DOCUMENT RESUME AUTHOR Passerini, Katia; Granger, Mary J. · AUTHOR Passerini, Katia; Granger, Mary J. TITLE Designing Multimedia for Ecological Tourism in an. ... The theory of multimedia,

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 422 934 IR 057 092

AUTHOR Passerini, Katia; Granger, Mary J.TITLE Designing Multimedia for Ecological Tourism in an

Educational Setting.PUB DATE 1997-00-00NOTE 13p.; In: Proceedings of the International Academy for

Information Management Annual Conference (12th, Atlanta, GA,December 12-14, 1997); see IR 057 067.

PUB TYPE Reports Descriptive (141) Speeches/Meeting Papers (150)EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Business Administration Education; *Computer Software

Development; *Ecological Factors; Educational Technology;Foreign Countries; Higher Education; Hypermedia; InformationScience Education; Information Systems; MaterialDevelopment; *Multimedia Materials; Optical Data Disks;Screen Design (Computers); *Tourism; Travel

IDENTIFIERS Costa Rica; Story Boards; United States

ABSTRACTThis paper describes the development process of multimedia

software designed to educate and provide awareness of ecotourism in CostaRica. Ecotourism is a form of nature-based travel and recreational experiencecombining a respect for nature and local cultures with economic developmentincentives. The software intends to pursue the goals of ecotourism bypresenting an alternative method of traveling; it provides a sustainable andentertaining alternative to direct visits. Additionally, it offers trainingprior to departure by presenting background reference readings, videos, and"dos and don'ts" lists. Created during a hypermedia development course, themultimedia software, "Ecotourism on a Computer Screen: Ecotourism in CostaRica," incorporates stills, graphics, videos and sound clips. The paper alsodetails lessons experienced in the development of the software. Successfuland unsuccessful techniques are described. Many of these procedures arerepeatable, while several others should be avoided or implementeddifferently. In order to provide some useful hints for multimedia developmentboth at the storyboard and programming levels, these alternatives areevaluated. Suggestions for facilitating a semester-long multimedia projectare added. Future work includes developing a framework to test theeffectiveness of multimedia software for ecotourism. Eight figures presentsample screens. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/AEF)

********************************************************************************

Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be madefrom the original document.

********************************************************************************

resas

DESIGNING MULTIMEDIA FOR ECOLOGICALTOURISM IN AN EDUCATIONAL SETTING

r`l "PERMISSIONTO REPRODUCE

THIS

MATERIAL HAS BEENGRANTED BY Katia Passerini

The George Washington University4.1

T. case

TO THE EDUCATIONALRESOURCES

INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)."

Mary J. GrangerThe George Washington University

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and Improvement

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERIC)

0 This document has been reproduced asreceived from the person or organizationoriginating it,

0 Minor changes have been made toimprove reproduction quality.

Points of view or opinions stated in thisdocument do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or policy.

This paper describes the development process of multimedia software designed to educate and provideawareness of ecotourism in Costa Rica. Ecotourism is a form of nature-based travel and recreationalexperience combining a respect for nature and local cultures with economic development incentives. Thesoftware intends to pursue the goals of ecotourism by presenting an alternative method of traveling: itprovides a sustainable and entertaining alternative to direct visits. Additionally, it offers training prior todeparture by presenting background reference readings, videos and "do's and don'ts" lists. Created duringa Hypermedia Development course, the multimedia software, 'Ecotourism on a Computer Screen:Ecotourism in Costa Rica," incorporates stills, graphics, videos and sound clips. The paper also detailslessons experienced in the development of the software. Successful and unsuccessful techniques aredescribed. Many of these procedures faced in the class project are repeatable, while several others shouldbe avoided or implemented differently. In order to provide some useful hints for multimedia developmentboth at the storyboard and programming levels, these alternatives are evaluated. Suggestions forfacilitating a semester-long multimedia project are added. Future work includes developing a frameworkto test the effectiveness of multimedia software for ecotourism.

