Using Multimedia to Teach Multimedia in 
Computer Engineering Classes


at the


University of Wisconsin-Madison


prepared for


The Institute on Learning Technology


part of the


 


Spring 2001

This quicklook also is available from the
Learning Through Technology web site,
http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/nise/ilt/


Using Multimedia to Teach Multimedia in 
Computer Engineering Classes


Wayne Burleson
Associate Professor
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts
burleson@ecs.umass.edu


Why use technology?
We already use many types of learning technology in our courses (video-based distance 
learning, software labs, the World Wide Web, e-mail, etc.). However, we saw a niche for 
developing WebDVD-based modules in the area of multimedia systems, to create a multimedia 
systems archive that any of our faculty can use in their courses. These modules can also be 
used as short courses or for distance learning as well. 

Our motivation is that multimedia is a new, exciting area that spans many disciplines within 
computer engineeringÑit is a computer-based communications system that integrates and 
delivers a complete package of audio, video, and text to end users. Multimedia is one of the 
most rapidly growing areas in computer technology, with both hardware and software being 
redesigned to accommodate it. The design of the systems that enable multimedia should be a 
primary part of any computer engineering curriculum.

We saw this project as an opportunity to invigorate and update our undergraduate computer 
engineering curricula, while developing innovative teaching methods and learning technologies. 
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is located in a somewhat rural location and is still 
fairly traditional in terms of teaching styles; it is skeptical of much instructional technology, but 
the College of Engineering sees technology as an important tool. In addition, this is a public 
university and we have all different types of students, including a growing group of non-
traditional students: distance ed students, disabled students, students who are working moms, 
and transfer students with varying levels of preparation.


The courses
Rather than develop a new course, we felt that we could insert a module of multimedia content 
into each of our core Computer Engineering Courses: Computer Networks, Computer 
Architecture, Graphics, Hardware Design, Testing, Programming. These courses are offered at 
all undergraduate levels to engineering majors, with class sizes varying from large (100 
students) to small (10 students). The modules are also used as short course tutorials for 
distance learning and for self-paced instruction. And I will be teaching a course on multimedia 
systems as a general education course starting next spring. This will be for non-majors and will 
require no prerequisites. We felt that multimedia is too important to just leave it to the engineers. 
This is actually going to be part of an information technology minor program.


The strategy
We chose to develop and deliver the modules using multimedia technology, thus providing a 
direct example of the technology as part of the curriculum. Our goal was to add new materials to 
our curriculum and convey the excitement of the content.

The project began in 1998; seven faculty started developing six modules to be used throughout 
the computer engineering program. The six modules, covering various aspects of multimedia 
systems, are: Video Coding, Computer Graphics, Multimedia Networking, Multimedia Hardware, 
Multimedia Architectures, and Multimedia Testing. One or more faculty members are in charge 
of each module, with assistance from at least one graduate student and one or more 
undergraduates. We decided on a seven-member team to encourage creativity and to take 
advantage of a wide variety of teaching styles.  It also helped with the critique processÑweÕve 
actually been much more self-critical as a group. This has prevented us from falling in love with 
a technology weÕve developed and then forcing it down studentsÕ throats.

We developed a generic module template (interactive video lectures, interactive video 
demonstrations, links to related design projects), but the modules vary significantly overall 
because of the different content and teaching styles. We basically had three thrusts in the 
project, and all of the modules crossed all three thrusts: 1) the presentation formatÑWebDVD; 
2) instructional utilitiesÑhallmark systems, quiz systems, collaboration systems; and 3) design 
projectsÑto create an archive of multimedia products. 

The latter we felt was very important, to support what we feel is the way most engineers really 
learn about their discipline: project-based courses. This tends to be very informal, students 
working together closely with a faculty member, which is much more like real-world engineering. 
We felt that we could contribute to that process with an archive of materials and descriptions of 
hardware, of software, of media that would help people. And the "value added" idea was that 
those projects would leverage our research into multimedia engineering, since we are a 
research institution. 


The learning technology
The six modules are designed to introduce multimedia concepts into traditional computer 
engineering courses. These modules use a combination of interactive Digital Video Disks 
(DVDs) and Web technology, providing high-quality audio and video combined with hot-links to 
the World Wide Web. Besides the Web-links for timely materials, the modules present video 
lectures and demonstrations. These modules allow for demonstrations of multimedia and 
hands-on interaction by students that would otherwise require expensive labs. You can explore 
the entire project by starting at the main URL: http://www.ecs.umass.edu/ece/dvd.  

