Numerous educators now hope that

“like television before them, the Web and multimedia content have the potential of

changing the face o f education” (Baltes, 2001, p. 16).

2.2. Im portance of Visuals in Educational Resources

Until quite recently, the publishers o f instructional materials rarely used

visuals, due to the high cost o f producing pictures, as compared to textual materials.

However, the cost o f reproducing pictures is not a factor now, when the materials are

distributed electronically, such as in computer-based instruction, Web publishing or

CD-ROM-based materials (Morrison et al., 2001) The recent development o f digital

means for producing and manipulating visual information has allowed for widespread

use o f visuals in instructional materials. However, to fully realize the potential

benefits o f using pictorial information for teaching, it is necessary for pictorial

presentation to be done well. “Unfortunately, much o f this swing toward more

pictorial treatments has not been informed by a principled understanding o f how

people learn (or fail to learn) from pictures. Rather, it seems to be driven largely by a

mixture o f naive intuitions about the instructional efficacy o f pictures and the

technical capacity to include them cheaply and easily” (Lowe, 2001, p. 202).

7


It is well known that vision, for humans, represents the richest source of

information. Seeing and hearing, and, particularly, seeing belong to the so-called “far

senses” that are crucially important in the human survival mechanism. It is well

documented that, when compared to other senses, vision dominates them (Seculer and

Blake, 1990).

Let’s apply this fact to learning:

Learning is a lifelong process between humans and their

environment, while instruction (by any mediating person or

agency) is a deliberate intervention between learner and subject

matter. Hence, effective instruction is seen as mediating

optimally between learner and subject matter, taking into

account characteristics o f both. (Fleming, 1987, p.234)

Thus, instruction is based on the learner’s perception. The learner’s

perception, in turn, for computer - based instruction, is partially based on the display

design:

A learner presented with a display may select some part o f it,

compare it with some schema (organized information) in

memory and im mediately recognize the displayed object. O r,

lacking a match between display and schema, the learner may

scan further information in the display or seek another schema

for comparison. This interactive, goal oriented process may

continue until an adequate match is found, an existing schema

8


is modified, or a new schema is constructed. (Fleming, 1987, p.

237)

Use o f m ultim edia in the learning environment is a practical realization o f the

“distributed cognition” theory (Salomon, 1996). According to Jacobs and Dempsey

(2002):

In essence, distributed cognition recognizes that a person

solves a problem or performs a task with the aid o f other

resources. The knowledge brought to bear on the task is

distributed among the individual and other resources (e.g.,

computers or other people). ...The theory o f distributed

cognition h ypothesizes t hat i nformation i s p rocessed b etween

individuals and the tools and artifacts provided by the

environment or culture. A primary force causing us to move

toward distributed cognition is the limitation o f the individual,

unaided human mind. Professionals in most fields have jobs

that are increasingly more complex; more specialized, and

require access to exponentially increasing domain knowledge.

In general, researchers believe that multimedia helps people to learn and this

belief is supported by the results o f scientific studies (Najjar, 1996). For example,

Geric and Jausovec (1999) describe experimental studies on differences in students’

cognitive processes related to different types o f learning presentations, including text,

audio, pictures and video. The results o f these experiments clearly show a difference

between the multimedia presentations and text presentations. According to this


research study, video and picture presentations increase the activity o f the occipal and

temporal lobes, thus triggering visualization strategies, while the text presentation

increases the activity o f the frontal lobes that control working memory. Thus, by

presenting m ultim edia materials to students, the teacher, along with the working

memory, can also trigger students’ mental imagery that is crucial to problem solving,

creativity and discovery in learning (Rieber, 1994).

It is known that computerized instruction saves learning time, as compared to

classroom instruction (Kulik, Kulik, and Schwab, 1986). It was also found that a

multisensory learning environment maximizes the ability to retain information. We

can remember 20 percent o f information by seeing it, 40 percent by seeing and

hearing it, and 70 percent by seeing, hearing and doing it (Syed, 2001). There is also

strong evidence that memory for a picture is better than memory for words. This is

referred to as “the picture superiority effect” (Anglin et al, 2002). This effect is well

known and is described, in the scientific literature, by several models such as “the

dual code model, the single code model and the sensory- semantic model.” However,

“ ...in many cases researchers in educational communications and technology have

neglected the work that has been done concerning memory models” (Anglin et al.,

2002, p.762).

There is also a general understanding that illustrated text is more conducive to

learning. According to Levie & Lentz (1982), pictures help readers to better learn the

illustrated textual information, but do not have any effect on the comprehension o f the

information that is not illustrated. As shown by Peeck (1987), visual images are

particularly useful for illustrating the spatial relationships described in the text:

10


For example, in a text describing the relationship between the

position o f the moon relative to the earth and sun during a lunar

eclipse, a picture o f these spatial relations would benefit the

reader. Pictorial representations are also beneficial when used

to illustrate abstract material and the main ideas in the text.

(Morrison et al., 2001, p. 155)

However, as shown by some research studies, the most effective use of

illustrations in learning materials is achieved when the learner interacts with the

illustration, for example, by labeling parts o f the picture, tracing the picture or

answering questions about the picture (Dean and Kulhavy, 1981; Winn and Holliday,

1982).

Fleming and Levie (1978) report that print and pictures are available for

processing longer. The implication o f this fact is that print and pictures are more

suitable for presentation o f complex tasks that require prolonged attention (Fleming,

1987). Pictures are also better remembered than words (Gagne & Rohwer, 1969),

which may cause an undesired effect, when a picture provides too much information

that is difficult to process at once.

Research studies by Fligbee (1979) and Jantz & Klawitter (1985) demonstrate

the effectiveness o f teaching children complex concepts through pictures, and the

usefulness o f generating visual images to support verbal material to be learned. These

results are confirmed by numerous studies done by Appelman (1993), Duchastel

(1978), Braden (1983), Fleming (1987 b) and Dwyer (1988):

1 1


A general conclusion would be that visuals and verbal

materials when used together are in most cases stronger

message carriers than when either is used alone.” (Summarized

by Braden, 2002, p.507)

M any researchers also agree that the multimedia multi-sensory capabilities,

including text, graphics, colors, audio and video, create a stronger, and much longer

lasting impression than mono or dual sensory input, through increased interactivity

(Syed, 2001). Generally, interactivity seems to have a strong positive effect on the

ability o f students to learn (Stafford, 1990). There are some research studies that

show that redundant multimedia seems to improve learning compared to a

“monomedia” (Mayer and Anderson, 1991,1992). However, sometimes interactivity,

when designed poorly, can be an annoying obstacle to accessing the required

information quickly:

Ironically, the more interactive it is, the less I can use it when I

need it because I have to answer all those questions or go

through all those exercises that are great when you are in a

training program - but simply annoying barriers when I am

doing regular work. (Gery, 2002, p. 25)

In addition to the improved redundancy o f information, it is known that

multimedia can add authenticity to the learning environment:

One o f the major criticisms o f education and schooling in the

past is that it has been abstract and removed from reality.

M ultimedia and online learning provide ways to reduce the

12


abstractness o f education by providing learners with access to

real-life settings, realistic environments and authentic

information and cases. (Oliver et al., 2001, p. 107)

2.3. “Instructional” vs. “Creative” Approach to Developing M ultimedia Resources

Educational multimedia products are sometimes developed by “Lone

Rangers.” They are the educators who are experts on the subject, with the combined

skills o f computer programming, and graphic and computer interface design (Bates,

2000). However, most frequently, educational multimedia is currently developed by a

development team that consists o f a Project Manager, Subject M atter Expert,

Instructional Designer(s), Developer(s), and Graphic Artist(s) (Welsh, 1998; Lohr,

2000). As mentioned earlier, in Chapter I, most often, Instructional Designers take a

lead in the overall “look and feel” o f the final educational product.

In spite o f the above-mentioned studies, showing the positive effect of

multimedia on learning, the efficiency o f using multimedia in education was debated

for a long time. According to research studies on using pictures in textbooks done

during 1960s and 70s (Willows, 1978; Braun, 1969; Samuels, 1967), as quoted by

Braden (2002, pp. 505-506), the use o f pictures with textual material is “shown to be

distracting...:

1. The bulk o f research findings on the effect o f pictures on

acquisition o f a sight vocabulary were that pictures

interfere with learning to read.

13


2. There was almost unanimous agreement that pictures, when

used as adjuncts to the printed text, do not facilitate

com prehension...

In addition to this, early research on use o f computer animation in education

was “heavily prone to confounding” (Reiber, 1994, p. 169). The above mentioned

research studies, over the years, influenced the prevalent attitude o f instructional

design scholars, towards the use o f multimedia in educational purposes. This attitude

is well described by Rosenberg (2001): “ ...by simply adding multimedia elements to

a bad learning program w on’t improve it.” (p.56).

Supporters o f this view stress the paramount importance o f instructional

design in the educational products. They even state that multimedia could, potentially,

make the bad learning design worse. They emphasize that, in developing educational

multimedia materials, the most attention should be paid to the learning design, and

not to how the product looks, whether it is boring, etc. (Rosenberg, 2001). For

example, Merrill (2002) writes: “Existing instructional authoring tools tend to

emphasize delivery, games, flashy graphics, and animation rather than instruction or

learning.” (p. 15).

The foreseen problem with this approach is that, when the multimedia product

is developed using this “Instructional” approach, there is not a single person on the

team who is considering the final result, as a personal multimedia creation, and the

visual quality, the “ look and feel” o f the final multimedia product suffers.

Let’s take a look at another, and quite successful, example within the

multimedia development industry - the gaming industry that drives digital

14


entertainment. It was estimated that the PC and console (such as Sony’s PlayStation,

Nintendo, etc.) software sales in the US and Europe amounted to 10.9 billion in 2000.

The projections for future growth are also extremely high: it is projected that the

amount o f players for online PC games will increase to 28 million by 2004 - three

times the 1999 level (Nack, 2001). What are the factors, in the software development

process, that further the success o f the gaming multimedia industry?

One o f these factors is that, contrary to the “Instructional” development

process, used in educational multimedia, the gaming industry is using a “Creative”

approach to develop computer games. Within the game development team, typically,

there is one person - a Creative Director, a Game Designer, an Animator or a Graphic

Artist who has the overall responsibility fo r the “look and feel” o f the multimedia

piece. T o i llustrate th is point, C lifford Lau, animator for Sega, writes: “The better

games will be done by a few creative minds that do things because it engages them. If

they are creative enough, than it will engage everybody else.” (Vivid Studios, 1995,

p.58).

The Creative Director establishes the style guide for the entire project and

supports the creativity o f other members o f the team, including graphic designers,

instructional designers, animators, and programmers (Welsh, 1998). Creative

directors, typically, have a formal education in design or visual art and have a

command o f all media forms and their uses in multimedia applications (Vivid

Studios, 1995).

The “Creative” approach in making multimedia products seems to be

successful in the entertainment and the edutainment industry, but in the development

15


of educational m ultim edia i t is o ften rejected and disapproved; “ ...the pedagogical

equivalent o f religions which promote renunciation o f earthly pleasures and strict

obedience to the rules o f pious existence” (Rose, 2000, p .106).

This widespread rejection and disapproval o f creativity impacts the overall

quality o f most educational multimedia products. As written by an Instructional

Designer:

Even m embers o f t he p roduction t earn a re f ar m ore 1 ikely t o

show enthusiasm for an animated train that they have created

than they are for a dry but effective tutorial. (Rose, 2000,

p .106)

Similarly, based on the combined 38 years o f experience in designing learning

materials, Morrison and co-authors write that:

While it may be trite, it is often true that ‘a picture is worth a

thousand words’. Graphic art and interface design is, however,

often an afterthought. Some companies focus solely on hiring

instructional designers and writers, hoping to simply slip some

clip art into their courseware. Yet when asked to recall the

instruction, students nearly always mention a visual, rather than

a passage o f text. (Morrison et al., 2001, p .161)

Even people who prioritize the use o f instructional design skills in multimedia

development agree that:

...w hen used carefully and properly, it is possible to

incorporate the richness o f multimedia in the learning

16


experience without degradation in access, quality or speed.

(Rosenberg, 2001, p. 57)

However, it is interesting to note, that evidence o f the positive effect of

multimedia on learning materials is coming from the entertainment industry: for

example, the “Specials” page on CNN’s Web site, where learning and interactivity

are built-in without affecting the quality o f visual presentation (CNN, 2001).

Needless to say, CNN, like other media companies, employs professional graphic

designers, and artists do the overall design of their Web site.

During a speech to the education policy-makers entitled "Images at the Core

of Education" Stanford University Professor o f Education and Art Dr. Elliot Eisner

gave the following context and meaning to the power o f images in education:

Experience itself is rooted initially in a world o f images.

Ordinary experiences are, in a sense, multimedia events that

focus on images, and education shapes the w ay in which those

images are experienced. The world that we occupy is a world

o f sight, sound, taste, smell, and it is an interactive world. It is

an image-filled world, and without access to that world or

without the ability to experience the qualities that constitute the

world in which we live, I think no education could go forward.

Images are at the core o f education because they constitute the

concepts that represent the distilled residue o f experience.

(ArtsEdNet, 1997)

17


2.4. Summary

To summarize, literature sources, quoted in this study, support the notion that

visual information improves learning. It is also clear that there is a lack o f visual

communications research in the instructional design community and a lack o f visual

literacy t raining for Instructional D esigners. T he 1 iterature r eview also s hows t hat

there are tw o different approaches in the development o f m ultim edia products: the

“Instructional” approach that puts an Instructional Designer in decision-making

position, and the “Creative” approach that gives decisive power for the overall “look

and feel” o f the product to one person on the team - the Creative Director - who is

trained in the art o f visual presentation. The importance o f well-designed, computer-

based learning materials that are engaging for learners is stressed by Schar & Krueger

(Schar & Krueger, 2000):

Learning should not be dull and serious. On the other hand,

using a CAL [computer assisted learning] system can be

exiting and fun without promoting learning. Hence, a good

book is better than a bad CAL system, but a CAL system that

meets the methodological and technical requirement o f the

instructor and the needs o f the students can bring new

inspiration into teaching and learning as well as a new way o f

knowing, (p .50)

IS


Chapter III. Research Program Design and Methodology

3.1. Program Design and Methodology

This research study focuses on the description and analysis o f different

approaches in development o f multimedia products and their impact on the overall

quality o f t he final p roduct. In p articular, I investigate t he m ultimedia production

process for two different types of multimedia products: educational multimedia and

games, using a qualitative research methodology.

The qualitative research approach is based on the assumption o f multiple

realities. Qualitative research, usually, has a purpose o f understanding the social

situation from perspectives o f different participants, by means o f flexible research

methods and strategies where “design emerges as data are collected” (McMillan and

Schumacher, 2001, p. 15). In a qualitative research program the researcher, most

often, becomes immersed in a social situation. Thus, it is important for a qualitative

researcher, as a data collector, to be a well-prepared person. For qualitative

researchers it is also vitally important to record the framework o f the context,

because, at the end o f the research study, they have to develop context-bound

generalizations.

This research study is carried out as a qualitative research program. My

literature review indicates that there is very little research done on the phenomenon I

am studying. Therefore, I feel that, in this case, it is appropriate for me to conduct a

qualitative research study that is concerned with an understanding o f the phenomena

from participants’ perspectives. Due to my role as a participant-observer in some

research c ases fo r t his st udy, I a m i mmersed i n t he s ituation a nd t he p henomenon

19


being studied (M cM illan and Schumacher 2001, p. 16). This study is context-

dependant and all generalizations made in my research and data analysis are context-

bound.

All known qualitative research methodologies can be divided based on

interactive enquiry methods and non-interactive methods. In interactive enquiry

methods the researcher, in order to collect data, conducts an in-depth study using

face-to-face techniques. Non-interactive enquiry methods, usually, involve

investigation o f historical concepts and events conducted through an analysis of

documents and/or artifacts.

Interactive enquiry methodologies for qualitative research include

ethnography, phenomenology, case study, grounded theory and critical studies

(McMillan and Schumacher 2001, p.35). Ethnography involves research on the

description and interpretation o f a cultural or social group or system, and, quite

frequently, requires prolonged field work employing the researcher’s observations

and interviews with participants o f a shared group activity.

A phenomenological study investigates and describes the meaning o f a lived

experience. A typical technique involved in this type o f study is a lengthy and

detailed interview with the participants that extracts the understanding o f the

participants’ perspective on some phenomenon (Moustakas, 1994; Seidman, 1998).

The grounded theory technique normally goes beyond the description of a

particular phenomenon, and towards the development o f a substantive theory. The

data, collected by the researcher, include interview data. This type o f study, usually,

involves multiple visits to the field that help the researcher to analyze the information

20Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

obtained during the interviews. This process is a form o f a modified analytical

induction, when the initial theory is developed as a working hypothesis, and, in time,

tested on different cases to develop the properties o f conditional propositions

(Bodgan and Biklen, 1998).

Critical studies methodology is based on the view that society is structured by

class and status, and, in turn, divided by race, gender, ethnicity and sexual orientation

(Lather, 1991). Critical studies often have emancipatory goals that are, frequently,

expressed through the critique o f the status quo or a direct action by the researcher or

by the participants (McMillan and Schumacher 2001, p.38).

According to Stake (1995), case study usually deals with the case as an object

of study, and Yin (1994) considers it as a methodology. Case studies can be used to

test hypotheses. Themes and hypothesis may be important, but they remain

subordinate to the understanding o f the case (Stake, 1995). A case study, usually,

examines a “bounded system” (Smith, 1974), and can be an event, a program, an

activity, or a group o f individuals. The researcher always defines the case and its

boundaries. In addition, a case study can involve one entity or multiple entities

(multiple sites).

Based on my careful analysis o f the above interactive qualitative research

methods, I have chosen the case study, as a research method, for conducting this

study. The ethnographic research method was not chosen, because it is normally

applied to a study o f cultural behavior, rituals and beliefs (Creswell, 1998) and this is

not a focus o f my enquiry. Phenomenological research enquiry, involving lived

experiences by members o f the multimedia development teams, was first considered,


but was later ruled out, because o f the wider scope o f my investigation and data

collected. Grounded theory and critical studies methods were also ruled out, as not

applicable.