INTRODUCTION

This paper describes the development of amultimedia application in a graduate course onhypermedia information systems. It is primarilyintended to illustrate the lessons learned fromthe exercise and evaluate the feasibility ofundertaking such a project in a one-semesterclass. Fostering environmental protection byusing interactive media technology is the secondpurpose of the authors and the developers of theCD-ROM. Further research will includehypothesis-testing on users' acceptance ofmultimedia as a sustainable alternative totravelling. The paper refers to the class project,which is offered as an example of the outcome ofan introductory hands-on multimedia course. Thecontent of the CD and the reasons for its creation

are also analyzed by focusing on the benefits thatenvironmentally-oriented technologies can bringto the conservation cause.

COURSE REQUIREMENTSAND ORGANIZATION

The CD "Ecotourism on a computer screen:Ecotourism in Costa Rica" was developed in agraduate course in the School of Business Schooland Public Management of the GeorgeWashington University. "HypermediaInformation Systems" is simultaneously abusiness and a multimedia development course.This dual nature of the course requires looking atthe development of the application from twoperspectives: the business component and theprogramming level. Both aspects have different

206 Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference of the International Academy for Information Management

2

..t-,,,z=177.r.,41"1,7::::..T.II,M,af2,57.3fTriirf7;;;LrfifT!'wfInITIT'::!ETATTIRINiritif:711:7"--7t71:111:Tr .2 717:r7,77.,74inciritifF

implications and require different levels ofexpertise. In this specific case, the combination ofstudents in the Master of BusinessAdministration program with students in theMaster of Information Systems program broughttogether the synergy of efforts to fulfill the cotirserequirements and structure. This combination ofstudents is successful as it adds marketing skillsto a technical focus. In this way, softwaredevelopment assumes the features of a projectmanagement exercise: it needs to satisfy shiftingrequirements, to test the prototype, to developmarketing ideas and to create a product that ispotentially ready for the market. The final gradeis based on both the technical aspects (use ofdifferent media) as well as the originality,usefulness and commerciability of the idea.

The theory of multimedia, the learning effects ofmedia integration, the basic notions of effectivegraphical user interface design are not within thescope of the course. This introductory course doesnot require a theoretical analysis and focusesexclusively on hands-on development, videodigitization, capturing, scanning, sound recordingand similar. It remains practical with a blendingof the business and programming perspectives.

The Business Aspect

The business component of the course focuses onapplications that have a financial value and servea commercial purpose. The CD "must virtuallysell," thus finding its niche in a non-saturatedmarket. Students are divided into groups of fourwith the task of transforming a business idea intoa software application. The teams are in charge of"selling their idea" to the class as if it was abusiness venture. This implies submitting abusiness plan with detailed figures on costs andscheduling (time and resources). This plan ispresented to the instructor who critiques theeconomics of the proposed project and thefeasibility of completion in the semester span. Awork-breakdown schedule (WBS) of the project issubmitted for review. The final WBS benefitsfrom the input of individuals other than thedevelopment team. Classmates react topresentations of the storyboards and are givenadditional material to critique.

The process of critiquing other projects isparticularly useful for furthering peer learning.At this stage, students are testing their ideas inpublic and they can determine whether the latter

are likely to capture a share of the market(figuratively represented by class consent andsupport). Following the review, adjustments canbe made to meet the business requirements. It istherefore important that the financial aspects ofthe project are detailed with consistency. Also thefeedback from the targeted market segmentneeds to be taken into account. Depending on thesegment, a certain amount of resistance to theuse of technology needs to be factored in. Classreactions can be the first step for testing thelikelihood of having found "the" idea.

Instructors may push for review even beyond theclass context. In several cases, students contactedthe interested organizations and presented theirproject both for acquiring extra-information andfor discovering possible interest in using thesoftware. Groups dealing with video-rentalscontacted Blockbuster; groups developing a CDon US National Park contacted the NaturalHistory Museum; groups developing aninteractive map for Washington DC contacted theSmithsonian Institution, etc. The Costa Ricagroup contacted the Caribbean ConservationCorporation (CCC) and other interestedenvironmental organizations. This requirementforces investigation about possible placements ofthe application.

