Interactive Multimedia & Design

What Is Interactive Multimedia Design?
Provided the bulb isn’t burned out, if you turn on a light switch, the light should go on. That’s Interactive. If you push the blue button on your Xbox controller, the character on your screen might reload a gun or pick up an object. That’s interactive multimedia. Read on to learn about more types of interactive media and the designers behind it.

Where You Can Find Interactive Multimedia?

If you’re like a lot of people, one of the first things that pop into your mind when you think of interactive multimedia is video games. There are lots of other areas where this new media lurks. The applications on an IPhone are products of interactive multimedia because they react to your touch. Search engines are another example because they respond to queries you type into the search boxes.

Advertising has embraced interactive multimedia. You can go to a variety of websites and upload your own photo to see what you’d look like with a different hair color or style. You’ll also find websites with interactive multimedia designed simply for personal amusement, where you can do things like see how you’d look if you were turned into a zombie.

Businesses and educational institutions have found a new way to connect across the globe through interactive multimedia. Websites have different formats available that allow teachers to conduct classes for students while both are present via avatars. You may one day find yourself attending a virtual board meeting in a purple forest even though your associates are each sitting in a different country.

Interactive Multimedia & Design Skills

The people who design these toys and tools have both technical training and an eye for art. Learning to design interactive multimedia, you study a combination of computer programming, writing and graphic art classes. Depending on your career goal, you may find yourself taking courses that include green screen and motion-capture techniques. Professional programs like After Effects and the Unreal Engine are software skills learned in interactive multimedia & design programs.

Job Options

Interactive multimedia designers generally work as part of a team. Many academic programs include creating a professional portfolio as part of the curriculum. Along with advertising and video gaming options, some career or job choices open to you include:

• Public relations professional
• Page layout designer
• Web developer
• Social media developer
• Instructional designer
• Online journalist

M.A-L.C.D

What Is Multimedia Technology?

What Is Multimedia Technology?
Multimedia technology applies interactive computer elements, such as graphics, text, video, sound and animation, to deliver a message. If you have a knack for computer work and are interested in digital media, read on to discover career and education opportunities available in this growing specialty.

Multimedia Technology Defined

Multimedia technology refers to interactive, computer-based applications that allow people to communicate ideas and information with digital and print elements. Professionals in the field use computer software to develop and manage online graphics and content. The work that media technology specialists produce is used in various mediums, such as training programs, Web pages and news sites.

Career Opportunities

There are a many employment opportunities for multimedia technology professionals in a variety of industries. Anything that needs to be communicated to an audience can contain digital and print images, text or animation to attract attention and deliver the message. You might find a position in marketing or advertising. You may be employed in publishing and be responsible for managing, designing or producing multimedia content for websites, newspapers and magazines. Possible career choices include:

• Web developer
• Graphic artist
• Digital photographer
• Instructional designer
• Production assistant
• Desktop publisher
• Education Options

Many community colleges offer associates degrees in multimedia technology, providing introductory education in the field. These degree programs prepare you for entry-level employment in the field; however, employers tend to prefer applicants who hold bachelor’s degrees, according to job listings for multimedia specialists on CareerBuilder.com.

In multimedia degree programs, you can expect to learn how to use computer programs and create interactive presentations or materials. You may be trained to use website development software like Cascading Style Sheet or the Adobe suite, which includes Photoshop, Flash, Illustrator and Dreamweaver. You may also learn design techniques using multimedia technology and be encouraged to develop your own creative style and make personal works of digital art. Multimedia technology courses typically include:

• Interactive media
• Website design fundamentals
• Electronic imaging
• Introductory photography
• Animation
• Multimedia programming
• Graphic design
• Digital editing

Summary
Multimedia that’s effective in learning doesn’t simply consist of using multiple media
together, but combining media mindfully in ways that capitalize on the characteristics
of each individual medium and extend and augment the learning experience.
Research shows how multimedia can extend and augment learning. Uses of
multimedia vary, from practice to games to discovery learning. Designers should
first determine what outcomes they are trying to achieve and then select elements
well suited for these outcomes (for example, select audio to allow learner to hear
differences in tone). Then they need to make sure that the multimedia elements are
designed well and work well together.
A designer with an information transfer view of learning is likely to limit the potential
benefits of multimedia learning environments by continuously building drill-andpractice types of environments even when these are not called for instructionally. On
the other hand, someone with a knowledge construction view of learning may have
such an expansive view of what is possible that the resulting multimedia environment
may be frustrating or overwhelming for learners. In all cases, determining when
to use multimedia and designing good multimedia require real consideration and
benefits from a team of people with instructional design, graphic arts, information
architecture, and usability skills.
Mayer and Najjar provide us with principles for designing multimedia environments,
and these can be extremely helpful. One caution: Don’t be held captive to these (or
any other design) principles without consideration of the idiosyncrasies of the specific
situation. Being a good designer means learning and knowing when to follow the
rules and when the situation calls for a unique response.
Although multimedia offers designers enormous opportunities for making learning
environments meaningful and effective, multimedia by itself does not assure a good
learning environment. Hede and Hede provide us with a list of critical factors that
need to be considered. Research in this field is in its infancy (or at least toddlerhood)
and will help us design the most effective multimedia environments for learning.