The case study methodology chosen for my research study normally requires

multiple site studies that lead to less depth o f analysis for any single site involved in

the study, but gives a broad view o f the topic studied. This is why there are some

limitations on how much data I was able to collect on the studied processes.

My case study uses a multi-modal approach to data collection and employs

several methods o f data collection. M y sources include documentation,

questionnaires, interviews, participants’ observations, and, in addition, my direct

observations. The study investigates the activity o f multimedia product development

by the members o f development teams for e-leaming and gaming companies.

This case study o f the multimedia development process helps to answer the

following question: who, in the multimedia development team, makes the final

decision on the “ look and feel” of the final multimedia product? Answering this

question is crucial for finding the answer to the major question: what could be done to

improve the visual quality o f educational multimedia products?

3.2. Participant Selection

This research program is carried out as case study o f several multimedia

development projects and involves several e-leaming and multimedia development

companies in the province o f New Brunswick and the U niversity’s educational

multimedia development team. Some of these studies are based on my own

experiences, as a member o f several multimedia development teams. I have chosen

22


New Brunswick, as a selected site for my study, because the province o f New

Brunswick is well recognized for its leadership in the on-line learning business.

According to the information, recently posted on the Province o f New Brunswick

Web site:

.. .several New Brunswick companies have attracted worldwide

interest in their e-leaming services, including web-based

learning p rograms and sp ecialized c ourseware. An i ncreasing

number o f post-secondary level courses are being offered by

New Brunswick institutions in an online learning environment,

including those dealing with information technology

management, e-commerce and e-business. (eNB, 2003)

For m y case study I am using a group o f fourteen participants. All participants

are members o f the multimedia development teams for several multimedia

development companies. These companies represent a diverse cross section o f the

multimedia development community in New Brunswick and include the University,

e-leaming and gaming industries.

3.3. Questionnaire Design

The research program was designed to be carried out as studies o f several

multimedia development projects and involved several e-leaming and multimedia

development companies and the University. The study investigated who, in the

multimedia development team, has the most impact on the “ look and feel” o f the final

multimedia product. Thus, it was logical to have, as main participants (research

23


subjects) in the study, members o f multimedia development teams o f the companies

and organizations involved. Depending on the multimedia products type the

development team could, in general, include a Project Manager, a Creative Director,

an Instructional Designer(s), a Visual Artist(s), a Subject M atter Expert and a

Programmer(s) (Developer). Research subjects participated in interviews, conducted

by the researcher, and answered written questionnaires, distributed by the researcher.

The following questionnaire was designed to prepare the participants of the

study for face-to-face interviews with the researcher.

Multimedia production questionnaire distributed to research study participants:

1. Are you currently working or did you previously work for a company that

produces/d multimedia products?

2. What kind o f multimedia products are/were produced by the company?

(educational, edutainment, games)

3. W hat was the title o f your position?

4. For how long do/did you work for this company?

5. W hat is/was the structure o f the project team? (Project Manager,

Instructional Designer, Graphic Artist, Video Specialist, Audio Specialist,

Subject Matter Specialist, etc.).

6. What is/was your Project M anager’s background (Instructional Design,

Visual Artist, Business Administration, etc.)

7. How many people o f each specialty do/did you have in your team?

8. How many people o f each specialty, as far as you know, are /were

employed by your company?

24


9. What is/was the work flow? (Who was giving instructions to whom?)

10. How much input do/did you have on making decisions that affect the

quality o f the final product?

11. What do/did you like about your project team environment?

12. What do/did you dislike about your project team environment?

13. How do you think team environment affects/affected the quality o f the

final product?

14. In your project team, who is/was making final decisions on the "look and

feel" and effectiveness o f the multimedia product?

15. Do you have any suggestions on how to improve team structure or the

production environment that, in turn, will improve the quality o f a

multimedia product?

The first four questions in this questionnaire were designed to gather

information about participants. Questions 5, 6, and 7 helped to collect some specific

details on the project development team, including details on the team structure.

Questions 8 and 9 were designed to provide some information about the multimedia

company, including a breakdown by team members’ specialty and the company’s

workflow. The information about team environment is collected from answers to

questions 10, 11 and 12. Finally, questions 13, 14 and 15 ask for the participants’

input o n how , they think, team structure and e nvironment a ffect the quality o f the

final multimedia product.

25


Since this study gathers data from human beings, the research proposal had to

meet ethical considerations with respect to confidentiality, anonymity, freedom to

withdraw, informed consent, and freedom from enquiry. M y research proposal for

this study was submitted to a review by the University o f New Brunswick Research

Ethics Board and received the Board’s approval. The copy o f the submitted

Application for Review o f Research Involving Humans for this study is included in

Appendix 1.

I took all measures to ensure confidentiality and anonymity o f individual

participants and the companies involved in my study. Before conducting interviews, I

obtained consent o f interviewed professionals, established confidentiality rules, and

provided assurance o f anonymity for individual participants in the study, as well as

for the companies, and projects. Consequently, companies and participants in this

study are not being identified in any report or publication o f the results o f the study. If

there is a reference to specific participants’ quotations or ideas, coded names are being

used throughout this thesis. The researcher is the only person having access to the

data. All research data collected are kept in a secure, locked room.

Participants were assured that their participation, in the above described

research project, is entirely voluntary. They were informed that they are free to

withdraw from the research, and to withdraw any data, pertaining to them, at any

time. They could, at any time, refuse to answer any questions, or to discuss any issue.

They also could view the data gathered and/or inquire as to the status o f the research,

throughout the process o f the study, by contacting the researcher. A copy o f the study


will be available from the researcher on participant’s request, and a summary of the

findings will be sent to the participating companies.

3.4. Data Collection and Analysis

Data collected in this research project includes questionnaires, interview

notes, taken by the researcher, as well as the researcher’s own observations and

documentation. Interviews involve the researcher’s questions and discussions with the

participants. The interviews with the participants lasted about half an hour. To

conclude the interview, I read for the participant a brief summary o f our discussion to

ensure that the participant’s input was accurately noted. Cross-checking data from

multiple sources, such as answers to questionnaires and interview notes for a

particular participant, was done in several cases to provide a multi-dimensional

profile o f the multimedia development process in a particular setting.

The data was collected from projects with various multimedia presentation

formats, thus giving me the opportunity to study the development o f multimedia for

different types o f learning, such as online or offline (CD-ROM), as well as for

edutainment products and games.

Using the data from the interviews, and participant observations, I conducted

inductive data analysis o f multimedia projects that use different approaches to

development team structure and the design process. As a result, after thorough data

analysis, I came up with conclusions and suggestions on what could be done to

improve the overall quality and visual impact o f educational multimedia products.

Qualitative data analysis, according to McMillan and Schumacher (2001), is

an inductive process o f data categorization and pattern identification among some

27


categories, where a category is an abstract name that represents the meaning of

similar topics. For my research study, I employed an interpretive style o f data

analysis, rather than a technical style. I conducted inductive analysis o f data collected

in order to identify natural categories and patterns that emerge from the data,

minimizing personal bias, where patterns have plausible explanations that are

supported by data collected.

Usually, case study research contains description, analysis, and naturalistic

generalizations. The analysis is, normally, written in a report format with vignettes to

illustrate the researcher’s accretions to the reader (Stake, 1995). A vignette is a verbal

illustration o f one facet o f an issue. However, quite often, case studies are more

directed towards description versus analysis and interpretation. They often contain an

extensive description o f the case, based o n a variety o f sources and research data.

Normally, key issues are presented to the reader to illustrate the complexity o f the

case (Yin, 1994). Several o f these key issues are normally analyzed further using

supporting and opposing evidence and a naturalistic generalization. By doing this, the

researcher develops patterns. These patterns are, sometimes, called “lessons learned”

(Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Researchers often use tables, diagrams, flowcharts, and

figures, to better present the issues involved.

Data analysis for this research project includes several phases: discovery

analysis in the field, identification o f topics that became categories, and, finally,

synthesis o f patterns among identified categories.

28


Chapter IV. Production of Educational Multimedia:

Personal Experiences

In this Chapter, I will describe some o f my personal experiences as a member

of several multimedia development teams. These experiences, along with ten years o f

multimedia teaching, within the University and Community College environment

gave rise to my interest in the role o f the Graphic Artist in educational multimedia

development. How does this role affect the visual quality o f the multimedia product?

The following sections detail my experiences starting with teaching a Computer-

Based Training course for multimedia developers, creating graphics and animations

as a Graphic Artist/Animator for an edutainment project, and being a Creative

Director for an e-learning project. These personal experiences helped me shape this

research study and define the problem and research questions.

4.1. CBT Developers Training Course

In 1995 I was a member o f a team of facilitators that taught an eleven-month

Computer Based Training (CBT) Developers course. Computer Based Training is a

term that describes the wide range o f software and services that offer educational

opportunities and training using the computer. CBT training products could be used

for Internet-based, CD-ROM, or streaming video training on a computer.

The ultimate goal o f our CBT training program was to prepare the students for

future employment as CBT Developers. In addition to gaining generic skills in CBT

development, the participants received specialized training in an area o f

specialization, such as technical writing (instructional design), computer graphics

29


design or programming. The students were thoroughly assessed before the start o f the

training program. Based on the results o f this assessment and their preferred choice of

specialization, students were placed into one o f the three streams: instructional

design, graphic design or computer programming.

The course facilitators for all three streams had hands-on knowledge and

experience in instructional design, graphic design and programming, as they apply to

the development o f CBT products. The instructional design component of. the training

course had two clearly defined parts. The first part involved the development of

strong technical writing skills through in-depth mastery and understanding o f the

English language. The second part was concerned with the direct application o f these

skills to instructional design techniques and to the multimedia product delivery.

The graphic design stream was divided into four components, including

principles o f drawing and design, sketching techniques, 2-D and 3-D animation, as

well as mastery o f several computer graphics and digital image manipulation software

packages. The programming stream had two components: understanding o f basic

computer programming techniques and training in specific CBT authoring

applications.

The CBT training course was divided into two distinct phases: the general

training phase and the specialization-training phase. The general phase, common to

all participants, constituted the first five months o f the course, and included an

overview o f software applications, the CBT development process, and

communication technologies. The communication technologies part o f the course, in

turn, included basics o f graphic design, user interface design, learning about the

30


various distribution streams o f multimedia technology, and creation and integration of

various multimedia components such as graphics, voice, sound, and video.

The s pecialization c omponent, t hat a Iso t ook five m onths, w as d ivided i nto

three streams. The Instructional Design stream incorporated the attainment o f good

writing techniques and principles, and the applications o f instructional design for

CBT development. The Graphic Artist stream defined the parameters for good

graphic design, and covered computer graphics and animation in both 2-D and 3-D

environments, followed by the creation o f a specialized portfolio, and a final group

CBT project. The Programming stream incorporated the attainment o f basic

programming skills, and included hands-on training in several o f the CBT authoring

software packages.

The specialization phase o f the CBT developers’ course w as followed by a

four-week practicum to help students acquire hands-on experience in the multimedia

development process. The practicum component involved a completion o f a real-life

CBT development team project. The teams consisted o f three people from all three

streams o f the training: an Instructional Designer, a Graphic Artist and a Computer

Programmer.

It is important to note that in the previous year’s CBT development course,

delivered by another training company, the main focus o f the training was on the

instructional design side o f CBT development, following the common structure o f a

CBT development team, as outlined in Figure 4.1:

31


CBT Development Team

V ideo S p ec ia lis tP ro g ra m m e r G ra p h ic A rtist

P ro je c t M a n ag e r

In s tru c tio n a l D es ig n e r

Figure 4.1. Structure for the CBT Development Team

Thus, the main thrust of this previous CBT developer’s training program was

on the development o f instructional design skills.

Prior to the start o f the CBT development training course, our team of

facilitators had a discussion on what we felt the main focus o f this course should be.

During th e m eeting, w e spent a s ignificant am ount o f tim e discussing whether the

structure o f a CBT development team should always be the same, as shown in Figure

4.1, or if there should be some variations. Based on my previous experience working

on the edutainment multimedia development project, I argued that our training

approach should be more flexible, to accommodate team structures that are different

than the one described in Figure 4.1. For example, I argued that the team structure of

the edutainment project I participated in was closer to the Creative Design Team

structure, such as the one shown in Figure 4.2:

Edutainment Product Development Team

WriterProgrammer Graphic Artist

Project Manager

Creative Director

Figure 4.2. Structure for the Creative Design Team

32


During our lengthy discussions about the course curriculum we decided that,

no matter what the structure o f the team was, all our students, independently o f their

area o f specialization, should be given a basis in CBT programming, instructional

design and graphics design. It is important to underline that, using this approach, even

instructional designers from the Figure 4.1 team structure would have a considerable

understanding o f the issues in graphic design and programming, which would, in turn,

facilitate better understanding and decision making on their part.

4.2. Edutainment Product Development - CD-ROM Book Adventure

Prole3iur Q.C. Widget

) Wingnut

Inspector RD. /jS t t f lV

L o o k in g for fun on a rainy old day???Junior and Sis can show you the way.Come join the journey o f mystery and fun And learn how more heads can be better than one.

Pay close attention while the verses are told, For clues are revealed as the story unfolds. iMeet Klank the robot and Inspector R.D. And Q.C. Widget, Ph.D.

33


They're missing their Wingnut and feeling quite bad.They need YOU to find him — And take him to the lab.Share the excitement with all o f the crew.

Fantasy Factory is waiting for YOU

(Fantasy Factory, CD-ROM book adventure, 1995).

This is how the Fantasy Factory, a CD-ROM book adventure for children of

ages three and up, begins. The story for this book adventure is written by Marie

Resmer. The Fantasy Factory is a great way for children to explore the process o f car

manufacturing. Children follow along with the story, phrased in a n interesting and

lyrical verse, as they search for hidden animations, music and sounds. They even help

the cute book characters, Junior and S is, to solve the mysteries i nside the Fantasy

Factory. Children a Iso m eet Wingnut who, when Junior and Sis find the wheel on

which he fits, makes the trusty car XBI alight into flight. Following the book

adventure, children can make and animate over 250 cars in the Fantasy Factory,

where they can choose parts from different part categories to create a fun and funky

car.

The Fantasy Factory CD-Rom is a good example o f an edutainment product.

The word “edutainment” was bom in the early 90s, and was, at that time, defined by

edutainment pioneers as an “entertainment with an educational twist” (McCallum-

Foumier, 1999). The Marion Webster and Garfield Dictionaries define edutainment

as a form o f entertainm ent that is designed to b e educational. T he R andom H ouse

Webster's College Dictionary defines edutainment as: television programs, books, and

software that are both educational and entertaining, especially those intended for

primary school age children. I prefer the M cCallum-Foumier’s definition o f

34


edutainment as a perfect fit o f two powerful forces, education and entertainment

(McCallum-Foumier, 1999).

The Fantasy Factory CD-ROM was created fo r children, but the interesting

part is that during the development o f the product, it was also tested and evaluated by

children, and their suggestions were incorporated into the design o f the final version

of our product. This demonstrates the true creative atmosphere that existed within our

Development Team.

The Development Team for the Fantasy Factory consisted o f six people - the

Project Manager, the Storywriter, the Programmer, three Graphic Artists as well as

one external Artist, and several external Voice Actors (see Figure 4.3). There was no

Instructional Designer in the Team. An Artist developed the main characters o f the

story and three Graphic Artists worked on the animation o f the characters.

E d u ta in m en t Book A dventure D evelopm ent Team

P ro d u c ers

W rite r V oice A ctors3 G raphic A rtistsP ro g ra m m e r

Pro ject M anager/C reative Director

Figure 4.3. Structure of the Edutainment Book Adventure Development Team

All decisions on the development project were made during the regular

scheduled team meetings. Each member o f the team had an opportunity to

significantly influence any given aspect o f the final product, including the educational

part, visuals, animations, sounds, and multimedia interactions.

35


Producers o f this edutainment development project were located in the United

States. To avoid race issues, they proposed that the main characters o f the story

should have blue skin colour - neither white, nor black. When we developed several

scenes, we noticed that the blue colour of the skin created a strange atmosphere

around the whole story - our characters looked like ghosts. During one o f the team

meetings we expressed our concerns to the Project M anager and he, in tum, discussed

the matter with the Producers in the USA. Eventually, everybody agreed that we

needed to change the skin colour o f at least one o f the main characters, and the

change was implemented. This short anecdote, I believe, illustrates well how, in our

development team, the decisions about the “look and feel” o f the product were made

collegially.

When the CD-ROM development process was finished, the Producers

performed an independent evaluation of the product. As a result o f this evaluation, we

received an evaluation report that indicated that the product was engaging children

into the discovery process, was not boring and was, overall, successful. I completely

agree with this evaluation, and believe that our creation is interesting, and engaging.

However, I have some reservations about the educational value o f this product. The

fact that our team was missing an Instructional Designer, in my opinion, somewhat

weakened the educational value o f our final edutainment product.

4.3. Development of the Web site for the University-Led e-Learning

Project

For the past several years, I was also a participant in a University-led

e-leaming project that dealt with civic education issues. The inspiration for this

36


project was bora several years ago when two Canadian researchers heard a

compelling appeal from their South American colleagues at a civic education

conference. The South American educators were working on fostering an emerging

democratic culture in their country and requested: “D on’t teach us about the

structures of democracy - we know all about the structures o f democracy; teach us the

spirit o f democracy.” This appeal captured the essence o f the common concerns that

Canadian educators, later on, explored with their Russian colleagues.

On-going collaboration between Canadian and Russian educators resulted in

an e-leaming project being initiated by a Canadian university in partnership with a

Russian non-profit association. The project was aimed to strengthen commitment to

democratic ideals and institutions in Russia. The objective o f the project was to

enhance the capacity o f civic educators to develop and sustain a dynamic and vibrant

program o f citizenship education. This goal was met through supporting teachers in

Canada and Russia by providing resources and training that assist them in engaging

their students in a thoughtful consideration o f the ideas that shape democratic

societies.

To accomplish these goals, the principal focus o f the project was on the

creation o f on-line citizenship education resources intended for use by teachers in

Russia and Canada. The pedagogical approaches adapted by the project included

blended learning, situated learning, and creative use o f multimedia to effectively

teach democracy on the Web.

