Chapter II: Multimedia

Prepared by: Donnaville L. Rubio

Lesson 1: What is Multimedia?

The word multi and media are combined to form the word multimedia. The word "
multi" signifies "many." Multimedia is a type of medium that allows information to
be easily transferred from one location to another. Multimedia is the presentation of
text, pictures, audio, and video with links and tools that allow the user to navigate,
engage, create, and communicate using a computer.

Multimedia brings information to life by combining five essential elements:

 Text: Conveying ideas through written words.

 Pictures: Capturing visuals with photographs, illustrations, or graphics.

 Audio: Including sounds, music, and narration.

 Video: Merging moving images with synchronized sound.

 Animation: Adding motion and visual effects to still graphics.

Types of Multimedia

1. Linear Multimedia
Linear or sequential multimedia presents content in a set, predetermined order,
guiding the user through the material step by step. Examples include traditional
videos, slideshows, and presentations, where the content flows from one point to
the next without deviation. This type of multimedia is ideal for storytelling,
tutorials, and any content that requires a clear, structured progression. Linear
multimedia works very well for providing information to a large group of people
such as at training sessions, seminars, workplace meetings, etc.

2. Hyperactive multimedia refers to content that includes non-linear navigation,

often through hyperlinks. This allows users to jump between different pieces of
information based on their interests, rather than following a set sequence.
Websites and e-books are common examples, providing a more flexible and
user-driven experience that caters to individual preferences.movement of data.
For example computer games, websites, self-paced computer-based training
packages, etc.

3. Interactive multimedia allows users to engage directly with the content,

giving them control over their experience. Examples include websites,
 educational software, and video games, where users can click, drag, or navigate
through different sections. This type of multimedia is highly engaging as it
encourages active participation, making it ideal for learning and exploration.

Multimedia is used in:

1. Education
In the subject of education, multimedia is becoming increasingly popular. It is
often used to produce study materials for pupils and to ensure that they have a
thorough comprehension of various disciplines. Edutainment, which combines
education and entertainment, has become highly popular in recent years. This
system gives learning in the form of enjoyment to the user.
2. Entertainment
The usage of multimedia in films creates a unique auditory and video
impression. Today, multimedia has completely transformed the art of filmmaking
around the world. Multimedia is the only way to achieve difficult effects and
actions.
The entertainment sector makes extensive use of multimedia. It's particularly
useful for creating special effects in films and video games. The most visible
illustration of the emergence of multimedia in entertainment is music and video
apps. Interactive games become possible thanks to the use of multimedia in the
gaming business. Video games are more interesting because of the integrated
audio and visual effects.
3. Business
Marketing, advertising, product demos, presentation, training, networked
communication, etc. are applications of multimedia that are helpful in many
businesses. The audience can quickly understand an idea when multimedia
presentations are used. It gives a simple and effective technique to attract
visitors' attention and effectively conveys information about numerous products.
It's also utilized to encourage clients to buy things in business marketing.
4. Technology & Science
In the sphere of science and technology, multimedia has a wide range of
applications. It can communicate audio, films, and other multimedia documents
in a variety of formats. Only multimedia can make live broadcasting from one
location to another possible.
It is beneficial to surgeons because they can rehearse intricate procedures such
as brain removal and reconstructive surgery using images made from imaging
scans of the human body. Plans can be produced more efficiently to cut
expenses and problems.
5. Fine Arts
Multimedia artists work in the fine arts, combining approaches employing many
media and incorporating viewer involvement in some form. For example, a
variety of digital mediums can be used to combine movies and operas.
Digital artist is a new word for these types of artists. Digital painters make digital
paintings, matte paintings, and vector graphics of many varieties using
computer applications.
6. Engineering
 Multimedia is frequently used by software engineers in computer simulations for
military or industrial training. It's also used for software interfaces created by
creative experts and software engineers in partnership. Only multimedia is used
to perform all the minute calculations.