The Programming Aspect

There are a series of constraints needingconsideration when determining the application.The complexity of the project must comply withthe resources available for a semester-long coursein terms of equipment, access to laboratories andtime allocated for the assignment. The choice isusually between development of a prototype bymaking only selected icons accessible, ordevelopment of a complete application. Time isthe primary factor for consideration. Can thewhole software be developed in one semester?The answer varies according to:

1. Number of people in the team and their areasof expertise;

2. Access to University resources (scanner,video capturing, software, camcorder, digitalcamera and other facilities);

3. Access to information to be uploaded in thesoftware.

Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference of the International Academy for Information Management

3

207

These factors are examined by drawing on theexperience of the team involved in thedevelopment of the ecotourism CD. In terms ofthe number of participants, a group of four peopleworked smoothly. Having fewer people mightcreate problems in the gathering of information,but provides the advantage of consistency in theintegration of the various components.

The software used for this CD development isVersion 6.0 of Icon Author by Amtech Corporation.In Icon Author, individual pages (called smartpages) perform similar to Web pages. As long ascommon patterns are established beforehand toreduce the complexity of the integration(authoring) phase, the smart-pages can easily bedeveloped separately. This implies closecoordination and parallel work by participants, aprocedure that does not function well with a largenumber of team members. Regarding the level ofexpertise, it is desirable that different skills arerepresented in the team. Programming skills areas crucial as artistic, organizational and businessskills. The CD needs to be attractive. It also needsto be structured. The user should becomeinterested in the content as well as be at ease inscrolling around different pages without a manualof explanations. The means for understanding theobjective and structure of the CD, without thedevelopers' help are provided. Good organizationalskills are crucial for an efficient technicaldevelopment scheme.

In terms of access to resources, the number ofusers needs to be carefully controlled. Schedulinghours for access to laboratories by individualteams works better and avoids waiting time.Ideally, laboratory sessions should be madeavailable for each team. Not surprisingly, there isalso an issue of privacy that runs throughout thedevelopment. As in real business applications,there is no disclosure of the actual product untilit is finalized.

In terms of access to information, before decidingwhether to produce a prototype, it is crucial tohave a clear idea on types of text, video and audioto use. If new material needs to be produced, theamount of time for the development of the finalapplication increases exponentially. The finalchoice depends on how much material is alreadyavailable, how many pictures need to be scannedor how many videos need to be filmed anddigitized.

Prototyping versusComplete Stand-alone Applications

The choice between prototype and completeapplication was an easy one for the teammembers. There was information, pictures,videos and sound clips available from thedevelopers' tour to Tortuguero, a national park innortheast Costa Rica founded primarily for theprotection and conservation of marine turtles'nesting habitat. Additionally, access toUniversity resources was available duringweekend. These factors created a favorableenvironment for developing a completeapplication that would be "burned" into a CD atthe end of the semester. Is this the desirablechoice for any other course of this type? Unlikely.No other group in the course developed a CDready application. Realistically, prototyping is awiser choice for a one-semester course. In thisparticular case, the drive to convey a message forenvironmental protection warranted the extra-hours of work required for the development.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOCUS

The title of the CD is "Ecotourism on a ComputerScreen: Ecotourism in Costa Rica". The secondpart of the title explains the geographical focus:Costa Rica. The first part conveys a new concept:practicing ecologically sound tourism using acomputer. This is a step beyond the promotion ofecological tourism (ecotourism) as a form of travelto natural areas. Ecotourism is already anobvious success-story in Costa Rica. This countryprovides several opportunities for participating innature-based tours. The tours vary from birdwatching to volcano climbing, from turtle-watching to river and ocean kayaking. Tourism inCosta Rica is the largest money earner in foreignexchange. The geographical and ecologicalpositions of the country capture differentsegments of the tourism market. Costa Rica ismuch more than a beach destination with elegantresorts. Nature-based tourism is increasinglygaining popularity (due to the saturation of thetraditional tourist industry and to differingtravelers' needs). Tbe travelers of the ninetiesshare new motivations (desire of escape, respectfor the environment, etc.) that nature-travelseems to better address. Nature travel includes asubset of activities:


4

1. Scientific Tourism, which involvesresearchers, scientists and students that areperforming their tasks or studies in the field;

2. Adventure Travel Tourism, which includesrock-climbing, horse-riding and kayaking andrepresents the fastest growing segment of themarket;

3. Natural History Tours, which can be dividedin "soft tours" (outdoor experience without aspecific topic interest) and "hard tours"(interest specific travel for birds observationor similar);

4. Ecotourism, in which travelers learn aboutthe interrelationships between livingorganisms and different natural areas.

Using the Costa Rica CD, the idea is to proposeanother category of tourism, a technology-basedone that uses multimedia to reach segments ofthe market that are omitted by traditional andnature-based tourism. It appears that categoriesof people that are physically challenged andcannot join the adventurous activities mentionedare not considered.

The Costa Rica CD was not designed forcommercial purposes. The main objective forchoosing the ecotourism project is that ofrendering a service to the environment. It is alsoan attempt to decrease environmental depletionby resorting to information technologies andattracting tourists to eco-oriented travels.

The Intended Audience

As explained above, the objective is to offer analternative to traditional tomism by reachingspecific users. The intended users are:

1. people who have an interest in promotingenvironmental protection (non-profitorganizations);

2. traditional tourist-channels (like touristoperators) that can help develop this interest;

3. people with disabilities not able to visit theseplaces; and

4. all those who have concerns, such as time andmoney, that prevent travel to these areas.

How to target these users? One way is theproduction and distribution of nature-basedmultimedia applications. CD-ROMs can offer asurrogate experience by designing a "virtualitinerary" for tourists desiring to visit ecologicaldestinations. There are very few CDs of this typein the market. Most of the applications availableare commercial and are beautifully designed topromote visits rather than replace them. Thereason for this promotion is that while mass-tourism is a danger for the environment, it bringseconomic resources that are used for localdevelopment. And, ecotourism has an importanteconomic component added to it.

The Economic Component of Ecotourism

Ideally, the best way to protect endangered-areasand species is to ask people not to go to there.Human presence, nolens volens, ends updisrupting the environment. This is an idealconcept that finds very little applicability inpractice. As nature tourism provides economicresources for the environment, the prevailinginterest is to attract visitors to natural areasusing revenues for funding local conservationprograms and fueling economic development.

Considering the economic facet of ecotourism andthe benefits that it brings to developingeconomies, it is difficult to gather a consensusthat information technology, and in this specificcase multimedia applications, should constitute asubstitute to travel. Anybody who had theopportunity, time and money would prefer tospend a week in Tortuguero observing theSnapple turtle laying eggs, rather than readingabout it on a magazine or watching it on a video.Trying to promote the latter alternative - insteadof - direct experience would be like fightingagainst the windmills. Not only is thereopposition by those desiring to travel, but also bypeople living on income generated by tourism. Inthe short-run, economic benefits are usuallystronger arguments than any concern of damagesto the environment.