Our e-learning project team consisted o f several team members, as shown in

Figure 4.4. The M anagement team consisted o f eight people, including Canadian and

37


Russian Project Directors. The Canadian Research and Development team consisted

of a Web Developer, a Project Officer and a team o f researchers. Similarly, the

Russian Research and Development team also consisted o f a Web Developer, a

Project Officer and a team of researchers.

E*Leaming Project Devetopm entTeam

M anagem ent Team Steering Com m ittee

C anadian Project Director • R ussian Project Director

C anad ian Project Team R ussian Project Team

C ontent Developers R esearchers C ontent Developers

R esearchers

W eb Developer/Graphic ArtistProject Officer

Project OfficerW eb Developer

Figure 4.4. Structure o f the E-leaming Project Development team

In this e-leam ing project, the content developm ent fo r th e project W eb site

was done by the individual researchers. All final decisions on the content were made

during the regular project Team meetings and later approved by the project

Management Team. Both Canadian and Russian project Directors played the role of

Instructional Designers for the content placed on the Canadian and Russian project

Web sites.

The project utilized the Internet to deliver online resources: content,

instructions, along with a discussion environment for teachers and students. These

resources could be used as a complete set of materials, or as individual lesson topics,

for different subjects, such as Social Studies, History, Citizenship Education, etc. The

Canadian and Russian project Teams developed project materials for similar topics

based on local context. As a result, the information presented on the Canadian site

38


was relevant to the lives o f young Canadians, and the content on the Russian site

could differ and was relevant to the lives o f Russian students.

The project’s learning approach was based on the ideas o f Lev Semenovich

Vygotsky, who is widely know n as “The M ozart o f Psychology.” Vygotsky, along

with Piaget and Bruner, developed the foundation for the concepts o f Situated

Learning and Anchored Instruction. The Situated Learning approach is based on

Situated Cognition Theory that suggests that learning is tied closely to authentic

activity, context and culture (Brown et al. 1989):

An authentic context for citizenship learning must be a

situation in which ‘real’ citizens might be required to think and

to act. It can be current, historical, or both; it can be near or far

in both time and place. (Hughes et al., 2000)

tlung (2001) applies Vygotsky’s theory to design principles o f Web-based

learning. He also establishes connections between the principles, drawn from

Vygotskian thought, and certain design considerations for W eb-based learning. For

example, Hung relates Principle A “Learning is demand driven - dependent on

engagement in practice” to a requirement f o r a W e b learningenvironm ent to have

personalized content for the learner. Principle B “Learning is a social act/construction

mediated between social beings through language, signs, genres, and tools” is related

to such design considerations as social, communicative and collaborative dimensions

of Web-based learning. Principle E states that “Learning is embedded in a rich

cultural and social context - acquiring both implicit and explicit knowledge.” In this

case, Hung suggests that a Web-based learning environment should allow learners to

39


access learning materials in their local context. Principle G “Learning is to transfer

knowledge from one situation to another, discovering relational and associated

meanings in concepts” is related by Hung to a Web-based learning environment that

facilitates learning through observation o f visual artefacts.

The above m entioned design considerations fo r W eb-based 1 earning c losely

coincide with the design methodology implemented by the project. The project’s Web

site provided personalized resources for Canadian and Russian teachers and students

(Principle A). Collaborative dimensions were addressed by providing a Discussion

board for students and teachers (Principle B). The project Web site consisted o f two

separate sites (Russian and Canadian) that provided resources based on the local

context (Principle E). In addition to the above, visuals played a prominent role within

the collection o f the project’s online learning resources (Principle G).

The project provided teachers and students with a wide range o f “ real life”

situations. The project’s research teams used a “blended learning” approach in which

teachers used online materials, in combination with conventional classroom training.

W ithin the project, developers on both sides created learning opportunities

using situations and springboards (anchors). The situations presented democratic

issues and concepts, for example, the value o f loyalty, or the meaning o f privacy. The

uniqueness o f the approach taken by the project was that researchers used authentic

materials to involve students in learning and discovery. A very important role in the

project was assigned to visual materials. The learning situation was usually presented

to students by showing a sequence o f 8-10 pictures. The pictures would be descriptive

enough to tell the story and appealing enough to draw the students into a discussion

40


about a particular topic. To achieve these results, the project’s Graphic Artist worked

closely with Content Developers/Researchers to portray the situations they wanted to

use.

The topic o f “Privacy” is a good example o f such jo in t work between a

Content Developer and a Graphic Artist. One o f the springboard scenarios, dealing

with the topic o f “Legal Aspects o f Privacy”, involved a discussion on the real-life

case o f unreasonable search and seizure. In the learning activity related to this topic,

students would learn all the details o f the real case and make a legal judgment. The

factual materials o f the case were presented as a series o f illustrations that led

students through the sequence o f events of the actual case. One o f the important

conditions o f this activity was to create an illusion o f the court environment, and help

students experience the process o f rendering a fair judgm ent. The use o f visuals here

was much more appropriate than the use of newspaper or magazine articles. Such

articles usually contain judgmental opinions that may influence students’ decisions,

one way or another. The Content Developer needed to spend a considerable amount

of time working with the Graphic Artist on the details o f each scene, making sure that

it properly presented all the facts of the case, without any additional visual

information that might influence students’ opinions.

Along with the visual story, presented through illustrations, the hypertext links

allowed students to learn the facts o f the case, and get additional supportive

information. Additional information sources included excerpts from the Canadian

Charter o f Rights and Freedoms, the Controlled drugs and Substances Act, excerpts

41


from precedents that deal with search and seizure cases and from the Privacy Act o f

New Brunswick, and a discussion o f reasonable grounds.

The above example demonstrates a very successful model o f Team interaction

between a Visual Artist and a Content Expert. Springboards, developed by the

project, have already been successfully tried by Canadian and Russian teachers in a

classroom environment, and received excellent responses from the users. The

project’s e-learning resources were also presented at several e-leaming conferences

and received positive responses. Today, many participating Canadian and Russian

schools are, on a daily basis, using the project’s Web-based resources to conduct

classes and to educate youngsters on democratic values.

However, the overall “look and feel” o f the project’s Web site has some

shortcomings. For example, it was not possible to maintain consistency in the design

of both projects’ Web sites - Canadian and Russian. The problem was that the

Graphic Artist on the Canadian project Team was, in fact, playing a role o f the

Creative Director for the project but in reality had no control over Web design

solutions adapted by the Russian project Team. The Canadian Graphic Artist, in fact,

had only played an advisory role for the Russian Development Team. This

shortcoming in the reporting structure o f the project Team led to inconsistency in

design that was not helpful for the users o f the project’s Web site.

It is recommended by Web usability experts that a Web site should have

consistency, and not only in the layout o f the individual Web pages, but also in how

images are presented, in the style o f the site’s navigation bar, the fonts used, and in

42


the overall functionality o f the site. As Nielson (1999) observes, “Consistency is the

key to usable interaction design."

Inconsistency gives the appearance o f non-reliable information. Appearance

is everything when presenting information; whether that information is fun, serious,

or just plain babble. Consistency makes Web site visitors more comfortable. This

especially relates to educational Web sites, where visitors are not only browsing or

buying products, but must learn and achieve certain learning outcomes.

4,4. Summary

The above examples represent my personal observations regarding the roles

multimedia team members play in the decision-making process on the “look and feel”

of the final product. These observations came from different multimedia development

environments including educational and edutainment/gaming.

Figure 4.1 represents the typical structure o f the CBT development team in

1994, where the Instructional Designer makes the final decisions on the “ look and

feel” o f the product. Figures 4.2 and 4.3 show the team structure for the edutainment

and gaming product development, where the Creative Director is the decision-maker.

Figure 4.4 shows an international e-leaming project’s team structure, where final

decisions about the “look and feel” were split between Canadian and Russian

counterparts.

43


Chapter V. Production of Multimedia: Surveys of

Multimedia Development Companies

5.1. Description of data collection

5.1.1. Participants in the study

This research study was carried out with the participation o f a number of

private multimedia development companies and the University multimedia

development projects in the province o f New Brunswick. The choice o f investigating

the New Brunswick multimedia industry was made based on New Brunswick’s

leading position in Canada in the area o f e-leaming and multimedia development, as

well as on the prominent role o f this sector in New Brunswick’s economy (Schaefer

et al., 2002). The province o f New Brunswick has a wide variety o f multimedia

development companies and organizations working on the development of

multimedia products for education and entertainment fields. M ultimedia products for

educational purposes can be subdivided into computer-based training (CBT) and e-

leaming products; while entertainment multimedia includes gaming products and

edutainment software. Thus, the participants in the study were chosen to represent the

above mentioned multimedia development sectors.

A total o f six companies and organizations were invited to participate in the

study. Two were private IT companies involved in the development o f CBT products

for Canadian and international markets. Another two private companies specialized in

developing e-leaming products for Canadian and international markets. The fifth

private company participating in the study specialized in game development for

44


Canadian and international markets. The last participant was the University-based

team o f developers. This team worked on development o f the educational resources

for the Web. In total, fourteen industry professionals from the participating

companies and organizations completed research questionnaires and thirteen o f them

participated in interviews with the researcher. Due to the limited number o f gaming

companies in New Brunswick, only one gaming company was invited to participate

in the study, but in-depth interviews were conducted with five professionals from this

company.

5.1.2. Questionnaire and interview data collection process

The research questionnaire design process is described in detail in Chapter 3,

part 3. This questionnaire was designed to prepare participants for a face-to-face

interview with the researcher. The main participants in the study were members o f the

multimedia development team including the Senior Manager, Project Manager, Team

Leader, Instructional Designer, Visual Artist, Game Designer, Graphic Artist,

Multimedia Developer, Programmer, etc.

In compliance with the University Policy on Research Involving Humans

(UNB, 2000), the procedure used by the researcher in requesting participation in the

questionnaire surveys and interviews is described in Appendix A. According to this

procedure, the recruitment o f participants was conducted as follows. A letter was sent

to the company/organization’s President or Manager, explaining the purpose and

procedures o f this research study, and requesting their consent to allow the researcher

to contact selected members o f the development team with a request to participate in

the research questionnaires and interviews (Appendix A2). P ersonal meetings with

45


the President or M anager o f the company were conducted on several occasions to

further explain the research study, and to communicate the desirable choice of

participants. After obtaining a signed consent form from the company’s President or

Manager, the researcher sent a letter to several development team members

explaining the purpose o f the research study, and asking them for participation in the

questionnaire and in the follow-up interview with the researcher (Appendix A3). The

intent was to provide participants with the main topics o f the interview through the

questionnaire. This gave the participants a clearer understanding o f the interview

content. Only the participants who signed a consent form were contacted with

questionnaires and with follow up interviews. Participants had a choice to fill in the

questionnaire, but refuse to participate in the interview, if they were not comfortable

doing so. Questionnaires and interview questions did not reveal any personal

information about the participants and did not collect any identifiable personal

information.

All questionnaire responses and researcher’s notes, taken during the interviews,

are currently kept in a secure locked office, with only the researcher having access to

these documents.

5.2. Data coding

To assure anonymity o f the companies, organizations and participants, the

following data coding scheme was adapted. All companies and organizations,

participating in the study were divided into two categories: entertainment multimedia

developers (G) and educational multimedia developers (E). Individual participants

from the entertainment sector were coded as G1-G5 with a position descriptor.

46


Position descriptors were chosen to code the participants’ position in the development

team, or in the com pany’s structure. Correspondingly, the individual participants

from the educational sector were coded as E1-E9 with a position descriptor. Tables

5.1 and 5.2 show the details o f the adapted coding system for different multimedia

industry sectors and for the individual participants in the study.

Table 5.1. Coding system for the entertainment multimedia sector

Entertainment Multimedia (gaming company)

Position Title Participant coding

Team Leader G1 -Manager

Game designer G2-Designer G3-Designer

Graphic Artist/Animator G4-Artist G5-Artist

Table 5.2. Coding system for the educational multimedia sector

Educational Multimedia (CBT, e-leaming)

Position Title Participant coding

Senior Manager E l - Manager

Project Manager E2- Manager E3- Manager

Instructional Designer E4-Designer E5-Designer

Developer E6-Developer

Media Artist E7-Artist E8-Artist E9-Artist

All questionnaire and interview records were labeled, according to the

participant’s coding, and all personal identifying information was removed from the

47


working copies o f the documents. Each answer on the questionnaire is identified in

this thesis by the question number (Q1-Q15) and by the participant’s encoding. For

example, a designation Q1/E2, in the text, means that this was an answer to Question

1 by the participant coded as E2-Manager. Similarly, a designation o f Q3/G5 means

that this was an answer to Question 3 in the questionnaire given by participant G5-

Artist. Correspondingly, all interview quotations are identified by the interview

question number (11-115) and by the individual participant’s encoding, for example

I6/E4 quotation denotes the record o f participant E4-Designer elaborating on

Question 6 during the interview with the researcher.

The educational multimedia development c ompanies that participated in the

study are designated as Ed-A, Ed-B, Ed-C, Ed-D and Ed-F. The gaming company that

participated in the study is designated as G-H.

5.3. Data Description

Data collected in the field are described in Appendix 2. This data includes the

following:

Data on participants in the study

Data on the development teams and companies

Data on the development team environment

Data on the final decision-making on the “ look and feel”

Suggestions on improvements

48


Chapter VI. Data Analysis and Discussion

6.1. Research Survey Data Analysis

The field data discovery process that involved questionnaires, interviews and

the data, described in Chapter V, led me to identity the following topics. These topics

later became categories in my research.

6.1.1. W ho makes the final decisions on the “look and feel”?

Based on the reviewed literature discussed in Chapter 11, part 3 and on my

personal experiences in developing educational and entertainment multimedia

products (Chapter 4), this question became one o f the key topics o f the research

study. M y initial assumption was that within the educational multimedia development

process, it is the Instructional Designer or the Project M anager (with an Instructional

Design or Business background) who has the final say on the “ look and feel” o f the

multimedia product. Contrary to this, in the entertainment industry, a different

approach is applied which puts the Creative Director or the Game Designer (people

who often have a formal education in design or visual art) in the decision making

position on the “ look and feel” o f the final product. In Chapter II part 3, these

approaches are discussed correspondingly as the “Instructional” and “Creative”

approaches.

The field data collection process was designed to investigate who, in the

multimedia development company, has the most impact on the “ look and feel” o f the

final multimedia product and thereby test the researcher’s assumptions. During field

data collection and the data description process (Chapter V), the following patterns

emerged.

49


Pattern 1 Within the gaming industry, a Game Designer or a Graphic Artist makes

the fina l decisions about the "look and fe e l" o f the multimedia product. This

generalization is supported by the data collected in the questionnaires and interviews,

for example:

“Game Designer, the Visual person, you can say with

confidence, has the final say [on the ‘look and feel’]...O ur

Game Designers usually have graphic experience” (I14/G1).

Similar statements are also expressed in other answers, for example:

“Generally, I, as a Game Designer, make final decision on the

‘look and feel’ o f the multimedia product” ... (Q14/G2),

or

“it mostly comes down to the Game Designers and Artist in

the end. The Game Designers must accurately convey the look

they want to the Artist and they must arrive at the final Took’

together...” (Q14/G3).

Pattern 2 - Within the educational multimedia development companies m ost o f the

time, the client makes the fina l decision on the “look and fe e l" . This pattern strongly

emerged from the responses provided by employees o f educational multimedia

development companies, despite the original researcher’s assumption. All the

participants from the educational multimedia teams, in their statements one way or

another, confirmed this pattern. These are some examples o f the data:

“The final decision on the Took and feel’ o f the multimedia

product lies with the client. The development team usually

50


shares their ideas to make for the best ‘look and feel’ possible”

(Q14/E2).

and

“The client makes the ultimate decisions. We have been on this

project for over two years and, as such, have well-developed

standards for scope o f each deliverable. The client, though,

review each deliverable and advise us o f any preferred

changes” (Q14/E3).

or

“Typically, the client [decides] with some input from all other

team members” (Q14/E4).

as well as,

“We had many instances where we produced the graphics...

but they [clients] did not like the graphics, because it was too

mesmerizing for the class... It is always up to the client, they

get the final say on the product, every look, every feel, and

right down to how bright is the background or co lo rs...”

(I14/E8).

Regarding my original assumption, that the Instructional Designers or Project

Managers make decisions on the “look and feel” o f the educational multimedia

products, I confirmed during the interview process that this is indeed the case for the

purpose o f the internal decision-making process in most o f the companies I studied.

Responses from participants o f four out o f five educational companies support this

51


statement. At the fifth company, the team structure was recently reorganized, placing

a Lead Graphic Artist (Technical Team Leader) in a consulting position on the final

“look and feel” o f the product. In this particular company, one o f the participants

mentioned that:

“Generally, today, in the company, the Took and feel’ is up to

the Senior Graphic Artist person to take a look at it and sign

off... In the past, it has been anything from Instructional

Designer saying no, we don’t like the interface, change it, or

maybe development saying, no, this functionality is not going

to work, graphically, and programmatically...” (I14/E6).

In other companies participants responded that:

“It will be the Project Manager who will decide in case o f the

disagreement between the Team Leads about some elements o f

the final product” (I10/E5).

or

“The client determined which courses had priority, and then the

project manager assigned them to Instructional Designers. The

Instructional Designers requested graphics o f the M edia Artists

(Graphic Designers). Sometimes the Subject Matter Experts

would request changes to the final product. In these cases, the

Instructional Designers would have to submit new graphic

requests to the Media Artists. Whenever we asked for changes

52


or clarifications o f the graphics standards, our questions were

ignored” (Q10/E7).

and

“ ...There has been a switch lately when most o f the power

went to Project Managers, so that they make all decisions about

everything. This, sometimes, could be very good, but it also

can b e frustrating, b ecause you d o n ’t feel you have as m uch

control as you would like over your project.. .’’(I12/E5).

as well as,

“Three individuals [are making decisions on the final look and

feel]: Lead ID [Lead Instructional Designer], client, and Project

Manager” (Q 14/El)

It is important to mention that when the researcher inquired about the

background o f the clients that make final decisions on the “look and feel” o f the

product there was general understanding that they do not necessarily have a design or

visual arts background. For example, one participant responded:

“They are a mix o f Instructional Designers and Research and

Development people...” (I14/E8),

and other participants stated:

“ ...T he ultimate decision is the clients’, even though they

might not be the experts in that field” (I14/E6);

and

53


“I would say that our clients have no background in design and

visual art” (I14/E2).

