social and ethical issues associated with education and training in multimedia
Copyright
Copyright refers to the legal protection for people who express ideas and information in a variety of forms. The most common forms resemble the data types that are used in multimedia system: writing, visual images, music and moving images. Computer software is also protected by copyright laws. It is important that when you use data that is not your own it is acknowledged correctly and the author recognised and/or compensated.
In the field of Training and Education, and in particular the programs PowerPoint, Visual basic and 3DS Max, copyright issues can arise commonly. This is due to a number of reasons.
In education, software is used mostly by school aged children. At this point in schooling, concepts of ‘copyright’ and plagarism are unlikely to be fully understood. It is because of this, that copyright issues in the form of not acknowledging copyright holders, and accepting false ownership for work is likely to occur.
This can happen very easily in the software Microsoft Powerpoint, as it is an exceedingly common multimedia platform to be used in school based situations. It provides a user friendly interface and tool options which make copying work without acknowledging sources very simple. As it is a primarily visual presentation medium, copyright issues in relation to images is most likely to arise.
Appropriate use of the Internet
Appropriate use of the Internet is an; issue of concern throughout society and many organisations monitor online activity users and have guidelines that users are expected to follow. Now that multimedia content is so readily available online, there is even more unease about whether people are being responsible while, for example, at work or school. Many organisations, therefore, have guidelines regarding, for example, the; creation, transmission, downloading of any offensive or obscene material.
The field of education and training in multimedia provides a very self explanatory objective; training and education.
Appropriate use of the internet is an ongoing concern within schools and the workplace. There are numerous filtering software programs, such as Blue reef, which block prescriberd sites, decided upon by the administrators.
It is extremely important that within education and training, blocks and regulations are put in place and enforced to ensure a safe learning environment can be established and maintained with minimum distraction from potentially offensive and obscene multimedia material, that can be so readily accessed from the internet.
The merging of radio, television, communications and the Internet
Increasing improvements in digital technology is blurring the lines between the traditional formats of radio, television and the Internet. Digital broadcasting is the catalyst for a new media delivering more diversity in content and a crossover between television, radio and online content.
The merging of these mediums can be exceedingly positive in relation to education and training. It enables those who are undergoing education and training programs to access content in one simple location, rather than searching across several multimedia paltforms to find the relevant information.
The integrity of original source data
The quality of a multimedia system will depend significantly on the integrity of the data it contains. It is important to cross-reference material; - particularly if it is sourced from the Internet.; Unlike books, which must generally comply with the editorial policy of the publisher, there are few barriers to publishing on the web. As a rule, government and educational sites (particularly universities) are reliable whereas online documents that have unverifiable information are more likely to have questionable integrity.
In education and training sourcing reliable inforamation is integral to the advancement of knowledge in the individual. The purpose the of education and training is to teach people facts, and proper methods and such. If information is false, and the integrity of the priginal source data is questionable, it defies the very purpose of education and training. This is something that all learning organisations must be very wary of in the utilisation of online educational resources, and the teaching of their pupils.
Current and emerging trends in multimedia
An example of a current and/or emerging trend in multimedia is the increasing development of virtual worlds for entertainment and training.
Emerging trends, such as advancements in multimedia technology, for example, the introduction of Smart Boards into a huge number of school calssrooms, is an example of how a multimedia software is extremely beneficial to education and training. It is a versatile teaching tool that has the capability to greatly enhance learning opportunities in students across all age groups. The interactivity, user friendly and informative and creative properties of the Smart Board make it an incredibly positive emerging trend in multimedia in education and training.
In training, in educational facilities for occupations such as the air force, the development of virtual worlds have become extremely beneficial to train future proffesionals in potentially dangerous scenarios.
The development of virtual realities in the form of, for example, flight simulators, has had an overwhelming positive impact in the training of students.
The use of flight simulators eliminates risk of injury in training exercises and provides a realistic training environment for students to practice and be tested in their flight skills without the potential risk of actually flying a plane of sorts and crashing it.