The Objectives of the developersof the Costa Rica CD

There are three main objectives pursued by thedevelopers: the first one is to raise awarenessabout the environmental damage caused bytourism; the second is to solicit donations for

Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference of the International Academy for Information Management 209

5

conservation efforts; and the third is to providealternatives means for travel for disables andchildren. The ideas presented in the Costa RicaCD do not imply that "virtual" is better than"real." They simply focus on some drawbacks ofreal experiences. Multimedia is here used as aninstrument to raise awareness about thedamage caused by interfering with turtles'nesting environments and practicing massivetourism in bio-diverse paradises. As analternative to traditional tourism, the concept ofecotourism is explained and a training programfor visiting Tortuguero is provided. Using the CD,users learn about the country in general, itseconomy, geography, political scenario andnatural resources. Information on the Tortugueroreserve, environmental courses offered by theCaribbean Conservation Company (CCC) andvideos on nesting turtles present scenery similarto the actual location. The training program helpsthe user gather information on behaving in eco-friendly locations (Do's and Don'ts are detailed).Examples of other eco-friendly locations (such asManuel Antonio in Costa Rica and the eco-resortof Harmony in the Virgin Islands) complete theuser's education about the meaning and the valueof ecotourism. Additional information on lodging,shopping, eating and visa requirements areavailable to meet the needs of those eco-travelersthat want to visit after having been instructed onecologically sounds behaviors.

The reason for including information relating totraditional tourism is related to the secondobjective of the CD: to raise donations forpromoting conservation efforts. Although the ideaof lowering tourism might not be generallyshared by tour operators, they want to berecognized as "friends of the environment". Touroperators, may use the CD for training customersprior to departure, or even as an advertising tool.They may produce and sell the CD themselves,devoting a significant share of profits to the eco-location. Non-profit organizations working forenvironmental defense might sponsor thecreation of similar CDs with reference to theCaribbean Conservation Corporation activities.

The last objective is to be comprehensive enough(still within the limit of a semester course) toprovides opportunities for the disabled andchildren to "virtually visit" these locations.Sometimes this aspect is neglected by industry;multimedia may represent the only opportunity

that physically challenged users have to learnabout these remote destinations. Interactivemultimedia, in its ability to combine text, sound,graphics and video can be the closest and a morecomplete substitute to direct visits. Associationsfor people with disabilities may be willing tosponsor the production of these types of CDs or atleast to offer donations that support conservationefforts.

Because developing multimedia applications isincreasingly expensive, it is important to focus onthe monetary aspect of an eco-based multiniediaapplication. In the class context, described later,most of the resources were available in theUniversity and information could be accessed atno-additional cost. Should the idea of virtualtravel to endangered areas be realized forcommercial purposes (even if related to fund-raising for the environment), the productionwould require substantial investments.

THE DEVELOPMENT OFTHE COSTA RICA CD

The Steps of Development of the CD

Creation of the storyboard and class review of theproposed project preceed implementation. Then,the actual designing begins. This entails creatinga basic page with elements needing to bereplicated consistently within the CD. In thiscase, the turtle-like navigation icons include thesame colors for each topic and always changecolor when the link is selected. The differentcolors remind the user's location on the CD andenable movement to other pages.

After a standard initial format is established andcommon icons are copied to shared-files, the otherpages can be developed separately. Teammembers collect pictures, graphics, digitized clipsand sounds, and insert them into sub-menus.Each team member was in charge of anindividual sub-project:

Costa RicaEcotourismFlora and FaunaEco-training ProgramTravelers' informationEco-memoriesAbout the Caribbean ConservationCorporation (CCC)


6

The individual smart pages need to be integratedinto a single authored program running theapplication and the loops. This task is performedjointly and changes to the structure of the pagesare implemented simultaneously during thetesting of the application. Finally, once theapplication is completed it needs to be burnedonto a CD. These steps are presented in moredetails, each with a set of "success and failurestories."

Phase 1. Storyboard development by Team

The storyboard is one of the most critical stages ofthe development. It defines the structure and thecontent of the application. It needs to conveyinformation on the topic, the format, and thescheduling of the project. Ideally it provides apictured framework for the application. Usingpresentation software (MS PowerPoint 97, CorelPresentations) integrating sounds and videos isthe easiest way to pre-view final softwareapplication.