Thus, as follows from this study, within the educational

multimedia development process, the final “ look and feel” o f the product

is decided by clients, that do not necessarily have a design or visual arts

background.

6.1.2. Team Structure and Workflow

In the analysis o f participants’ responses, to the questions related to team

structure and workflow, the following patterns were observed.

Pattern 3 In educational multimedia development workflow, most often, it is the

Instructional D esigners w ho request graphics f rom th e G raphic Designers. This is

evident from the workflow diagrams constructed by the researcher, based on

participants’ responses, for several educational multimedia companies, such as Ed-A,

Ed-C, Ed-D, and Ed-F (As presented in Chapter V, Figures 5.1, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5).

According to one o f the study participants, the workflow was:


Project M anager assigned them to Instructional Designers. The

Instructional Designers requested graphics o f the M edia Artists

(Graphic D esigners)...” (Q10/E7)

Another participant made an interesting observation, revealing how things

usually work within the development team:

“Within a team, it is nice for Instructional Designers to go to

Developers and to Graphic Artists and say: ‘Here is what I am

54


thinking about o f doing. Is this going to work in reality?’

Because, for a long time, a lot of things would just get asked

for, and no one, really, would speak against them .. .you spend a

lot o f time trying to create something that, really, could have

been written differently, before it would be sent to a client, and

signed o ff ...” (II1-12/E6).

Pattern 4 Project Managers in the educational multimedia development companies,

predominantly, have Instructional Design, Business Administration, and

Programming/Coding backgrounds (no visual background).

The following examples present what participants wrote about themselves, or

about their Project M anager’s background:

“Project Manager: certificate in Instructional Design” (Q6/E1).

or

“As a Project Manager, my background is in Teaching and

Instructional Design” (Q6/E2).

and

“The Project Manager has a background in Instructional Design” (Q6/E4).

as well as,

“Business Administration” (Q6/E5).

and

“Coding, Business Admin [Administration]” (Q6/E8).

One study participant, in response to a question in the questionnaire, provided

an interesting suggestion relating to the Project M anager’s background:

55


“Give P Ms [ Project M anagers] m ore e xperience f rom t he ED

[Instructional Designj/Graphics/Development worlds”

(Q15/E5).

He/she expended on this idea in the follow up interview:

“Project Management, probably, is where the most conflict

com es... They often can’t relate, or they try to relate, but they

really don’t . . .They don’t want to talk to the client and tell them

that we will be a week la te ... ” (I15/E5).

6.1.3. T eam environm ent and com m unication issues

This topic emerged from several responses to questions in the questionnaire

related to team environment and its impact on the quality o f the final product. In the

data analyses stage, there were two patterns that were identified for this category

based on the research data collected in the field.

Pattern 5 The issue o f communication in the development team environment strongly

emerged from the data. The importance of good communication within the team

environment w as m entioned s everal t imes. T here w ere also s ome p articipants w ho

believed that there is a lack o f communication in the team, and it is having an impact

on the quality o f the product. For example, one participant wrote:

“The one thing, if I can change anything, I would increase the

lines o f communication. I f we can find the way to make

communication flow easier between each level o f development,

back and forth, it can’t be just one-directional. For

communication to work it has to be two way street. And if you

56


could affect one tiling on the production line that’s where I

would s ta r t... Often times working w ith th e C o d e ra n d Gam e

Designer and Team Leader during the meeting you spend 10

minutes talking about the same thing and you don’t realize you

are talking about the same thing. It can be frustrating...”

(I12/G5).

Another participant, from a gaming company, mentioned:

“On occasions, there is disorganization, due to the lack o f

communications between the team players” (Q12/G4).

Other participants, from the educational multimedia development

companies, stated:

“Being aware o f other people’s jobs might help. Even if they

are not capable o f doing everybody’s jobs, if they can, at least,

be aware, it might help to improve the quality...A void the

separation between departm ents...If the teams can

communicate between each other, it is a good thing, it affects a

quality ...” (II5/E4).

and

“I think communication could have helped to create better

graphics, I f our concerns had been addressed, or our questions

answered, we could have produced a better product” (Q15/E7).

or

57


“Respect and understanding that other people, other-functions,

like Graphics, Development, Instructional Design, QA, those

people, probably, know a lot more than you know about their

field, then everything will run much smoother” (I15/E6).

as well as,

“ ...B etter communication between and across game

development teams to help prevent inconsistencies in the

standards and reinventing the wheel” (Q15/G2).

Pattern 6 Several multimedia development companies participating in the study

utilized the “open space concept” in the workspace arrangement. During interviews

with the study participants from these companies, it became clear that there was

noticeable dissatisfaction with this particular setup.

The following are quotes from the research data:

“Open concept. Noisy. Many interruptions“(Q12/E5).

and

“ I don’t think the team members’ workspaces are adequate...

Some have very poor lighting, limited space, and the Lead

should have an office, but those are impossible to get. There

are no ‘break-away’ rooms in which team members can go to

discuss issues in private, such as performance, personal matters

the Leads should know, and even just to vent!” (Q12/E3).

or

58


“As the general work atmosphere, you got to make people want

to come to work, they can’t be dreading it here. Sometimes we

do it right, sometimes we do it wrong... I think our large open

area i s t oo i mpersonal and t here i s v ery I ittle p rivacy.. .Feels

like a big w arehouse...I think things like this definitely impact

on quality o f the fmal product” (I13/G3).

Thus, it is clear that people, in the large multimedia companies, dislike the

“open space" arrangement o f the workspace, and think that it has an impact on the

quality o f what they are doing (Pattern 6).

6.1.4. W ho has input on the quality of the final product

Questionnaire and interview answers from study participants revealed

important information about what team members feel regarding their input in the

decision making process affecting the quality o f the final product.

Pattern 7 In the gaming company Project Managers, Game Designers and Graphic

Artists all fe e l that they have significant input in the decision making process. In the

educational multimedia companies, only Project Managers fe e l that they have a

significant input on the quality o f the fin a l product. The following participants’

responses confirm this pattern.

Team members o f the gaming company:

“Group Leader and Game Designer have significant inpu t...” (Q10/G1).

or

“As a Game Designer, I say, I have 90 percent control o f the

final product” (Q10/G2).

59


and

“Currently - a great d eal, i t i s t he G ame D esigner w ho m ust

both, define and drive the vision o f the project...” (Q10/G3).

as well as,

“Every visual queue development, animation, piece o f

information, comes, directly from my hand. The final product,

that is. The inception o f the ideas, on the other hand, may come

from other sources, but the final product that on the screen is

all m e” (I10/G5).

Project M anagers from the educational multimedia development teams responded

with:

“ ...considerable input. Responsible for most o f the overall

design, scope and instructional model” (Q 10/El).

and

“I have final input on quality o f products before they go to the

client” (Q10/E2).

or

“I h ave h igh 1 evel i nput i n r egards t o m atters o f s cope, c ost,

and time” (Q10/E3).

In the educational multimedia development companies, there was a variety of

responses to the question from team members other than Project Managers. These are

their thoughts about input on the quality o f the final product:

60


“I have full right to make suggestions - no right to make final

decision” (Q10/E4).

as well as

“Some input - lots o f constrains due to time and money” (Q10/E5).

and, a response from an Axtist

“0 [zero]” (Q10/E8).

One o f the answers also revealed dissatisfaction with the way how things are done:

“ ...There has been a switch, lately, when most o f the power

went to Project Managers, so that they make all decisions about

everything. This, sometimes, could be very good, but it also

can b e frustrating, because you d o n ’t feel you have as m uch

control, as you would like, over your project...” (I12/E5).

Pattern S Issues related to creativity in multimedia production were brought up, in

large part, by participants belonging to the Artist Group. For example:

“If we would be allowed to be creative, we would be able to

cut costs and have a better product than they want; better

working and better looking...But as far as what they are

expecting from us, w e’re delivering...” (I13/E8).

or

“ ...everything is standardized, there is no room for creativity”

(I12/E8).

and

61


It was clear that the people, who came up with the

standards, were not taking into account the nature o f the

content for the graphics, we actually had to produce. There was

also very little room for any creativity” (Q11-12/E7).

as well as,

..W ith my art I know what the Game Designer and the team

is looking for. Sometimes, I feel that some o f the creative

freedoms o f that final art that, I feel, projects the feel and the

look o f the game, is, sometimes, taken away by those who are

not in the creative department that I am, so, I feel, sometimes,

that I could have more say ...” (I10/G4).

on the other hand, one Graphic Artist was quite satisfied:

“The team is small, communication is easy, and there is a room

for creativity” (Q11/E9).

From the above examples, it is clear that Artists in the development teams, in

both industries, are troubled with restraints on their creativity (Pattern 8).

6.2. Discussion

As mentioned in Chapter 11 part 3, the gam ing industry is an example o f a

successful multimedia development industry with high future growth projections. One

of the factors that contributes to the success o f the entertainment multimedia products

is that, by their nature, they have to be visually appealing to engage users. The

importance o f visual presentation in multimedia was stressed in Chapter II, part 2. It

62


was also stressed in Chapter II part 3, that in the entertainment industry, within the

development team, it is usually a creative person who makes decisions about the final

“look and feel” o f the entertainment multimedia product, creating a feeling of

ownership:

“ ...T he most important factor in assuring a quality o f the end

product is a talented and motivated team. Talent gets hired, but

motivation comes from a sense o f ‘ownership’ in the project”

(Q13/G2).

and

“If you put two identical products side by side, it’s human

nature that we gonna pick the one that looks better and that

appeals more” (I12/G5).

In Chapter 4, I described my personal experiences in the development o f an

edutainment product as a member o f a small multimedia development company. In

this company I was a member of one development team and, in addition, closely

observed the development o f a computer game by another development team in the

same company (we had an open space workplace arrangement). My experience in this

company confirms the validity o f Pattern 1. Additionally, through conversations

with my colleagues and students, during my teaching years at the NB College o f Craft

and Design and the M ultimedia Studies Program at UNB, I discovered that this is a

common trend in the small and medium size entertainment multimedia development

companies. The results o f my field study {Pattern 1) confirm that the same is true for

larger size entertainment multimedia development companies. Pattern 7, in turn,

63


shows the sense o f ownership and contribution to the quality o f the final product that

all members o f the gaming development team have.

In the educational multimedia development industry, as Pattern 2 shows, the

final decisions on “ look and feel” o f the educational multimedia product are made by

the clients that do not necessarily are proficient in the art o f visual presentation.

Pattern 3 reveals that in the educational multimedia development teams, it is

the Instructional Designers who request graphics from the Graphic Designers, and

Pattern 4 shows that Project Managers in the educational multimedia companies,

predominantly, have no visual art background. My study shows that Instructional

Designers constitute a significant proportion o f the Project Managers within

educational multimedia development. However, according to my observations from

Chapter I, part 1, Instructional Designers are in general not well prepared for the

important multimedia design and visual decision-making task, because, typically,

they are insufficiently trained in the art o f multimedia, and especially in the art of

visual presentation. Thus, it seems that the decision-making process on the final “look

and feel” in the educational multimedia industry is conducted by people (clients,

Project Managers, Instructional Designers) who, in most cases, have no visual art

background.

The importance o f visuals in educational resources is well supported by the

literature review presented in Chapter II, part 2. If we assume that there is a

correlation between the “ look and feel” and the success o f the final product, it would

be logical to look for ways to empower the people who are making final decisions on

these aspects o f the product.

64


One solution involves the establishment o f certain training requirements for

positions that involve final decision-making. For example, visual art training should

be required for people who are involved in the final decision-making on the “look and

feel” . Instructional Designers constitute a large proportion o f decision makers in this

area, thus, supplementing Instructional Design courses with the required visual art

and multimedia content development courses would be beneficial.

Another recommendation is to help people in decision-making positions who

currently lack this type o f training. One way to prepare and empower them would be

to provide them with computer-based tools. These tools would help them to establish

visual communication channels between the client and the development team. This, in

turn, could help resolve the communication issues within the development team

environment that surfaced in Pattern 5. I also believe that the dissatisfaction with the

lack of creativity (Pattern 8) would be eased by providing better communication

within the team.

An example o f the “Assistant” tool that helps to design high quality “look and

feel” interfaces for the educational multimedia products is presented in the following

chapter.

65


Chapter VII. “Look and Feel” Assistant Tool

In the previous chapter, I identified some patterns that emerged from the

research data related to the educational and entertainment multimedia development

processes. Several prominent patterns revealed that the decision-making process on

the final “look and feel” in the educational multimedia development industry is

conducted by people (clients, Project Managers, Instructional Designers) that, most of

the time, have no visual art background. One o f the suggested solutions was to

empower decision-makers and the development team members with an assistive tool.

This tool can assist in creating the “look and feel” o f the user interface (UI) for the

educational multimedia products.

7.1. Background

Several design approaches are frequently used by the software development

community to develop user interfaces (UI) for software products. For example,

Palanque and Bastide (2003) describe five of these approaches:

• Abstraction first: architectures at the forefront

• Semantic first: metaphors at the forefront

• Implementation first: toolkits at the forefront

• Process first: user centered design

• Model first: model-based approaches

The “abstraction first” approach is based on the description o f a typical

structure o f an interactive system in terms o f abstract functionalities to be covered.

This approach is based on the Seeheim and Arch design models (Bass et ah, 1991).

66


The “semantic first: metaphors at the forefront” approach usually involves the use of

metaphors to provide the unifying view o f software e lements. Toolkits are used to

make the life o f software designers easier. However, most o f UI toolkits are hard to

master and are usually poorly documented. UI design based on the “process first”

approach is an iterative, incremental, user-centered design process. Initially it

involves low fidelity software prototypes, and then moves towards high fidelity

prototypes influenced by user feedback. The last UI design approach is model-based.

It supports many models, such as the domain model; task model and scenarios; the

user model; the platform model that links to the toolkits and to the environment; and

the presentation model that is based on the appearance o f the application, etc.

(Palanque and Bastide, 2003).

In this section, I would like to focus on model-based UI design. It is reviewed

and thoroughly described by Szekely (1996). Pie describes a generic model-based

interface development architecture consisting o f four main components: modeling

tools, a model, automated design and implementation tools. Modeling tools may

include a “design critics and advisors” component. This component provides a set of

tools to evaluate UI design. Design advisors frequently use a knowledge base of

design knowledge, typically represented as rules, where the condition part o f the rule

presents a design element and the action part presents a way o f refining the matched

design element.

There are some well-known difficulties with the automated UI design

approach. The main concern is the quality o f the interface produced using the

automated tools, hi addition, it is frequently not feasible to produce high quality

67


interfaces from just data and task models (Haming, 1996; Wilson, 1996).

Consequently, some o f the model-based interface design environments (MB-IDEs)

are moving away from automation and towards the use o f computerized advisors.

In this section, I will focus on the model-based and user-centered design

approaches. User-centered design, or rather the customer-centered design approach,

for Web applications, is described in detail by Van Duyne et al. (2002). In their book

they use the term “customer-centered” design rather than “user-centered” design and

argue that the term customer “evokes the fact that successful Web sites account for

issues that go beyond ease o f use and satisfaction...’’(van Duyne et al., 2002). In

educational multimedia development, I believe, the appropriate term should be

“client-centered” UI design, as the client, normally, has the final say on the UI design

and, especially, on “ look and feel” issues, as shown in Chapter VI. For example, one

o f the participants in my research study expressed a great deal o f frustration with the

amount o f time and money wasted by educational courseware development

companies on preliminary interface design that is often rejected by the client during

the first meeting.

7.2. Client-Centered Interface Design Approach

User-centered design is defined in the ISO 13407 standard. It typically

“entails involving users in the design and evaluation o f the system so that feedback

can be obtained” (Nunes, 2003). However, in educational multimedia development,

as I mentioned previously, the “client-centered” design approach should be

considered instead. This design approach is very close to the “customer-centered”

design approach that is proposed for Web site design (van Duyne et al., 2002). There

68


are some obvious differences between Web site design and educational multimedia

design, but considering that many educational products are designed for the Web, and

also accounting for some striking similarities with issues related to “technology-

centered” design and “designer-centered” design approaches for both domains, it

would be useful to discuss the arguments o f the “customer-centered” design

proponents. We need to look at the value of their approach by comparing it to other

design styles.

First o f all, the customer-centered design builds on the user-centered design

by fusing marketing issues with usability issues. Marketing issues, indeed, are quite

important in the e-learning industry, where the client is usually not buying a “shrink-

wrapped” software product, and is from the beginning, actively participating in the

development process.

Utilizing the customer-centered design approach should help the development

team to escape the pitfalls o f the company-centered design process, where the needs

and interests o f the company dominate the structure and the content o f the final

software product. The fatal flaw in this approach is that often what the company

thinks should be in the product is not necessarily what customers, or, in the case of

educational multimedia development, clients, need or want.

Products developed using the technology-centered design approach are often

built with little upfront research about customer needs and business needs, resulting

in products overloaded with animations, audio and graphics and often looking

amateurish. This, unfortunately, is often the case with educational multimedia

products where flashy graphics and animations substitute for educational values.

69


The designer-centered design approach is the one that is the most difficult to

escape. Often the thinking is: “What the client sometimes doesn’t understand is the

less they talk to us, the better it is. We know what’s best” (van Duyne et al., 2002,

p. 11). In the designer-centered approach the needs o f clients are placed beneath the

creative and expressive needs o f the designer. This approach normally will not work

well in the courseware development environment, where, as mentioned before,

clients’ preferences have the most impact on the design outcomes.

As follows from the previous chapters, in educational multimedia

development only careful consideration of the client needs will help to achieve long-

lasting success. Considering the nature of educational multimedia development, it is

highly appropriate for Instructional Designers to lead product development teams.

