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Multimedia Quality Checklist
By PR Guruprasad
http//www.educationwriter.blogspot.com
As the number of schools implementing multimedia based approaches increases, so does the number of K-12 multimedia material development companies. Multimedia production companies flood the K-12 educational resources market today so much that the consumer has a far wider range of options than ever before.
I have seen many schools purchasing multimedia packages eagerly. They begin using the packages enthusiastically. Within a few weeks they find that the resources are not up to the mark or not in accordance with Board Standards. Obviously they stop using the product. Such wastage of money and time can be averted if schools can make an assessment before buying the product.
As a professional who worked in school systems as well as K-12 multimedia production industry, I could analyze the scenario from the points of view of a consumer as well as a supplier. This led me to develop a simple questionnaire, which would assist schools in assessing these products before buying.
My questionnaire is as follows:
Technical quality:
1. Is the quality of the visual satisfactory?
2. Is the quality of the voice satisfactory?
3. Is the quality of the textual material satisfactory?
4. Is the layout student friendly?
5. Is the material fast enough to run without slowing down the system?
6. Is the package easy to run?
7. Is the package usable in different platforms?
8. Is the package inexpensive?
9. Does the package include name/s and physical address of the manufacturer in addition to email ID?
Pedagogic quality:
10. Are the concepts aligned with syllabus requirements or state standards?
11. Are the concepts appropriately sequenced?
12. Are the contents free from conceptual mistakes?
13. Are the contents free from poor language?
14. Are the contents free from ambiguous language?
15. Are the concepts related to students’ everyday experiences?
16. Are the contents free from gender bias?
17. Are the contents broad enough?
18. Are the contents good enough for self learning?
19. Do the contents encourage creative thinking?
20. Can the contents be adapted for use in different classroom situations?
21. Are the contents free from didactic monotony (followed in many textbooks)?
22. Do the contents contain problem solving exercises with instant feedback?
23. Do the contents contain interactive modules?
24. Do the contents contain links to references for further study?
25. Does the package include teachers’ guide?
As we can see, it is very simple to use. If each `Yes’ is given 1 point and `No’, an obvious 0, we can rate the material/s within a quality scale of 0 to 25. The best material gets a score of 25.
About the author
Panamalai R Guruprasad has served in K-12 school systems, Educational Publishing and E_learning for over 30 years.
He holds B Sc [Physics], B Ed [English and Physical Science] and M A [Childcare and Education] degrees.
In 2008-09, he worked as Technical Advisor to the Inspectorate of Education at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Government of Cambodia, on a one year placement.
His published works include an ebook `Creative Classrooms and Child Friendly Schools’ and 57 articles in teacher magazines such as Teachers Net Gazette. Most of the articles are based on his own professional experience in 6 developing countries including his home country India.
He continues to contribute articles whenever he finds time from his work as Manager, Content Development in a K-12 E_learnng Company in Gujarat, India.
He can be reached directly at panamalairguruprasad@gmail.com or by visiting his blog http//www.educationwriter.blogspot.com