Components of Multimedia
Multimedia consists of the following 5 components:
1. Text
Characters are used to form words, phrases, and paragraphs in the text. Text
appears in all multimedia creations of some kind. The text can be in a variety of
fonts and sizes to match the multimedia software's professional presentation.
Text in multimedia systems can communicate specific information or serve as a
supplement to the information provided by the other media.
2. Graphics
Non-text information, such as a sketch, chart, or photograph, is represented
digitally. Graphics add to the appeal of the multimedia application. In many
circumstances, people dislike reading big amounts of material on computers. As
a result, pictures are more frequently used than words to clarify concepts, offer
background information, and so on. Graphics are at the heart of any multimedia
presentation. The use of visuals in multimedia enhances the effectiveness and
presentation of the concept. Windows Picture, Internet Explorer, and other
similar programs are often used to see visuals. Adobe Photoshop is a popular
graphics editing program that allows you to effortlessly change graphics and
make them more effective and appealing.
3. Animations
A sequence of still photographs is being flipped through. It's a set of visuals that
give the impression of movement. Animation is the process of making a still
image appear to move. A presentation can also be made lighter and more
appealing by using animation. In multimedia applications, the animation is quite
popular. The following are some of the most regularly used animation viewing
programs: Fax Viewer, Internet Explorer, etc.
4. Video
Photographic images that appear to be in full motion and are played back at
speeds of 15 to 30 frames per second. The term video refers to a moving image
that is accompanied by sound, such as a television picture. Of course, text can
be included in videos, either as captioning for spoken words or as text
embedded in an image, as in a slide presentation. The following programs are
widely used to view videos: Real Player, Window Media Player, etc.
5. Audio
Any sound, whether it's music, conversation, or something else. Sound is the
most serious aspect of multimedia, delivering the joy of music, special effects,
and other forms of entertainment. Decibels are a unit of measurement for
volume and sound pressure level. Audio files are used as part of the application
context as well as to enhance interaction. Audio files must occasionally be
distributed using plug-in media players when they appear within online
applications and webpages. MP3, WMA, Wave, MIDI, and RealAudio are
 examples of audio formats. The following programs are widely used to view
videos: Real Player, Window Media Player, etc.

Lesson II: Evolution of Media

Prehistory (1500 BC – 1500 AD) is the period of human activity between the use of the
first stone tools ~3.3 million years ago and the invention of writing systems, the earliest
of which appeared ~5300 years ago.Technology that predates recorded history. History
is the study of the past using written records; it is also the record itself. Anything prior to
the first written accounts of history is prehistoric (meaning "before history"), including
earlier technologies. About 2.5 million years before writing was developed, technology
began with the earliest hominids who used stone tools, which they may have used to
start fires, hunt, cut food, and bury their dead.

The Industrial Age (1700s-1930s) is a period of history that encompasses the changes
in economic and social organization that began around 1760 in Great Britain and later in
other countries, characterized chiefly by the replacement of hand tools with power-
driven machines such as the power loom and the steam engine, and by the
concentration of industry in large establishments.
The Electronic age (1930s – 1980s) is the invention of the transistor ushered in the
electronic age. People harnessed the power of transistor that led to the transistor
communication became more efficient.

Digital Age or Informational Age (1900s-2000s) is a period in human history

characterized by the shift from traditional industry that the Industrial Revolution brought
through industrialization, to an economy based on information computerization.The
internet paved the way advanced the used of microelectronics with the invention of
personal computers, devices wearable technology. Moreover, voice, image, sounds,
and data are digitalized.
Lesson III: Different Types of Media

Print Media

This type of news media used to be the only way of delivering information to the public.
For the generations of the 80s and 90s, print media was the only media of entertain.
People relied on newspapers and magazines to learn everything, from recipes and
entertainment news to important information about the country or the world. Print media
includes:

 Newspapers – printed and distributed on a daily or weekly basis. They include

news related to sports, politics, technology, science, local news, national news,
international news, birth notices, as well as entertainment news related to
fashion, celebrities, and movies. Today’s parents grew up with this type of printed
media.
 Magazines – printed on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. It contains
information about finance, food, lifestyle, fashion, sports, etc.
 Books – focused on a particular topic or subject, giving the reader a chance to
spread their knowledge about their favorite topic.
 Banners – used to advertise a company’s services and products, hung on easily-
noticed sights to attract people’s attention.
 Billboards – huge advertisements created with the help of computers. Their goal
is to attract people passing by.
 Brochures – a type of booklet that includes everything about one company – its
 products, services, terms and conditions, contact details, address, etc. These
online brochures are either distributed with the newspapers or hand over to
people.
 Flyers – used mostly by small companies due to the low cost of advertising.
They contain the basic information about a company, their name, logo, service or
product, and contact information, and they are distributed in public areas.