However, knowing the Instructional Designers’ lack o f training in the art o f visual

presentation I propose that the development team leaders be aided by with the stand

alone “look and feel” software advisor tools. These tools will help in creating

presentation models that could be used for initial meetings with clients. During the

meeting the clients would be presented with a range o f professionally designed user

interfaces that they c an g ive feedback on and clearly express their preferences. B y

properly recoding the clients’ preferences and reaction to the proposed interfaces, the

discussions during the meeting could be quickly translated into a successful,

client-centered “ look and feel” design.

7. 3, “Look and Feel” Advisor Tool

The advisor tool leads the developer through a set o f steps in defining the

“look and feel” o f the user interface. The steps in this process are the general design

70


steps, starting with choosing the style, then selecting colors, choosing the layout and

graphics, typography, etc. For example, a designer would begin by choosing from a

selection o f styles like Art Deco, Graffiti, Modernism, Neoclassic, Renaissance, Rave

Color, etc. (Figure 7.1).

M eta inform ationC olorcom binations

S ty le

R epository o f UI design presetsG raphicsLayout T ypography

V isual design ob jec ts repository

Layoutobjects TypefacesG raphic

objects

Figure 7.1. “Look and feel” advisor tool architecture

The advisor will then offer a choice o f color combinations compatible with the

style chosen, giving the designer the opportunity to select one color combination. The

choices o f color combinations could be based on the existing color combination

Image Scales similar to the one developed by Kobayashi Ltd. in Japan (Kobayashi,

71


1991). In the Image Scale developed by Kobayashi, the color combinations have

some particular key words assigned to them with a defined feeling attached to a key

word: for example a “cheerful” or a “fresh” feeling. K ey words that convey similar

feelings are grouped i nto b roader categories and the nam es o f these categories are

taken from terms used in fashion, such as “elegant” or “romantic” .

As the next step, the designer will choose the layout, graphics and typography.

The advisor tool offers a choice o f layout designs based on the style chosen. Graphics

choices are based on the style and the color combinations selected previously, and the

choice o f typography is based on the style, color and graphics chosen. The

typography choice, in particular, could be based on typestyles classifications similar

to the one developed by Will-Harris (1990). In his classification all typefaces are

divided into two large groups, Formal Typefaces and Casual Typefaces. Each of these

groups is further divided into body and display type groups and these groups, in turn,

are further divided into six subgroups expressing different feelings such as “friendly”,

“serious”, “cool”, “warm”, etc.

The “ look and feel” advisor should be designed to work with the company’s

visual design objects repository that contains graphic objects, layout objects and

typefaces. The purpose o f this repository is to provide extra choices and support for

the design team in refining the UI design after or during the meeting with the client.

Objects in the visual design object repository should contain meta information that

reflects s tyle a nd appropriate c olor combination. T his w ill h elp i n c ustomizing t he

“look and feel” o f the user interface according to client preferences. This approach

also helps in escaping the pitfalls o f the fully automated UI design that is shown to be

72


undesirable in the following context: the computer might not be as creative as a good

Graphic Artist, or there may be some problem in the design that is out o f the scope of

the automatic code generator (Belenguer et al, 2003).

73


Chapter VIII. Conclusions and Recommendations

8.1. Conclusions

This research study focused on the description and analysis o f different

approaches in development o f educational multimedia courseware, and their impact

on the overall quality o f the final product. In particular, this research study

investigated what could be done to improve the overall visual quality o f educational

multimedia products. The research program was carried out as a case study o f several

multimedia development projects and involved a number o f private multimedia

development companies and the university multimedia development projects in the

Province o f New Brunswick. One part o f this study was based on my own

experiences as a member o f several multimedia development teams and on ten years

of multimedia teaching within the University and Community College systems. The

other part o f the study was carried out as a survey, with a total o f six participating

companies and organizations. The survey included research questionnaires and

follow- up interviews. In total, fourteen industry professionals, from the participating

companies and organizations, completed research questionnaires and thirteen of them

participated in interviews.

This study brought forth the following conclusions:

• W ithin the gaming industry, the Game Designer, the Creative Director, or the

Graphic Artist (usually people with a visual art background) make the final

decisions about the “ look and feel” of the multimedia product. This generates

a feeling o f “ownership” within the development team that impacts on the

74


quality o f the final product. In a gaming company Project Managers, Game

Designers and Graphic Artists all feel that they have significant input in the

decision making process.

On the other hand,

• W ithin educational multimedia companies, only Project Managers believe that

they have significant input on the quality o f the final product. Project

Managers in educational multimedia development companies, predominantly,

have Instructional Design, Business Administration, and

Programming/Coding backgrounds (no visual background). The final “ look

and feel” o f the product is decided by clients who do not necessarily have a

design or visual arts background. Thus, within educational multimedia

development companies, the final decision on the “look and feel” of the

product is left to people without required expertise in the field o f visual

design. The problem is aggravated when it is combined with poor

communication within the development team and a feeling o f restrained

creativity.

• Another issue that surfaced as a result o f the study is that people within large

multimedia companies dislike the “open space” arrangement o f the

workspace, and think that it affects the quality o f what they are doing.

75


8.2. Recom m endations

Among the possible solutions for improving the visual quality o f the

educational multimedia products, my first recommendation would be to make certain

training requirements for positions that involve final decision-making. For example,

visual art training should become a requirement for people who are involved in the

final decision-making on the “look and feel” o f the product. Instructional Designers

constitute a large proportion o f decision-makers in this area, thus supplementing the

Instructional Design Curriculum with the required visual art and multimedia content

development courses could have a significant positive impact on the industry.

I also believe that increasing the level of visual literacy for high school

students should become a priority for high school curriculum developers.

Unfortunately, within the modern North American educational system “ ...most

people receive years o f training in verbal communication but receive almost no

assistance in the art and science o f communicating visually” (Lohr, 2003, p.5).

8.2.1. Visual Communication in Education: Course Outline

As an example, I propose an outline for a course in visual communications as

a part o f the Instructional Design Curriculum.

COURSE O UTLINE

Visual Com m unication in Education

Course description

This course is designed to introduce Instructional Designers and Educators to

the basics o f visual communication. Participants will leam about the role o f visuals in

education and master basic principles o f visual design. Throughout the course the

76


balance between theory and practice will be maintained. This course is also designed

to encourage creative exploration through the synthesis o f technology and design

skills. The participants will be provided with information on typography, color

theory, raster and vector-based graphics, digital video and sound.

Course objectives

Upon successful completion o f this course, the participant will be able to:

M aster visual grammar and basic principles o f visual design

Develop an understanding o f how visual information is organized

Develop the ability to evaluate the quality o f visual information

Develop competency in the presentation of a wide variety o f visual

material with clarity and effectiveness

Obtain the knowledge and skills required to design visuals for

instructional purposes

Overview of topics covered in the course

1. Learning to see (introduction)

2. Visuals and learning

3. Images in visual communication

4. The language o f design

5. Basic principles o f design for instruction

6. From type to typography

7. Communicating with colour

8. Cognitively-based principles o f design (figure/ground, hierarchy, and gestalt)

9. Screen layout design for instruction

77


10. Putting it all together

Course resources:

Linda L Lohr, Creating graphics for learning and performance: Lessons in visual

literacy. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merill Prentice Hall, 2003, ISBN: 0-13-

090712-X.

Russel N. Baird, Duncan McDonald, Ronald H. Pittman, Arthur T. Turnbull, The

graphics o f communication: Methods, media and technology. 6th edition, Fort Worth,

TX: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1993, ISBN: 0-03-074977-8.

8.2.2. A ssistant tools and o ther recom m endations

This research shows that within educational multimedia development only

careful consideration o f client’s needs will achieve long lasting success and client

satisfaction with the “ look and feel” o f the final product. In view o f this, I believe that

the client-centered approach would be the most suitable for designing user interfaces

for educational multimedia products.

I propose to use this approach and utilize the “ look and feel” advisor tool

described in the previous chapter that can help development teams to quickly produce

the first draft o f the “ look and feel” design. During the meeting with a client, this tool

could be used to effectively identify the client’s preferences for the product’s “look

and feel” design. T his could lead to savings in tim e and money. T im e and money

currently spent by educational multimedia development companies on preliminary

interface design that is often rejected by the client during the first meeting. The “look

and feel” advisor tool could also help to improve communication not only with the

78


client, but between the team members, leading to improved satisfaction with the team

environment.

Another important step towards improving satisfaction with the team

environment, as revealed by this research study, is to change the “open space”

arrangement within the large multimedia development companies. Introducing the

workspace arrangements that allow more privacy and comfort for the team members

could positively impact the quality o f the final product.

79


REFERENCES

Anglin, G.L, Towers, R. L. & Levie, W. H. (2002). Visual message design and learning: the role o f static and dynamic illustrations. In Handbook o f Research fo r Educational Communications and Technology. David Jonassen (Ed.): 755-794. Online,http ://www. aect.org/Intranet/Publications/edtech/index.html.

Appelman, R.L. (1993). The effects o f congruency between structural and contextual dominance in image processing. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Indiana University.

ArtsEdNet. (1997). The pow er o f images in education. Online. http://it.wce.wwu.edu/necc97/poster4/ArtsEdNet/WebWhackerAVW81.html.

Baltes, C. (2001, October-December). The E-Learning balancing act: Training and education with multimedia, IEEE MultiMedia, 16-18.

Bates, A. (2000). Managing technological change: Strategies fo r college and university leaders, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc. Publishers.

Belenguer, J., Parra, J., Torres, I. & Molina, P. (2003). HCI designers and engineers: Is it possible to work together? In the Proceeding o f the IF IP INTERACT Workshop: Closing the Gap: Software Engineering and Human-Computer Interaction. Online. http://www.se-hci.org/bridging/interact/index.html.

Bodgan, R. & Biklen, S.K. (1998). Qualitative research fo r education (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon, Inc.

Braden, R.A. (1993). Visualizing the verbal and verbalizing the visual. In R.A. Braden & A.D. W alker ( E d s f Seeing ourselves: visualization in a social context. Blacksburg, VA: The International Visual Literacy Association, Inc. (ERIC document reproduction services No.ED 233 677).

Braden, R. A. (2002). Visual literacy. In Handbook o f Research fo r Educational Communications and Technology. David Jonassen (Ed.): 491-520. Online.http://www.aect.org/Intranet/Publications/edtech/index.html

Braun, C. (1969). Interest loading and modality effects on textual response acquisition. Reading Research Quarterly, 4: 428-44.

Brown, J.S., Codings, A., & Duguid, P., 1989, Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32-41,

CNN. (2001). CNN Interactive. Online, http://www.cnn.com/interactive.

Creswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative enquiry a n d research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

80


http://it.wce.wwu.edu/necc97/poster4/ArtsEdNet/WebWhackerAVW81.html

http://www.se-hci.org/bridging/interact/index.html

http://www.aect.org/Intranet/Publications/edtech/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/interactive

Dean, R.S. & Kulhavy, R.W. (1981). The influence o f spatial organization in prose learning. Journal o f Educational Psychology, 73: 57-64.

Dick, W ., Carey, L . and Carey, J.O. (2001). The systematic design o f instruction, (5th ed.). New York: Longman Publishing Co.

Duchastel, P.C. (1978). Illustrating instructional text. Educational Technology, 18 (11): 36-39.

Dwyer, C . A . (1988). Exam ining the symbiotic relationship betw een verbal and visual literacy in terms o f facilitating student achievement. Reading Psychology, 9: 365-80

eNB (2003). E-leaming. Online, http://www.enb.ca/pages/leam-e.asp.

Fleming, M.L. (1987a). Displays and communication. In Robert M Gagne (Ed.) Instructional Technology Foundations. (233-260). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Fleming, M.L. (1987b). Designing pictorial/verbal instruction: some speculative extensions from research to practice. In FI.A. Houghton & D.M. Willows, (Eds), The psychology o f illustration. Vol. 2.: instructional issues. New York: Springer.

Fleming, M .L & Levie, W.H. (1978). Instructional message design: Principles from the behavioral sciences. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology.

Gagne, R. M. & Rohwer, W.D. (1969). Instructional Psychology. Annual Review o f Psychology, 20: 381-418.

Geric, L & Jausovec, N. (1999). Multimedia: Differences in cognitive processes observed with EEG. Educational Technology Research and Development, 47 (3): 5-14.

Gery, G. (2002). Performance support - driving change. The ASTD E-learning handbook, Allison Rosett (Ed.). McGraw-Hill: 24-37.

Haming, M. (1996). An approach to structured display design - Coping with complexity. In: Vanderdonckt J. (Ed.). Proceedings o f CADUI'96. (121-138). Namur. Presses Universitaires de Namur.

Heller, R .S ., M artin, D .C., Haneff, N. & Gievska-Krliu, S. (2001). Using a theoretical multimedia taxonomy framework. ACM Journal o f Educational Resources in Computing, 1(1), article #4, 22 pages.

Higbee, K.L. (1979). Recent research on visual mnemonics: historical roots and educational fruits. Review o f Educational Research, 49: 611-629.

81


http://www.enb.ca/pages/leam-e.asp

Hughes, A., S., Long, N., & Perry, M., 2000, Learning the spirit o f democracy: The project’s background and an illustration. Proceedings o f the Conference Citizenship 2020: Assuming Responsibility fo r Our Future. Montreal: McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.

Hung, D. (2001, May-June). Design principles for W eb-based learning: Implications from Vygotskian thought, Educational Technology, 33-41.

IBSTPI standards (2000). The instructional design competencies. Online. http://www.ibstpi.org/id-standards-2000.html.

Jacobs, J. and Dempsey, J. (2002). Emerging instructional tTechnologies: The near future. The ASTD E-Learning Handbook, Allison Rosett. (Ed.). (322-337). McGraw-Hill.

Jantz, R.W. & Klawitter, K. (1985). Early childhood/elementary social studies: a review of recent research. In W.B. Stanley, (Ed.), Review o f research in social studies education, (1976-1983).

Kobayashi, S. (1991). Color image scale, Kodansha International.

Merrill, D. (2002, July-August). Effective use o f instructional technology requires educational reform. Educational Technology: 13-16.

Kulik, J., Kulik, C. & Shwalb, B. (1986). The effectiveness o f computer-based adult education: A meta-analysis. Journal o f Educational Computing Research, 50: 525-544.

Lather, P. (1991). Getting smart: Feminist research and pedagogy with/in the postmodern. New York: Routledge.

Leshin, C. (1998). Internet adventures. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Levie, W.H. & Lentz, R. (1982). Effects of text illustrations: A review o f research. Educational Communications and Technology Journal, 30: 195-232.

Lincoln, Y.S. & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic enquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Lohr, L.L. (2000, January-February). Three principles o f perception for instructional interface design. Educational Technology: 45-52.

Lohr, L.L. (2003). Creating graphics for learning and performance: Lessons in visual literacy. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Merill Prentice Hall.

Lowe, R. (2001). Supporting effective reading o f pictorial materials in visually oriented learning environments. Innovation in open c& distance learning, successful development o f online and Web-based learning, Fred Lockwood& Ann Gooley, (Eds.). (201 - 212).Kogan Page Limited.

82


http://www.ibstpi.org/id-standards-2000.html

M cCallum-Foumier, A. (1999). Entertainment and education join forces for the millennium. Online, http://www.fundandedutain.com/deflne.htm.

McMillan, J. H. & Schumacher, S. (2001). Research in education. A Conceptual introduction, (5th ed.). Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.

Merrill, D. (2002, July-August). Effective use o f instructional technology requires educational reform. Educational Technology: 13-16.

Morrison, G. R., Ross, S. M. & Kemp, J. (2001). Designing effective instruction. New York: John Wiley& Sons.

Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.

Nack, F. (2001, January-March). Play the game, IEEE MultiMedia: 8-10.

Najjar, L. (1996). M ultimedia information and learning. Journal o f Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 5:129-150.

Nielsen, J. (1999). D esigning Web usability: The practice o f simplicity. New Riders Publishing.

Nunes, N.J. (2003). What drives software development: Issues integrating software engineering and human-computer interaction, in the Proceeding o f the IFIP INTERACT Worlcshop: Closing the Gap: Software Engineering and Human-Computer Interaction. Online, http://www.se-hci.org/bridging/interact/index.html.

Oliver, R., Towers, S., Skippington, P., Brunetto, Y., Farr-Wharton, R. and Gooley, A. (2001). Flexible toolboxes: a solution for developing online resources? Innovation in Open & Distance learning. Successful Development o f Online and Web-Based learning, Fred Lockwood& Ann Gooley, (Eds.). (100 -110). Kogan Page Limited

Palanque, P. and Bastide, R. (2003). UML for interactive systems: What is missing, in the Proceeding o f the IFIP INTERACT Workshop: Closing the Gap: Software Engineering and Human-Computer Interaction. Online. http://www.se-hci.org/bridging/interact/index.html.

Peeck, J. (1987). The role o f illustrations in processing and remembering illustrated texts. In D. M. W illows & FI.A. Ploughton (Eds.), The psychology o f illustration: Volume 1. Basic Research. (114-151). New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.

Reiber, L.P. (1994). Computers, graphics and learning. Dubuque, LA: Brown & Benchmark.

Romiszowski, A .i. (1981). Designing instructional systems. New York: Kogan Page.

83


http://www.fundandedutain.com/deflne.htm



Rose, E. (2000). HyperTexts. The language and culture o f educational computing, London, Ontario: The Althouse Press, Faculty o f Education, University o f Western Ontario.

Rosenberg, M. ( 2001). E-learning: Strategies fo r delivering knowledge in the Digital Age. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Salomon, G. (1996). Distributed cognition: Psychological and educational. considerations. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Samuels, J.J. (1970). Effects o f pictures on learning to read, comprehension and attitudes. Journal o f Educational Research, 40(3): 397-407.

Schar, S. and Krueger, H. (2000, July-September). Using new learning technologies with multimedia, IEEE MultiMedia: 40-51.

Seculer, R. and Blake, R. (1990). Perception, (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Seidman, I .E. ( 1998). Interviewing a s qualitative research: A gu ide f or researchers in education and the social sciences, (2nQ ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.

Smith, L. (1974). An aesthetic education workshop for administrators: Some implications for a theory o f case studies. Paper presented at AERA, Chicago, 1974.