For a sample within a module, see 
http://www.galois.ecs.umass.edu/dvd/doc/module1/lect41.html.

Some examples and URLs that visitors can browse:

_ In a large freshman networking course, we used a Web-based homework system and 
demosÑthis was very successful. The URL: http://dvd1.ecs.umass.edu/miu/. 
_ These last two URLs also show two styles of DVD lectures and demos in a small 
graduate-level course. Interestingly, this was less successful; here we found that the 
students preferred a real live professor and more interaction. We realized it was difficult 
to re-target static materials to different audiences. We faced the same limitations as with 
a textbook.
_ We used an audio-html RealPlayer format for a module on VLSI design, to create an 
Internet-based slide show with synchronized audio. We captured the video lecture in our 
Video Instructional Program professional studios, just like any regular UMass academic 
or short course. We then digitized the video and combined it with additional course 
materials before putting in on the DVD. We used MANIC (Multimedia Asynchronous 
Networked Individualized Courseware) software, developed by the UMass Computer 
Science Department, which allowed us to integrate slides and video stills with 
synchronized audio; the software puts the multimedia into an Internet-based format 
viewable by standard browsers like Explorer or Netscape and the media player 
RealPlayer. Students can halt the presentation at any point they choose and interact by 
navigating through the slides; linking to glossaries, other slides, or outside Websites; or 
searching for keywords in the slides or text. See 
http://vsp2.ecs.umass.edu/dvd/pic/Slide/manic-11.jpg.
_ Students can also interact when theyÕre viewing the lectures by choosing examples and 
demonstrations. These are presented as small applications (Java Applets or CGI 
programs) that are inserted into html pages like images. For example, an applet can be 
a demonstration that allows the students to enter their own algorithms onto the page and 
then see how the outcome changes in the way a piece of video runs.

We also want to customize the homework by tagging the questions by both topic and 
difficultyÑwhat the researchers call "intelligent tutoring." If youÕre having a hard time, you get 
easier, remedial-type questions. If youÕre on top of the material, you get harder questions.  
WeÕre starting to do this with a database of questions, but itÕs not yet as sophisticated as we 
want it to be.


The funding
This is a three-year, $800,000 project, with funds from the National Science Foundation 
Computer Information Science and Engineering Directorate, Educational Innovations Program; 
with matching funds from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. To meet the dissemination 
requirement of the NSF grant, we will be working with and sharing the multimedia products with 
five institutions: Springfield Technical Community College; Smith College; Pusan National 
University, South Korea; ENST Paris; and National Technological University.


The results
After our first experiences, we are now shifting a bit to try and get the best aspects of computer 
technology-based and traditional methods. The students are extremely multimedia literate from 
the exposure they get from entertainment and such; our technology is still a bit rough, not even 
matching VHS quality yet. We also found that we needed to pay attention to how static the 
"talking heads" are in the video lectures. In one, for example, the professor was holding a 
microphone in one hand and using a mouse pointer with the other, so her hand gestures were 
severely limited. The students preferred the VHS video format rather than streaming video from 
the Web; the Web was too slow and unreliable for quality streaming. 

You canÕt just show students a video in class and nothing else; no matter what the subject 
matter, many of them will just nod off.  When I used another instructorÕs video, I had better 
results when I stopped it every 10 minutes or so to ask questions and relay some anecdotes to 
illustrate the material. 

Our target is having students run the DVDs off their own machines; they can stop, take the 
quizzes, be interactive. But this can be lonesome, too. The only solution is to have a fully 
networked classroom in which students are all sitting at machines and interacting. The 
University has some fancy classrooms like that but itÕs extremely expensive to do.

The grand vision is to enable distance education and leverage the distance-ed infrastructure for 
on-campus students. DVD will allow students to take lectures without scheduling hassles and 
focus on both face-to-face and Web-based interaction instead. Since it is DVD, students donÕt 
require a streaming, high-speed Internet connection; they can study in libraries, cafes, outdoors, 
just as they do with regular textbooks.

If you have any questions, you can contact me at: burleson@ecs.umass.edu.


LINKS
Multimedia Systems: An Integrated Modular Curriculum: 
http://vsp2.ecs.umass.edu/dvd/
Sample Module: Video Coding:
http://galois.ecs.umass.edu/dvd/doc/module1/module1.html
Sample Topic within a Module: Video Coding Using MPEG:
http://galois.ecs.umass.edu/dvd/doc/module1/lect41.html
University of Massachusetts Amherst:
http://www.umass.edu/
MANIC:
http://manic.cs.umass.edu/