Broadcasting Media

Broadcasting media includes videos, audios, or written content that provides important
or entertaining information shared by different methods:

 Television – in the past, there were a few channels sharing various types of
content, whereas now we have hundreds of TV channels to choose from. Each
channel delivers a different type of content, so you have a separate channel for
news, drama, movies, sports, animation, nature, travel, politics, cartoon, and
religion. It’s the number one broadcasting media due to its reach to the audience.
 Radio – uses radio waves to transmit entertaining, informative, and educative
content to the public. Due to its high reach to the audience, radio is widely used
for advertising products and services. Radio is one of the oldest means of
entertainment, and today people often hear it to find out the weather and traffic
while commuting.
 Movies – film, motion picture, screenplay, moving picture, or movie has world-
wide reachability. It’s the best type of mass media to promote cultures and
spread social awareness. Movies have always played a huge part in the
entertainment world.

Internet Media

Nowadays, we are relying on the Internet to get the news a lot more often than
traditional news sources. Websites provide information in the form of video, text, and
audio. We can even choose the way we want to receive the news. Types of Internet
media include:

 Social networks or websites – including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,

YouTube, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Quora, Reddit, Pinterest, etc. They are
user-friendly and widely used by people around the world. Although we can find
any news here, they may be misleading because of the lack of regulations on the
content shared.
 Online forums - an online place where we can comment, message, or discuss a
 particular topic. Forums allow us to share knowledge with other people with the
same interest. That’s why it’s regarded as the best platform to seek support and
assistance.
 Podcast – a series of audios focused on a particular topic or theme. We can
listen to them on a computer or a mobile phone. It’s a platform that allows anyone
to share their knowledge and communicate with the world. You can browse
some podcast hosting sites to see what fits your needs best.
 AI content – the rise of AI-generated content has disrupted the content creation
and online media landscape. Plenty of blogs, videos, and more have been relying
on different AI tools like ChatGPT, text to speech generators, AI report generators
, content writers, and more.

Lesson IV : Audio Information and Media

Audio is defined as anything connected to sound, specifically when received, recorded,
transferred, or duplicated (HarperCollins, n.d.). It is anything related to the
documentation and transmission of sound (Cambridge University, n.d.). Audio is one of
the resources of media and information, along with text, visual, and motion.
Audio Media refers to the media communication that uses audio equipment to report,
document, and deliver information through the means of sound. It may also refer to
audio formats such as analog tape cassettes, digital compact discs, and computer files
containing audio. On the other hand, audio information is the file or sound created and
transferred by using high fidelity waves that are heard through certain audio tools.
Types and Categories of Audio Information

❖ Radio Broadcast – the act of sending a live or recorded audio through radio
waves meant for a large group of listeners

❖ Music – an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental

or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner

❖ Sound Recording – the encoding of any sound from the surroundings; the act
or procedure of making a record of a certain sound (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

❖ Sound Clip/Sound Effect – the sound, aside from dialogue and music,
artificially made to create an effect in a movie, play, or other broadcast production
(Oxford University, n.d.)

❖ Audio Podcast – an episodic series of digital audio or video file or recording

that can be downloaded by a user from a website to a media player or computer
to listen.
Different ways of storing audio files:

❖ Tape – a magnetic tape sound recording format on which sound can be

 documented

❖ Compact Disc – a plastic-fabricated, circular tool on which audio, video, and

other digital information is recorded, stored, and played back

❖ USB Flash Drive - an external hard disk drive, small enough to fit on a
keychain, that can be plugged into the computer’s USB port

❖ Memory Card – a small, flat flash drive used to save data such as audiofiles,
pictures, texts, and videos for use on small, portable, or remote computing devices

❖ Computer Hard Drive – a secondary data storage device for saving digital data

❖ Internet/Cloud – a wide network of remote servers in the internet meant to

operate as storage and retrieval of audio files and other computer data.
Audio file formats:

❖ MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer 3) - a coding format for consumer audio, as well as
a mean of sound sequence compression for the transmission and playback of music on
most digital audio players

❖ M4A/AAC (MPEG-4 Audio/Advanced Audio Coding) - a file extension for lossy

digital audio compression

❖ WAV (Waveform Audio File Format) - the Microsoft audio file format standard
used for the storage of digital audio data on personal computers

❖ WMA (Windows Media Audio) - a file extension developed by Microsoft and

used with Windows Media Player
Characteristics of a Sound The following are the characteristics of sound:

❖ Volume - the force of a sound

❖ Tone - the musical or vocal sound of a definite quality (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

❖ Pitch - the degree of highness or lowness of a sound (Oxford University, n.d.)