Schaefer, N.V., Katz, S.L., Neily, S. & Sheppard, S.B. (2002). Baseline report - New Brunswick information technology sector, Fredericton: University o f New Brunswick.

Stake, R.E. (1995). The art o f case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Syed, M. (2001, July-September). Diminishing the distance in distance education, IEEE MultiMedia: 18-20.

Szekely, P. (1996). Retrospective and challenges for model-based interface development. In the Proceedings o f the CAD U I’96: Second International Workshop on Computer- Aided Design o f User Interfaces, Namur, Belgium: June 1996.

UNB. (2000). University policy on research involving humans. Online. http://www.unb.ca/research/ors/forms/ethicpol.pdf.

University o f Houston. (2001). Instructional Technology Program. Online. http://www.it.coe.uh.edu/course_list.cfin.

University o f Memphis. (2001). Instructional Technology Program. Online. http://www.people.memphis.edu/~coe_icl/idt/degree.html.

84


http://www.unb.ca/research/ors/forms/ethicpol.pdf

http://www.it.coe.uh.edu/course_list.cfin

http://www.people.memphis.edu/~coe_icl/idt/degree.html

University o f South Alabama. (2001). College o f Education, Instructional Technology Program. Online. http://vA-vw.coe.usouthal.edu/idd/default.html.

University o f Syracuse. (2001). School o f Education. Online. http://idde.syr.edu/titles/title-index.html.

van Duyne, D. K., Landay, J.A., Hong, J.I. (2002). The design o f sites: Patterns, principles, and processes fo r crafting a customer-centered Web experience, 1st edition Addison-Wesley Pub Co.

Vivid studios. (1995). Careers in multimedia, Emerville, Ca.: Ziff-Davis Press.

Welsh, M. (1998). Orchestrating midtimedia. Concord, Canada: Irwing Publishing.

Will-Harris, D. (1990). TypeStyle: How to choose and use type on a personal computer, Berkeley: Peachpit Press Inc.

Willows, D. M (1978). A picture is not always worth a thousand words: pictures as distracters in reading. Journal o f Educational Psychology, 70: 255-62.

Wilson, S., Johnson, P . (1996). Bridging the generation gap: From w ork tasks to user interface designs. In: Vanderdonckt J. (ed.): Proceedings o f CADUE96. (77-94). Namur: Presses Universitaires de Namur.

Winn, W.D. & Holliday, W.G. (1982). Design principles for diagrams and charts. In D. Jonassen (Ed.), The technology o f text, Volume 1. (277-299). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.

Yin, R.K. (1994). Case study research, (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

85


http://vA-vw.coe.usouthal.edu/idd/default.html

http://idde.syr.edu/titles/title-index.html

This research will focus on description and analysis of d ifferen t approaches in development of m ultim edia p roducts and th e ir im pact on the overall quality of the final product. In particu lar, this research study will investigate w hat could be done to im prove the overall visual quality and learn ing im pact of educational m ultim edia products.

The research p ro g ram will be carried out as case studies of several m ultim edia development projects and will involve several e-learning and m ultim edia developm ent companies, and organizations. T he main participants (research subjects) in the study will be members of m ultim edia developm ent teams of these com panies and organizations. The role of the research subjects is to participate in the interview s conducted by the researcher and answer w ritten questionnaires d istributed by the researcher.

D ata collected in this research pro ject will include questionnaires and interview notes taken by the researcher. In terview s will involve researcher’s questions and discussions with the participants. In terview s will last no longer than half an hour. To conclude the interview, the investigator will read a b rie f sum m ary of the discussion to ensure th a t the p a rtic ip an t’s input was accurately noted. T he data will be collected for projects w ith various m ultim edia presentation form ats, thus giving the researcher the opportun ity to study the development of multimedia for d ifferen t types of learning, such as online o r offline (CD-ROM ), as well as edutainm ent p roducts and games.

Participation is entirely voluntarily and all partic ipan ts can w ithdraw at any time w ithout repercussion. P artic ipan ts are free to decline to answ er any question o r discuss any topic.

Using the data from interview s, and partic ipan t observations, the investigator will conduct inductive data analysis of m ultim edia projects that use d ifferen t approaches to team design and will come up w ith conclusions and suggestions on w hat could be done to im prove the overall quality and visual im pact of educational m ultim edia products.

2. Risk: In your opinion, does this research pose more than minimal risk (Tri-Council Policy, Section 1 .C l) to participating subjects? Yes No .. .X .. .

If yes, provide here a statement which describes in detail the aspects o f the research procedure which pose a risk to subjects, and provide your assessment o f the risk o f harm (probability and severity). Note that not only physical injury but also anxiety or embarrassment are included in the concept o f harm. Describe means adopted to minimize risk, and means (such as provision o f counseling) to deal with harms which subjects may experience. Describe as well the potential benefit which will result from this research, which justifies the above risk o f harm.

3. Deception: Does this research involve deception or partial disclosure? Yes.... N o ...X ....

If yes, refer to the Tri-Council Policy, Section 2, specifically Article 2.1(c) and subsequent commentary, and provide here an explanation of how you plan to comply with the requirements of that Section for debriefing. Describe as well the potential benefit which will result from this research, which justifies waiving the nomial requirements for full disclosure.

4. Funding: Has funding been received for this research? Yes ......... No ...X ...

87


If yes, fro m what agency and for what period?

If no, has funding been requested for this research? Yes ......... N o ...X...

If yes, fro m what agency and for what period?

5. Research Subjects:

5.1 N um ber of Subjects: How many subjects will participate in this research? . A pproxim ately ...1 5 ... T he main participants will include approxim ately 6 -1 0 people, however, the researche r may also speak to other professionals th a t are involved in this industry.

5.2 R ecru itm ent: How will they be recruited, and from what population?

The attached inform ation letters describing the pro ject as well as consent forms will be sent or presented to the following:

President of each selected com pany M embers of the developm ent teams O ther professionals involved in the m ultim edia industry

6. Inform ed C onsent:

6.1 Inform ing Subjects: How will the nature o f the research be explained to potential subjects, i n c ompliance w ith S ection 2 D o f t he Tri-Council P olicy? A ttach a copy of any document(s), such as an explanatory letter, to be used for this purpose.

The researcher will explain the purpose and procedures of the research pro ject verbally to all partic ipan ts in addition to providing each partic ipan t with a w ritten “ Research Project D escription” statem ent.Please see attached docum ents.

6.2 Consent: If written evidence of informed consent will be obtained, attach a copy of the consent form. (See Requirements for Informed Consent Forms.) I f w ritten evidence of inform ed consent will not be used, explain here, in detail, how you in tend to comply with the requ irem ents of Section 2A of the T ri-C ouncil Policy: see particularly Article 2.1(b) and subsequent commentary.

Please see attached docum ents.

6.3 C hildren as Research Subjects: If the proposed research involves children as subjects, provide here a statement indicating how compliance with Section 2E, and specifically with Articles 2.5, 2.6 and 2.7 o f the Tri-Council Policy, will be achieved.

This research does not include children as research subjects.88


6.4 Incompetent Adults as Research Subjects: If the research involves adults of diminished competence as subjects, provide a statement indicating how compliance with Section 2E, and specifically with Articles 2.5, 2.6 and 2.7 o f the Tri-Council Policy, will be achieved.

This research does not include incompetent adults as research subjects.

7. I nducements: Will any inducements ( money, grade p oints, e tc.) b e o ffered to encourage participation? Yes ... N o . . .X .. .

If yes, indicate here how compliance with Section 2B o f the Tri-Council Policy (concerning voluntariness) will be achieved. If academic rewards are to be used, give details o f alternative means of achieving equivalent rewards.

8. Private Information: Does the proposed research involve accessing identifiable personal information about subjects by means o f surveys, questionnaires, etc.? Yes No ...X...

If yes, indicate here, in detail, how you propose to meet the requirements o f the Tri-Council Policy, Section 3, specifically Article 3.2. A copy o f any questionnaire, survey document or interview schedule to be used should be attached as well.

9. Feedback: Describe the measures which you propose for providing feedback to research subjects concerning the outcome o f the research.

A summary of the report will be sent to participating companies. A copy of the report will be available by contacting the researcher in approximately four months after completion of the research.

10. Data Security: Describe the measures which you propose for ensuring the security o f any identifiable personal data which will be retained after completion o f the research.

All data will be kept in a secure locked office in Marchall D ”Avry Hall. Only Mr. Goldfarb and his supervisor, Dr. Jennifer Pazienza, will have access to the data. All data will be coded in such aw ay as to prevent identification o f the research participants. Participants that work for a particular company will be coded as 1.1, 1.2, etc., and for another company as 2.1, 2.2, etc. The researcher will create pseudonyms for all participants, for use o f the data, in his thesis.

11. Continuing Review: All research requires brief annual reports and a brief report upon completion o f the research. Suitable report forms are included at the end o f this file. Research involving more than minimal risk may require additional measures for continuing review. If your research involves more than minimal risk, describe here the measures you propose for facilitating continuing review o f this research, in compliance with Article 1.13 o f the Tri-Council Policy.

12. Additional Information: Please feel free to append any additional information which you feel may be help fill to the REB in evaluating this application.

89


Checklist for A ttachments to Application for Review of Research Involving Humans

For items th a t are attached , indicate X; for items th a t are not applicable, indicate N/A.

P rovide the following attachm ents w here applicable:

X or N/A

X W here the academ ic un it responsible for the research has a process of formal ethics review, a copy o f the approval notice from that process, together with any substantive comments provided by the reviewers.

NA If ex ternal fund ing has been sought or obtained for this research, one copy only o f thecomplete application form as well as two copies o f any reviewers’ comments which have been received.

X For s tuden t research , one copy o f the full research proposal if one has been submitted to the relevant academic unit.

X A copy of any proposed inform ation le tter and /o r inform ed consent form. (Do notduplicate if already included in above material.)

X A copy of any questionnaire(s), survey docum ents or interview schedules to be used in the research. (Do not duplicate if already included in above material.)

NA A copy o f any debriefing m aterial to be provided to subjects.

NA F or research u n d er the jurisdiction of m ore than one institution, an indication o f which other REBs will review the research, and the results o f such review if available (see Tri- Council Policy Section 1G).

NA For all research (including studen t research) th a t exceeds minimal risk, which has not been approved by a sanctioned peer review process, the applicant must recommend two reviewers competent to undertake a “scholarly review” o f the proposed research. “Scholarly review” in this context refers to the process o f determining whether the design of the research project is capable o f addressing the questions being asked in the research.

X In all cases, a full description o f the proposed research, if this is not already contained in the material listed above.

X In all cases, an electronic text version of the Summary (Item 1 on the application form), via e-mail to sdew@ unb.ca on the UNBF campus or to [email protected] on the UNBSJ campus.

Please append this checklist to the application form.


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Appendix 1 -A: Letters and Consent Forms

1-A1 Research Project Description1-A2 Letter and Consent Form: President or Vice-president of the company1-A3 Letter and Consent Form: Participants1-A4 Individual Interview Consent Form: Participants1-B Sample Questions for Participants’ Questionnaire and Interviews

91


Appendix 1-A1

Research Project Description

The art of Multimedia in Education

By Ilia Goldfarb, M aster’s of Education Student, Faculty of Education, UNB

This research will focus on description and analysis of different approaches in development o f multimedia products and their impact on the overall quality o f the final product. In particular, this research study will investigate what could be done to improve the overall visual quality and learning impact of educational multimedia products.

The research program will be carried out as case studies of several multimedia development projects and will involve several e-learning and multimedia development companies, and organizations. The main participants (research subjects) in the study will be members of multimedia development teams of these companies and organizations. The role o f the research subjects is to participate in the interviews conducted by the researcher and answer written questionnaires distributed by the researcher.

Data collected in this research project will include questionnaires and interview notes taken by the researcher. Interviews will involve researcher's questions and discussions with the participants. Interviews will last no longer than half an hour. To conclude the interview, the investigator will read a brief summary of the discussion to ensure that the participant's input was accurately noted. The data will be collected for projects with various multimedia presentation formats, thus giving the researcher the opportunity to study the development o f multimedia for different types of learning, such as online or offline (CD-ROM), as well as edutainment products and games.

Using the data from interviews, and participant observations, the investigator will conduct inductive data analysis of multimedia projects that use different approaches to team design and will come up with conclusions and suggestions on what could be done to improve the overall quality and visual impact of educational multimedia products.

IMPORTANT: I w ill undertake to ensure confidentiality and anonym ity.Companies and partic ipants will not be identified in any report or publication of the results of this study. If there is a reference to specific participants' quotes or ideas, coded nam es w ill be used. I will be the only person having access to the data. All data will be kept in a secure, locked room.

Your participation in the above described research project is entirely voluntary. You are free to w ithdraw from the research, and to w ithdraw any data pertaining to yourself at any tim e. You may refuse to answer any questions or discuss any issue at any tim e. You may view the data gathered and/or inquire as to the status

92


Consent Form: Please forward to Mr. Goldfarb using the envelope provided.

I,____________________________________________ President/ Vice-President of(Please Print)

Company/Organization __________________________________________

having read and fully understood the Project Description of "The Art of Multimedia in

Education ", hereby grant permission to Ilia Goldfarb (the Researcher)

to conduct research at______________________________________________(Please Print)

Company/Organization. I do so with the understanding that said research will be

conducted as outlined in the Project Description (attached).

(Signature) (Date)

If you would like a summarized copy of the research results, please provide your address below:

95


Consent Form (Questionnaire): Mr. Goldfarb will return to collect this form no later than [xx/xx/2002]. Please use the envelope provided.

I ,____________________________________________ , ____________________________at(Please Print) (Position)

Company/Organization __________________________________________


Education ", hereby agree to complete (fill out) a questionnaire distributed by Ilia Goldfarb (the Researcher).

I do so with the understanding that the said research will be conducted as outlined in the Project

Description (attached).

(Signature) (Date) (Telephone)


97


Appendix 1-A4

Individual Interview Consent Form: Mr. Goldfarb will return to collect this form no later than [xx/xx/2002]. Please use the envelope provided.

I ,____________________________________________ , ____________________________ at(Please Print) (Position)

Company/Organization ___________________________________________


Education ", hereby agree to participate in an interview with Ilia Goldfarb (the Researcher).

I do so with the understanding that the said research will be conducted as outlined in the Project

Description (attached).

(Signature) (Date) (Telephone)


98


Sample Questions for Participants’ Questionnaire and Interviews

Appendix 1-B

Multimedia production questionnaire

1. Are you currently working or did you previously work for a company that produces/d multimedia products?

2. What kind of multimedia products are/were produced by the company? (educational, edutainment, games,...)

3. What was the title of your position?

4. For how long do/did you work for this company?

5. What is/was the structure of the project team? (Project manager, instructional designer, graphic artist, video specialist, audio specialist, subject matter specialist, etc.).

6. What is/was your Project Manager’s background (Instructional Design, Visual Artist, Business Administration, etc.)

7. How many people of each specialty do/did you have in your team?.

8. How many people of each specialty, as far as you know, are /were employed by your company?

9. What is/was the work flow? (Who was giving instructions to whom?)

10. How much input do/did you have on making decisions that affect the quality of the final product?

11. What do/did you like about your project team environment?

12. What do/did you dislike about your project team environment?

13. How do you think team environment affects/affected the quality of the final product?

14. In your project team, who is/was making final decisions on the "look and feel" and effectiveness of the multimedia product?

15. Do you have any suggestions on how to improve team structure or the production environment that, in turn, will improve the quality of a multimedia product?

Examples of questions asked to participants during the individual interview

1. What is the title of your position?

2. What kinds of multimedia products does your project team produce? (educational, edutainment, games,...)

99


3. For how long have you worked for this company?

4. What is the structure of the project team? (Project manager, instructional designer, graphic artist, video specialist, audio specialist, subject matter specialist, etc.).

5. How many people of each specialty do you have in your team?

6. How many people of each specialty, as far as you know, are employed by your company?

7. What is the workflow? (Who is giving instructions to whom?)

8. How much input do you have on making decisions that affect the quality of the final product?

9. What do you like about your project team environment?

10. What do you dislike about your project team environment?

11. How do you think team environment affects the quality of the final product?

12. In your project team, who is making final decisions on the "look and feel" and effectiveness of the multimedia product?

13. Do you have any suggestions on how to improve team structure or the production environmentthat, in turn, will improve the quality of a multimedia product?

100


Appendix 2

Data description

1. Data on participants in the study

All participants answered “Yes” to Question 1 in the questionnaire (Are you

currently working or did you previously work fo r a company that produces/d

multimedia products?). This means that all participants in the study are currently

working for multimedia development companies or organizations.

The answers to O uestion 2 in t he questionnaire (What kind o f multimedia

products are/were produced by the company?) helped to identify if the

company/organization belongs to the category “E” - educational multimedia, or “G” -

entertainment multimedia production. Five participants identified their company as

gaming (entertainment), and nine participants answered that their

companies/organizations develop educational multimedia products. Among these nine

participants, four o f them, in their answers Q2/E9, Q2/E7, Q2/E5 and Q2/E4,

identified their company as producing educational products. Another participant, in

Q2/ES, identified the company as developing simulation and educational products,

while the Q2/E6 response was that the company was producing e-learning multimedia

products. The Q2/E3 response identified the company as producing educational and

employee training programs. The Q2/E2 answer was that the company’s products

include self-paced Web-based tutorials, computer-based training and CD-ROM

products, and the Q2/E1 response was that the company’s product was Web-based,

CD-ROM based, or blended product that includes components o f both.

101


Answers to Question 3 (What was the title o f your position?) helped to

identify the title o f the participant’s position in the company or in the development

teams’ organizational structure. As mentioned previously, fourteen industry

professionals participated in the questionnaire. There was one instance when a

participant, due to the prior work experience, identified with two different position

categories.

Five o f the study participants fit into the category o f the Visual Artist or

“Artist” . A range o f position titles was mentioned in the questionnaire’s answers for

this category, such as Flash Developer, Graphic Artist, M edia Artist, and an

Animator.

Three o f the participants stated that their position title was Instaictional Designer

(Designer designation). Two o f the Instructional Designers were Senior Instructional

Designers. The Game Designer category is a subcategory o f the Designer designation.

Two o f the participants stated that the title of their position was Game Designer.

Four o f the participants were designated as Managers, including a Team

Leader, two Project Managers, and a Senior Manager (VP o f the company).

There was one Computer Programmer among the participants. This participant

was assigned a Developer designation. His/her answer on this question was the

position title o f Senior Developer (Q3/E6).

Question 4 (For how long clo/did you work fo r this company?) was introduced

in order to evaluate the length o f professional experience o f the study participants.

Based on responses to the questionnaire, the calculated average length o f professional

102


experience for the study participants was 4.8 years o f professional practice, ranging

from 21 years experience in the field to 6 month on the job.

2. Data on the developm ent teams and companies

Questions # 5, 6 and 7 in the questionnaire were designed to collect details

about the project development teams, including the structure o f the teams. Questions

8 and 9, in turn, collected information about the companies, including the number of

different specialists in the company and the reporting structure within the

development team environment.

The educational multimedia development companies participating in the

study, as mentioned previously, were designated as Ed-A, Ed-B, Ed-C, Ed-D and Ed-

F. The gaming company that participated in the study was designated as G-H.

From participants’ answers to the Question 5 (What is/was the structure o f the

project team?), it is clear that project teams for the educational multimedia

development companies have the following structure.

In company Ed-A each project development team has a Project Manager

(PM), a Lead Instructional Designer (LID), one or more Instructional Designers (ID),

a Graphic Artist (GA), a Web programmer (Developer - D), a Subject Matter Expert

(SME), a Research and Development Consultant (RD), Video and Audio Specialists

(VAS), and Quality Assurance Specialists (QA).

In company Ed-B the project team consists o f the Project Manager,

Instructional Design Lead (LID), Technical Team Leads (LTT), Instructional

Designers, Graphic Artists, Developers, Technical Analysts (TA) and Quality

Assurance professionals.

103


Company Ed-C has the following team structure: Senior Project Manager

(SPM), Project Manager, Instructional Designer, Graphic Artist, Developer (D),

Subject M atter Expert, and Quality Assurance Specialists.

For company Ed-D the project development team consists o f Project

Managers, Instructional Designers, Graphic Artists, and Subject Matter Experts.

Company Ed-F has a Project Manager, Instructional Designers, and Graphic

Designers (GA), as members o f the project team.

Finally, gaming company G-FI’s development team structure is as follows:

Team Leader (TL), Game Designer (GD), Mathematician (M), Graphic Artist,

Programmer (D), Sound Designer (VAS), and Quality Assurance Tester (QAS). Non

development staff includes Sales Executives, Client Service Team Manager, Product

Manager, and an Engineer.

Question 6 (What is/was your Project M anager's background?) was designed

to gather information on the background o f Project Managers for a particular

development team that participants belong to.

For company Ed-A a Project Manager has an Instructional Design

background. Participants from company Ed-B identified the following background for

Project Managers: Instructional Design, Business Administration, and

Programming/W eb Development.

A Project M anager from company Ed-C has experience in both teaching and

Instructional Design. The Project Managers from company Ed-D have Instructional

Design and Business backgrounds, and company Ed-F Project M anager’s background

is u nknown. P articipants from c ompany G -H s tated t he following b ackgrounds for

104


Project Managers: Game Design, Software Development, and Business

Administration.

During the interview, E3-Manager described his/her background as follows: “I

started with the company as an Instructional Designer, became the ID Team Lead,

and then became a Project Manager on the same project I started on” (I6/E3). E4-

Designer, during the interview, identified the background o f the Project Manager for

the development team as: “an Instructional Design background” (I6/E4).

Responses to Question 7 (How many people o f each specialty do/dicl you have

in your team?) revealed information on the number o f different professionals in the

team. According to the participants’ responses, depending on the size o f the project,

company Ed-A usually has one or two professionals in each category, as previously

mentioned. W ithin company Ed-B there is usually one or two Project Managers, one

Instructional Design Lead, one or two Technical Team Leads, up to three

Instructional Designers, from two to thirteen Developers, from one to eight Graphic

Artists, one or two Quality Assurance Specialists, and one or two Technical Analysts

on the team.

A project team within company Ed-C has a Senior Project Manager, a Project

Manager, up to two Instructional Designers, two Graphic Artists, two Developers,

from two to three Quality Assurance Specialists, and a Subject M atter Expert. In the

case o f company Ed-D, a development team consists o f one or two Project Managers,

about forty Instructional Designers, two Graphic Artists, and one Subject Matter

Expert, Company Ed-F has one Project Manager, three Instructional Designers and

two Graphic Designers on the development team. Company G-H has one Team

105


Leader, one Game Designer, two or three Programmers, one Mathematician, one

Graphic Artist, one Quality Assurance Tester and one Sound Designer.

Question 8 (How many people o f each specialty, as fa r as you biow, are

/were employed by your company?) was designed to estimate the total number of

different professionals in the company. According to the participants’ resp.onses,

company Ed-A employs, depending on the size o f the project, as few as ten, and as

many as forty professionals o f different specialties (the breakdown was not specified

in the answer). Company Ed-B has seven Project Managers, fifteen Instructional

Designers, ten Graphic Artists, ten Developers, and four Quality Assurance

Specialists. Company Ed-C has three Project Managers, five or six Instructional

Designers, two Graphic Artists, three Developers, and five Quality Assurance

Specialists. Ed-D company according to a participant’s rough estimate (his/her

guess), has about five or seven Project Managers, from five to seven Graphic Artists,

from ten to fifteen Instructional Designers, about fifty developers, and several Subject

Matter Experts and Quality Assurance Professionals. Company Ed-F, depending on

the number o f projects, has from two to three Project Managers, between four and

five Instructional Designers, from two to three Graphic Artists, from five to six

Developers and two Quality Assurance Specialists. The gaming company G-H

employs seven Team Leaders, seven Game Designers, four Mathematicians, seven

Graphic Artists, fifty Programmers, and twenty five Quality Assurance Testers.

Responses to Question 9 (What is/was the work flow ?) revealed details about the

workflow and reporting structure within the development teams o f the participating

companies. Figures A2.1 - A2.5 show the workflow diagrams for the educational

106


multimedia development companies. Figure A2.6 shows the workflow diagram for

the gaming company G-FI.

VP

PM

LID.

ID GA D QA VAS SME

Figure A2.1. Workflow chart for company Ed-A.

PM

LIDI

.ID

LTT QA

GA D

Figure A2.2. Workflow chart for company Ed-B

' • PM I

A . i G A 1’ D

Figure A2.3. Workflow chart for company Ed-C

107


PM

GA

ID

D

Figure A2.4. Workflow chart for company Ed-D

PM

Figure A2.5. Workflow chart for company Ed-F

TL

GA VAS

Figure A2.6. Workflow chart for company G-H

In the interview with the researcher, G5-Artist also elaborated on two different

ways to start a project in the company:

“There are two different tracks or ways that games are

approached, as far as I know, here. Team Leader has the need

108


and relays this need to the Game Designer who then designs

the game to fit that need; or the Game Designer has a great idea

for a game and develops it without a market and they find the

market and the fit” (I9/G5).1

3. Data on the development team environment

Questions 10, 11, 12 and 13 in the research questionnaire were designed to

collect participants’ responses on the environment in the development teams.

Responses to Question 10 (How much input do/did you have on making decisions

that affect the quality o f the fin a l product?) revealed details about how much input the

participants felt they had on the quality o f the final product. There was quite a range

of answers on this question.

For example, El-M anager responded that he/she has “considerable input.

Responsible for most o f the overall design, scope and instructional model” (Q10/E1).

E2-Manager stated that “I have final input on quality o f products before they go to the

client” (Q10/E2). E3-Manager wrote that “I have high level input in regards to

matters o f scope, cost, and time” (Q10/E3). In the follow up interview, he/she

elaborated more:

“ With this project we have very clear metrics around scope and

the team is quite aware o f that; but anything that is outside o f

that, whether it be on a particular lesson that client wants

something more than we have costed or than we agreed to do,

they have to bring this to my attention and, on a day-to-day

basis, I make the decisions whether we would do it and absorb

109


the cost, o r w hether I approach the c lient and negotiate w ith

them. An a high level, I have quite a bit o f input in terms o f

whether or not the different pieces get done, or i f they can look

and feel different, than what the contract says...A t a finite

level, in terms o f how the screen looks, or the functionality o f

the screen, that’s left up to the team, but whether or not you

can have an extra screen I do that, I decide.. .” (I10/E3).

G1-Manager’s response was: “Group Leader and Game Designer have

significant inpu t...” (Q10/G1).

To answ er Q uestion 1 0, participant E4-Designer w rote “ I have full right to

make suggestions - no right to make final decision” (Q10/E4). During the interview,

he/she clarified this point:

“I feel full right to mention everything that I w an t...I feel that I

can...but I am not always certain that this is going to go

anywhere. Because it all comes to the client, to me, and they

always have their own ideas on what they want and even when

they hear it they might not want to go with that” (110/E4).

E5-Designer answered that he/she has “some input - lots o f constrains due to

time and money” (Q10/E5). He/she added during the interview: “It will be the Project

Manager who will decide, in case o f the disagreement between the Team Leads,

about some elements o f the final product” (I10/E5).

G2-Designer feels that “As a Game Designer, I say, I have 90 percent control

of the final product” (Q10/G2), In turn, G3- Designer wrote:

110


“Currently - a great d eal, i t i s the G ame D esigner w ho m ust

both, define and drive the vision o f the project. I f the Gam e

D esigner does not have a good concept, and, in turn, math

behind a game, than all o f the other parts will

su ffer.. .Previously - a great deal also, but much o f the

important decisions were made by more than one person, quite

often involving tire whole team. The process has many

drawbacks, as it does advantages, as, sometimes, it is best to

have one person making decisions” (Q10/G3).

On the contrary, participant E8 - Artist responded that he had zero input on

the quality o f the final product, and elaborated during the interview: “There are

clients; they know exactly what they want and we have to deliver to the tee, and if not

we are in troub le...” (I10/E8).

Another Artist participant, E7, stated that:


Project M anager assigned them to Instructional Designers. The

Instructional Designers requested graphics o f the Media Artists

(Graphic Designers). Sometimes the Subject Matter Experts

would request changes to the final product. In these cases, the

Instructional Designers would have to submit new graphic

requests to the M edia Artists. Whenever we asked for changes

or clarifications o f the graphics standards, our questions were

ignored” (Q10/E7).

I l l


A third Artist participant, G5-Artist, stated that that the amount o f input he/she

had on the quality o f the final product was “extraordinary” (Q10/G5).

“Every visual queue development, animation, piece of

information, comes directly from my hand. The final product,

that is. The inception o f the ideas, on the other hand, may come

from other sources, but the final product that is on the screen is

all m e” (I10/G5).

At the same time, G4-Artist mentioned that “some Game Designers let you

have more creative freedom than others” (Q10/G4). During the interview, he/she

elaborated more on this question:

“Not as much [input] as I would like for the final... With my art

I know what the Game Designer and the team is looking for.

Sometimes, I feel that some o f the creative freedoms o f that

final art that, I feel, projects the feel and the look o f the game

is, sometimes, taken away by those who are not in the creative

department that I am; so, I feel, sometimes, that I could have

more say ...” (I10/G4).

On the follow-up question from the researcher “What if the Team Leader has

a visual background?” he/she responded “Personally, I could respect that more”

(I10/G4).

E6-Developer responded to Question 10, that “At the senior level, quite a lot.

We also define lots o f standards at the start of the project” (Q10/E6).

112


Question 11 (What do/clid you like about your project team environment?)

and Question 1 2 ( What do/did you dislike about your project team environment?)

drew out information on what participants like and what they dislike in their project

team environment. Participant El-M anager answered that the likable things were

“effective communication, close team contact, and professional atmosphere”

(Q 11/El). The things that this particular participant dislikes were: “Deadlines,

deliverables, milestones that moved, because o f client’s pressure” (Q12/E1). E2-

iVlanager responded: “I like the fact that all members o f the team have input on the

design and quality o f the product” (Q11/E2). At the same time, “There are some

disagreements between team members on how the product should look. We usually

allow the client to make the final decision” (Q12/E2). E3-M anager wrote that he/she

likes about the team environment that: “ ...in essence, each person is partially

responsible for ‘running the show’. It’s a shared responsibility. The team members

are great and will go the extra mile if the project requires it” (Q l 1/E3). The response

about the things that are not likable was as follows: “I don’t think the team members’

workspaces are adequate... Some have very poor lighting, limited space, and the

Lead should have an office, but those are impossible to get. There are no ‘break

away’ rooms in which team members can go to discuss issues in private, such as

performance, personal matters the Leads should know, and even just to vent!”

(Q12/E3).

G l-M anager responded to questions 11 and 12 that the things he/she liked

were: “Individual teams tend to develop a ‘family feel’...The team as a whole takes

pride in the end product” (Q ll/G l) . The things he/she disliked were that “Currently

113


we do not have an official training procedure for any position. Very much a ‘sink or

swim’ approach” (Q12/G1).

In the Designers group, G2-Designer wrote about the team environment that

“in the best situations, it allows everyone an opportunity to showcase the talents that

they possess through a great-looking end product” (Q11/G2). However, “the lack of

formalized training for each position makes it easy for gaps in knowledge to exist and

persist for longer than necessary” (Q12/G2). G3-Designer, in turn, stressed:

“Previously, since it was a small company there were no

corporate policies to deal w ith...The focus was on making

games and we were not bothered with the distraction o f having

to work on much else” (Q11/G3).

The same G3-Designer identified things that he/she felt were unlikable:

“Bad Team Leaders: Some Team Leaders are terrible

managers, they do not maintain a clear project schedule,

maintain communications with all members o f the team, or

really know what is going on with their own project... Bad

management, who try to do too much and do nothing

w ell...U nrealistic schedules: Projects that can only be finished

with a great deal o f stress and overtime... Forgetting that what

we make are gam es...Too much shared responsibility, all o f

the team members were equal partners and this quite often got

in the way o f decision making and progress” (Q12/G3).

114


E4-Designer wrote in response to Questions 11 and 12 that “People on m y

team are willing to help one another.. .[However,] the deadlines are tight and the team

does no t have the ability to help one another, despite the ir desire to do so ” (Q 1 1-

12/E4).

E5-Designer responded that “Good communications. Good people” (Q11/E5)

are good things about the team environment, but he/she does not like: “Open concept.

Noisy. Many interruptions” (Q12/E5). During the interview, he/she elaborated on

other things as well, such as: “There has been a switch, lately, when most o f the

power went to Project Managers, so that they make all decisions about everything.

This, sometimes, could be very good, but it also can be frustrating, because you don’t

feel you have as much control, as you would like, over your project. There is upside

and downside to this whole th ing...” (I12/E5).

G5-Artist liked: “Social interactions. Accomplished some things [that] could not

do on my own” (Q11/G5). But, he/she dislikes “getting lost in a shuffle” (Q12/G5).

“Getting lost in a shuffle” for him/her meant: “For someone, like m yself,...! work to

put bread on the table, but, also, I work, because I take pride o f the things 1 do. It’s

good to be recognized for hard work, and when that recognition does not come,

som etim es...” (I12/G5).

During the interview he/she added to the above:

“The one thing, if I can change anything, I would increase the

lines o f communication. I f we can find the way to make

communication flow easier between each level o f development,

back and forth, it can’t be just one-directional. For

115


communication to work it has to be two-way street. And if you

could affect one thing on the production line that’s where I

would s ta rt.. .Often t imes working w ith t he C oder and G ame

Designer and Team Leader during the meeting y ou spend 10

minutes talking about the same thing and you don’t realize you

are talking about the same thing. It can be frustrating...”

(I12/G5).

He/she also stated: “If you put two identical products side by side, it’s human

nature that we gonna pick the one that looks better and that appeals more” (I12/G5).

G4-Artist responded that he/she likes, within the team environment, that “On

certain projects I am approached by the Game Designers for creative input”

(Q11/G4), However, “On occasions, there is disorganization, due to the lack of

communications between the team players” (Q12/G4). E7-Artist responded that “I

felt that the graphic standards we had to follow weren’t well thought out for the type

of graphics we had to produce. It was clear that the people who came up with the

standards were not taking into account the nature o f the content for the graphics we

actually h ad t o p roduce. T here was a Iso v ery 1 ittle r oom f or a ny creativity” ( Q 11 -

12/E7).

E8-Artist responded to questions 11 and 12 that the positive aspects about the

team were “Highly skilled people to work with” (Q11/E8), but he/she also disliked

“no creativity” (Q12/E8). He/she elaborated that in this project “everything is

standardized, there is no room for creativity” (I12/E8). On the contrary, E9-Artist

116


liked that “The team is small, communication is easy, and there is a room for

creativity” (Q11/E9).

E6-Developer responded that some o f the major dislikes are egos in the team

environment (Q12/E6). During the interview, he/she elaborated more: “Within a

team, it is nice for Instructional Designers to go to Developers and to Graphic Artists

and say: ‘Here is what I am thinking about o f doing. Is this going to work in reality?’

Because, for a long time, a lot o f things would just get asked for and no one really

would speak against them ...you spend a lot o f time trying to create something that,

really, c ould h ave b een written d ifferently, b efore i t w ould b e s ent t o a client a nd

signed o ff...It is really important that communication would be g o o d ...” (II1-12/E6).

Responses to Question 13 (How do you think team environment affects/affected

the quality o f the fin a l product?) revealed participants’ thoughts on how the team

environment affects the quality o f the final product. E l-M anager wrote that

“Effective team e nvironment = excellent products. Ineffective team environment =

poor products” (Q 13/El). E2-Manager’s response was that “I f the team members

work well together and respect each others’ areas o f experience, then the project is

usually completed on time and on budget, and the quality o f the product is good.

Sometimes, team members feel they don’t have enough time allotted to complete the

project to the best o f their ability, and the quality will suffer, as a result” (Q13/E2).

E3-M anager wrote that “The product does not suffer, but rather the team

members. The team is very committed to deliver a quality product” (Q13/E3). G l-

Manager responded: “Team environment is crucial; it promotes communication

which is the most important part o f any software development project” (Q13/GI). E4

117


and E5 Designers believe that the team environment has some impact on the quality

of the final product.