❖ Loudness - the feature of a sound that determines the degree of the auditory
sensation produced (Merriam-Webster, n.d.) Purposes of Using Sounds or Audio Media
Audio media have a vital role when it comes to the teaching and learning process.
Some learners are auditory learners. These are learners who better understand lessons
by listening to the content and concepts that they need to grasp. This is the reason why
it is important to use audio media along with text and visual media since these will make
the lessons more motivating for learners.
The following are some of the purposes of using sounds or audio media in facilitating
learning:

❖ These enable the learners to listen to the ideas and views of the experts and
other reliable people;

❖ These allow learners to listen to learning materials, like speeches;

❖ These serve as alternative guides for the learners when they are doing their
tasks, such as experiments; and

❖ These grant the learners audio files of important past events or sounds from
the settings that the learners cannot personally visit.

Lesson V: Different Types of Websites

A website is a collection of interlinked web pages with a common domain name. The
website can be made by any individual, group, or company. All the websites together
constitute the world wide web. The website can be of several types, like an e-commerce
website, social media website, or a blog website, and every website has a different role,
but one thing is common that every website has several linked web pages.
You can create a random website where on the first page you can add a picture of your
favorite dish and link that page to another web page where you can add or write about
yourself. Initially, the structure of a web page was made using HTML, a hypertext
markup language. The domain name categorizes the types of websites: commercial
websites used .com extension and non-profit organization used .org extension.

Types of Websites

There are so many types of websites available and we cannot discuss each type, so
there we discuss some basic websites in detail:
Personal Website
These websites are used for sharing your personal information. Also, you can share
your philosophical thoughts and showcase your work. Many people use personal
websites to brand themselves.
Photo Sharing Website
This type of website enables you to store your photographs online and share them with
your family and friends. Here you can upload as much as you want, also manage it as
well as share it (private or public).
Blog
A blog is a website where people share information, ideas, and views. It is a place
where you can express your vision and your thoughts to the world. Earlier, blogs were
used as a journal, but now they are becoming one of the important mass
communication tools where people get to know about new things. WordPress and
Google blogger are famous blogging sites where you can write articles. Blogs include a
travel blog, news blog, cooking blog, etc.
Informational website
The term itself gives us the idea. This website provides information on various topics.
We very often get confused about many things and searching for them in a book is very
time-taking. These websites save our lives, as we get information about everything. For
example, Wikipedia is an information website where you can get information about
everything related to history, geography, science and technology, cinema, famous
people, etc.
E-commerce website
This website is a place for online shopping where a person can buy or sell a product.
Amazon, Flipkart, and Olx are some of the examples of an E-commerce website. E-
commerce has a lot of potentials to grow as nowadays, people tend to shop online
because of their hectic life.
Social Media website
This is the most popular website where people can connect with each other. Social
media websites enable the user to share their personal information, pictures, video
ideas, and opinion in real-time. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are some examples of
social media websites.
Educational Websites
Education websites include websites of colleges and schools and tuitions. The new
normal has changed the structure of educational institutions. Nowadays, people are
learning through online classes and the demands of educational websites also grow.
Portfolio Websites
These websites are used to showcase your best work to a professional. It is a more
personal website where creative people add their creativity to showcase their industry. A
portfolio website is a majorly creative one. For example, I am a writer and I want a job in
digital content writing. Then I can make a portfolio website where I can showcase my
different type of writing style on the website.
Non-Profit Websites
We all know marketing is the essence of the business and, more importantly, it is a
public presence. Likewise, non-profit organizations to need attention from the public and
thus, websites come into the picture. These days, every NGO has its own website. They
use them to inform their audience, raising funds, and also informing about themselves
what they are doing. For example, GateFoundation.org is a non-profit website.
Magazine and News Websites
Many people got confused with a blog website and news websites. Basically, a news
website focused on journalism rather than personal interests. These days every media
house has a digital presence on the internet. News and magazine websites monetize
through advertisement and subscription models. For example, The Times of India have
their own website called timesofindia.indiatimes.com where you can read news online.