During the interview with the researcher E4-Designer stated: “As far as team

members, I think, just people taking responsibility for what their role is. I think that it

affects quality in the end in the positive way, as long as they do take responsibility.

. ..I f someone was to take an attitude ‘well, when I am done, I am done, that’s it, I

don’t want to see it anym ore’ then, perhaps, that might negatively affect the quality at

the end because they don’t see it as a final product, as a complete product, just see

their little portion” (I13/E4). E5-Designer stated: “ It depends o n th e people o n the

team, and there are no problems [in the team ]...” (I13/E5).

G2-Designer answered that “The team makes the final product, so it is

intimately tied to the quality o f it. The most important factor in assuring a quality o f

the end product is a talented and motivated team. Talent gets hired, but motivation

comes from a sense o f ‘ownership’ in the project” (Q13/G2).

G3-Designer responded to Question 13:

“A great deal, here are some o f the most important team

environment issues based on my experience: scheduling - a

good or bad schedule can vastly affect the quality o f the final

product. General work atmosphere. Team spirit and respect for

others - every member is valuable and everyone’s opinion has

value” (Q13/G3).

During the follow up interview he/she elaborated more:

118


“As the general work atmosphere, you got to make people want

to come to work. They can’t be dreading it here. Sometimes we

do it right, sometimes we do it w rong... I think our large open

area i s t oo i mpersonal and t here i s v ery 1 ittle p rivacy .. .Feels

like a big w arehouse...I think things like this definitely impact

on quality o f the final product” (I13/G3).

E7-Artist wrote:

“I think that graphics could have been much more effective, if

done another way. Often, too much information was forced

into s mall s pace, m aking t he graphics d ifficult t o r ead. A Iso,

because o f the graphic standards, graphics did not always

present ideas in the simplest way” (Q13/E7).

E8-Artist believed that: “Quality is greatly dependant on the confidence you

have in others to get the job done correctly” (Q13/E8). During the interview he/she

added:

“If we would be allowed to be creative, we would be able to

cut costs and have a better product than they want; better

working and better looking.. .But as far o f what they are

expecting from us, we are delivering...” (I13/E8).

E9-Artist thought that a small team was better than a large one, where

communication could be difficult. At the same time, G4-Artist saw the advantages in

working in a team environment in using everybody’s talent as a group to produce a

combined effort, while G5-Artist mentioned that there are both positive and negative

119


influences o f the team environment on the final product. He/she elaborated during the

interview:

“we do have people at the top that are making decisions based

on what they know, and if they know something like math,

well, then the math is w hat’s going to g e t pushed, or if they

know something like art, well, then art gets pushed. Whereas, I

think, that if you are fortunate enough to have good

communications in both directions that the upper management

can understand what the people below them are saying and

people below can understand what they are saying, then it

works towards a higher quality product at the end o f your

production” (I13/G5).

E6-Developer answered: “I think it is crucial. Especially when good

communication skills are used. It takes advantage o f everyone’s best trends”

(Q13/E6).

4. Who is making the final decision on the “look and feel” and effectiveness of

the multimedia product?

Question 14 in the questionnaire (In your project team, who is/was making

fina l decisions on the "look and fee l" and effectiveness o f the multimedia product?)

was one o f the key questions in the study. It generated quite a range o f responses. For

example, E 1-Manager wrote: “Three individuals: Lead ID, client, and Project

Manager” (Q 14/El). E2-Manager responded to Question 14 that:

120


“The final decision on the Took and feel’ o f the multimedia

product lies with the client. The development team usually

shares their ideas to make for the best Took and feel’ possible”

(Q14/E2).

E3-M anager answered:

“The client makes the ultimate decisions. We have been on this

project for over two years, and, as such, have well-developed

standards for scope o f each deliverable. The client, though,

review each deliverable and advise us o f any preferred

changes” (Q14/E3).

Responding to the researcher’s follow up question: “W hat if the client does

not like the background color on the screen?” E3-Manager answered:

“ If we suggest a color, based on the recommendation from the

Graphic Artist, and the client does not like it, I need to

understand why the Graphic Artist have chosen this color,

because if they [clients] don’t like it, they are going to call me,

so I can explain that. If they still don’t like it, than I will go

back to the Graphic Artist and I say: ‘For whatever reason, they

don’t like it, can you come up with the plan B ...B ecause it is a

c lien t...” (I14/E3).

G1-Manager responded:

121


“Game Designer proposes a final ‘look and feel’. Team Leader

with Group Leader have a final say on implementation of

specific features that affect the ‘look and feel’” (Q14/G1).

During the follow-up interview with the researcher, G1-Manager stated that

“Game Designer, the Visual person, you can say with confidence has the final say [on

the ‘look and feel’]...O u r Game Designers usually have graphic experience”

(I14/G1). He/she also added:

“Usually, it’s your Game Designer and your Graphic Artist

comes up with the final look...W e would have to have

significant concerns before we would force them to change it.

[Significant concerns in this case may be that] a particular

game element would be insulting to a specific segment o f our

p layers...o r this particular element is infringing on somebody’s

copyright” (Q14/G1).

E4-Designer responded: “Typically, the client [decides] with some input from

all other team members” (Q14/E4). During the interview, he/she stated that, in case of

a disagreement about some element o f the “look and feel” : “We would, probably, just

agree to go with one decision, document another suggestion, and send it to the client,

and let them decide...It is always the client who makes the final decision...”

(I14/E4).

E5-Designer wrote: “Senior and Leads from each department [decide]”

(Q14/E5).

G2-Designer responded:

122


“Generally, I as a Game Designer, make final decision on the

‘look and feel’ o f the multimedia product. Occasionally, a

Team Leader, or Marketing Director may force me to change

something” (Q14/G2).

G3-Designer wrote:

“It mostly comes down to the Game Designers and the Artist in

the end. The Game Designers must accurately convey the look

they want to the Artist and they must arrive at the final ‘look’

together.

The feel o f the game comes down to the Game Designer in the

end. It is the responsibility o f the game Designer to make sure

the game feels right in the end and this, usually, involves many

long hours o f play testing.

Sometimes, the final calls on the ‘look and feel’ can come

down to either the Team Leader or the client. Our clients act

very similar to what publishers do in traditional game software

development, so, if they dislike something about the ‘look and

feel’ o f the game, we have little choice, but to comply”

(Q14/G3).

During the interview, when the researcher asked what happens if

there is a conflict between the Artist and the Game Designer, and the

Game Designer thinks that there are some issues with graphic elements,

he/she responded:

123


“That’s a tough situation. I had it happen before... It does quite

a bit fall in to ... if I had to push it on the project, I could push it,

and say: ‘Now you are going to do it this way, or don’t do it

this w ay’, but it does not work well for getting the things done.

Usually, when I have problems with graphics, it is a matter o f

speaking the same language as the Artist, and figure out how

you can change it without stepping on their ego, or how they

feel about their work. Usually, we can find the middle

ground...I am able to say: ‘You tried that one before, what

about this, try a little bit more o f that’. . .” (I14/G3).

E7-Artist responded:

“The client used several companies to work on various aspects

o f the project. Another company actually came up with a

design document we had to work from. Unfortunately, the

people at this other company were producing graphics with

content quite different from ours, so the graphic standards they

established weren’t always appropriate” (Q14/E7).

E8-Artist simply answered: “The client” (Q14/E8). During the interview, the

clarification on the question was:

“We had many instances where we produced graphics... but

they [clients] did not like the graphics, because it was too

mesmerizing for the class... It is always up to the client. They

get the final say on the product, every look, every feel, and

124


right down to how bright is the background or co lo rs...”

(I14/E8).

In response to the researcher’s question about the b ackground o f the p eople

working for the client (that are, in fact, making all decisions) the response was: “They

are a mix o f Instructional Designers and Research and Development people...”

(I14/E8).

E9-Artist wrote: “The final decision is made by the entire team as a group, but

mostly the Graphic Designer determines a lot o f the ‘look and feel’ (Q14/E9). G4-

Artist responded: “Usually the Game Designer gets final say” (Q14/G4) and if there

is some disagreement about the look and feel, and there is time limitation, sometimes

Graphic Artists have to let it go (I14/G4).

G5-Artist answered: “Game Designer and Artist. And, as well, a Sound

person” (Q14/G5). He/she elaborated further during the interview:

“ ...A s far as the look goes, the look comes back to,

predominantly, the Artist and the Game Designer. The Game

Designer always has the right to say that I don’t like that; I ’d

like to get that changed. It’s becoming a little bit more a give

and take relationship, at least in my case, where, i f I don’t

agree with Game Designer’s decision, I will tell him, and I will

not refuse to make changes, but, well, make a very strong case

for decisions I made, if I feel I am on the right ...a t some point

maybe it’s time to bring somebody else to look at the

decision ...” (114/G5).

125


E6-Developer responded: “Basically, it is down to the Senior GAs [Graphic

Artists] and the PM s [Project Managers]” (Q14/E6). During the interview, the

clarification was:

“Generally, today in the company, the ‘look and feel’ is up to

the Senior Graphic Artist person to take a look at it and sign

off... In the past, it has been anything from Instructional

Designer saying ‘no we don’t like the interface change it’, or

maybe Development saying ‘no this functionality is not going

to work, graphically, and programmatically’; and Project

Managers definitely do have a say, especially Project Managers

with Graphic background...If you really want to say who has

the final decision it is the customer. Because the customer will

come back and say - ‘I like this, I like that, I don’t like this, I

don’t like that’; we have definitely sent o ff a prototype and had

to change the entire ‘look and feel’ because it was not ‘urban’

enough, not what they had expected .. .The ultimate decision is

the clients’, even though they might not be the experts in that

field” (I14/E6).

5. Suggestions on im provem ents

The last question, Question 15 in the questionnaire (Do you have any

suggestions on how to improve team structure or the production environment that, in

turn, will improve the quality o f a multimedia product?), asked the participants to

provide suggestions on how to improve team structure or the production environment

126


that, in turn would improve the quality o f a multimedia product. El-M anager

responded:

“M any different team structures work well. Production

experience, education, and well established development

procedures and policies have a great impact. [It helps to have

on the team] someone that is familiar with the research

literature with respect to interface design, learning theory,

course design, team production, and advanced technologies,

such as learning objects, LMS [Learning Objects M anagement

Systems], and LCMS [Learning Content Management

Systems] and so on” (Q 15/El).

G l-M anager suggested: “Set training objectives, time and track the results.

[Have] m ore requirem ent management i n the earlier stages o f the project. Perform

focus group testing earlier (Q15/G1). During the interview, he/she added to this:

“Because o f the nature o f our business, our clients often decide

that they want to change a particular specification, or a

regulation half-way through the project. Because o f this, we

need more requirements management, and that is the people

who are willing to say: ‘Listen, we can’t incorporate that into

the project, unless you are willing to extend the end date by x

number o f weeks, to accomplish that without affecting the

quality o f the product’. W hat I find, currently, that the client

will request the change half-way through the project, and we

127


will be expected to incorporate that change, and still meet the

original end date, which, in my opinion, should be addressed”

(I15/G1).

E3-M anager recommended during the interview that:

“Videoconferencing capability would be an asset [when

working with remote clients]... When you are talking about

producing courseware, you need to show them. It will allow us

to reach quicker decisions than by using phone calls and

emails. It just does not do justice to the v isuals...It will

probably enable us to deliver something that hits the mark

better the first time, because they’ve seen it before” (I15/E3).

E4-Designer, during the interview, mentioned that:

“Being aware o f other people’s jobs might help. Even if they

are not capable o f doing everybody’s jobs, if they can at least

be aware, it might help to improve the quality...Avoid the

separation between departm ents...If the teams can

communicate between each other, it is a good thing, and it

affects quality ...” (I15/E4).

E5-Designer thought it would be wise to: ’’Give PMs [Project Managers] more

experience from the ID [Instructional Design]/Graphics/Development worlds”

(Q15/E5). “Project Management, probably, is where the most conflict com es...

They often can’t relate, or they try to relate, but they really don’t...They don’t

want to talk to the client and tell them that we will be a week la te ... ” (I15/E5).

128


G2-Designer proposed:

“Formalize training checklist for each position, so it can be

documented that each new employee is up to date on each

procedure related to his/her position.

Critical stage analysis o f each phase o f development to more

quickly address problems and acknowledge success in each

project. I f all members o f the team are involved in this

evaluation, then this should result in an increased sense of

‘ownership’ and a higher quality end-product.

Better communication between and across game development

teams to help prevent inconsistencies in the standards and

reinventing the wheel” (Q15/G2).

E7-Artist w rote: “ 11 hink c ommunication c ould have h elped t o c reate b etter

graphics. I f our concerns had been addressed, or our questions answered, we could

have produced a better product” (Q15/E7). E6-Developer echoed that good

communication skills are crucial (Q15/E6), as well as: “Respect and understanding

that other people, other functions, like Graphics, Development, Instructional Design,

QA, those people, probably, know a lot more than you know about their field, then

everything will run much smoother” (I15/E6).

G4-Artist believed that the overall quality o f the final product would improve

if it were possible to “get EVERYONE involved on the ‘ground floor’. Have

‘brainstorming’ sessions and more flexibility on deadlines. More sketching, etc. for

the artists” (Q15/G4). In turn, G5-Artist proposed several steps towards improvement:

129


“A clear and effective communication. A very detailed pre-

production stage. Iron out all details before a project begins.

Should be at least one third o f the entire production schedule.

Have people in lead roles, who are competent leaders! Have

critical stage analysis, instead o f post mortems” (Q15/G5).

During the interview he/she elaborated on this:

“ There seems to be a trend recently in game development that

is called post mortem; where, at the end o f the project you look

at all things that went right and all things that went wrong, and

write this big document. Supposedly, people would read it

before t he s tart o f t he n ext p roject. 0 ften t ime i t d id n ot g et

read. Often time it would not get filled properly. So, I would

use the stage critical analysis, where these types o f issues are

met at each stage o f critical development, rather than at the end

o f the project when everybody is tired and burned out. The

issues are addressed at the crucial times and the problems

solved th en ...” (I15/G5).

130


VITA

C an d id ate’s full nam e: Ilia Goldfarb

U niversities a ttended:

Kalinin State University, Kalinin, Russia (1975-1980) - BCS / BEd

University o f New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada (2000-2004) - MEd

Publications:

Goldfarb, I. & Kondratova, I. 2003, Using Visual Materials to Engage Learners, Proceedings o f ED-Media 2003, ACEE World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications, 1273-1280.

Goldfarb I. 2003. Using the Web to Teach Democracy, paper republished with permission o f AACE in CSS Journal (Computers in the Social Studies - A Journal fo r Teachers) Vol. 11 No 1 Jan/Apr 2003, ISSN 1090-8595.

Kondratova, I. & Goldfarb, I. 2003, Design Concepts for Virtual Research and Collaborative Environments, Knowledge Management in Architectural, Engineering and Construction, 10th ISPE International Conference On Concurrent Engineering: The Vision fo r Future Generation in Research and Applications, J. Cha et al. (eds), Swets & Zeitlinger, Lisse, Portugal, 797-803.

Kondratova, I.L., Goldfarb, I. 2003. How Information Technology Can Help Sustainability and Aid in Combating Global Warming, Proceedings o f the Symposium honoring the extraordinary contributions o f professor Theodore Bremner, 6 th CANM ET/ACIInternational Conference, J.P. Riece & T.A. Holm (eds), Thessaloniki, Greece, 151-166.

Goldfarb I. 2002. Using the Web to Teach Democracy, Proceedings o f ACEE E- Learn 2002, World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare & Higher Education, October 15-19, 2002, Montreal, Canada, Eds. Margaret Driscoll and Thomas Reeves, 343-348.

Goldfarb, I. and Kondratova, I. L. 2002. Cross-Cultural Internet Based Resource for Teaching Democracy, Proceedings o f the International Conference on Computers in Education - IC C E 2002, Eds. Kinshuk, R. Lewis, K. Akahori, R. Kemp, T. Okamoto, L. Henderson, and C. H. Lee, IEEE Computer Society, 1174-1178.

Goldfarb, I., Kondratova, I. L. and Boyd Kinnie, H. 2002. International Collaboration in Developing Online Resources for Teaching Democracy, Proceedings o f the NAWEB 2002, Eighth International North American Web Based Learning


Conference, University o f New Brunswick, Fredericton, Oct. 19-22 2002, University o f New Brunswick publication, Eds. Mary Astorino, Allan Ellis, Rik Hall, 43-52.

Kondratova, LL., Goldfarb, I. and Bremner, T.W. 2002. Sustainable Development of Cement and Concrete - IT Provides a Path from Research to Practice. Proceedings o f the 2002 International Congress Challenges o f Concrete Construction, Conference 2 - Sustainable Concrete Construction, under the Theme o f Environmental Strategies - Applications o f Information Technology to Environmental Studies, University o f Dundee, Dundee, Scotland, UK, Sept. 5-11, Thomas Telford Publishers, 88-94.

Kondratova, I.L., Goldfarb, I. 2002. Using the Internet to Transfer Knowledge on Concrete Durability: Improving and Fostering Knowledge Exchange. eWork and eBusiness in Architecture, Engineering and Construction, Proceedings o f the Fourth European Conference on Product and Process Modeling in the Building and Related Industries, Portoroz, Slovenia, 9-11 September, 2002, A.A. Balkema Publishers, 679- 684.

Kondratova, I., Bremner, T. W. and Goldfarb, I. 2002. IT Providing a Path From Research to Practice - Promoting Use o f Environmentally Friendly Cement and Concrete in Construction, Conference Proceedings o f the First International Conference on Construction in the 21st Centwy (CITC2002), "Challenges and Opportunities in Management and Technology", 25-26 April, 2002, Miami, Florida, USA, 601-608.

Kondratova, I. L., Goldfarb I. A., Bremner, T.W., Malhotra V. M. 1998. Computer Database For Concrete Specimens at a Marine Exposure Site, Proceedings o f the First International Conference on New Information Technologies fo r Decision Making in Civil Engineering, Montreal, Quebec, 803- 811.