Unsuccessful Technique. In the Costa RicaCD, however, the presentation software was notparticularly representative. The CD is developedin several different pages that are connected byselectable buttons, hyperlinks for going back andforward from one page to another. A better wayfor presenting multimedia applications withthese characteristics would be to use an HTMLformat to show movement as well as to includesound-clips. This task can be accomplishedrelatively easily, with Web publishing softwarecurrently available in the market.

Successful Technique. The choice of a topicwith environmental focus gathered consent andsupport on the part of the class audience,witnessing the rising need for such an applicationand a possible agreement on the idea of exploringways information technology can help theenvironment.

Phase 2. Creation of the First Page by Team(Figure 1 )

The first page of the software is one requiring theuser to input commands. It is preceded by a titlepage including sounds, pictures, animation,developers' names and leading automatically tothe first interactive page. If aniniation in the titlepage is running, the user cannot interact or quit

the program until the first page is reached. Onthis page, the user makes a choice on "where elseto go." He needs to understand the structure veryclearly. The first page becomes the access cardand needs to be particularly self-explanatory,even more than the other pages.

Unsuccessful Technique. The interactive iconsthat lead to internal pages are not numbered.Ideally, the display is on a vertical line and theuser will be prompted to start from the firstelement on the line. This is not necessarily thecase, though. The user can decide to startfollowing the topic that appeals him the mostthus finding himself confused about the sequenceof events. Numbered buttons would alleviate theconfusion.

Successful Technique. The Costa Rica's firstpage includes a short speech explaining thepurpose of the CD, the environmental concern forCosta Rica and the sea-marine turtles. On thispage there are the selectable icons leading to theother sections of the CD. Additionally, each iconcontains a pop-up menu which displays thedifferent topics represented by the icon. Bymoving the mouse over any of the turtle-likebuttons, the user understands the structure ofthe section and is prompted to select an iconrepresenting a topic of interest.

Phase 3. Creation of pages by topic area byteam members separately

This phase varies according to the choices madeby individual developers.

Unsuccessful Technique. Most of the pagescontain embedded pictures and photographs asbackground images. The picture is desktop-sizedand, therefore, the .gif file is large. This creates aproblem when displaying the application withdifferent computers. With a fast pentium CPU,the delay in displaying the next page is minimal.This delay becomes larger when dealing with lesssophisticated technology. A blank transition pageappears for intervals that vary from 2-10 seconds,depending on the refresh time of the equipmentused. A way for partially solving the problemislinking the graphic files to the smart pages.However, this option is not optimal, as linkingrequires that files be placed in the same location.In a class and laboratory context, it is veryunlikely that the same computer is accessed


7

211

every time. The files usually need to be copiedonto zip-drives or uploaded to Unix accounts. Thelatter process can become increasingly complex ifeach file needs to be constantly placed in thesame directory. Although it is not optimal, interms of delay in the display, embedding ispreferred solution when dealing with differentdirectory structures and equipment.

Successful Technique. The pages weredeveloped separately, thereby adding dynamismand variety to the software. The changingbackground colors, artistic structure, informativecontent and special effects of new displayscapture the attention of the user.

After the. completion of smart pages, thedescription of each topic page needs to bedeveloped separately. The following overviewoffers a more detailed description of the softwareand its goals translated into interactive objects.

Topic I. Costa Rica (Figure 2)

This page is an introduction to the country,containing information about geography, climate,economy, socio-political system and naturalresources.. The information is displayed with text,a short video on Costa Rica and a sound clip onthe national anthem. Except for the page on thegeography that is linked to a full-sized screenmap of the country, this sub-topic is developed ona single page. Text and pictures change on buttonclicks, maintaining the same spatial position inthe page.

Unsuccessful Technique. This page containsvideo and graphics whose uploading causes anevident delay in the running of the software.

Successful Technique. This page provides acomplete introduction to essential information onthe country.

Topic II. Ecotourism (Figure 3)

This smart page contains an overview on theconcept of ecotourism, its growth patterns, itsgoals, the tourist population targeted andexamples of eco-spots in Costa Rica. Thebackground page is static and the videos, text andpictures vary at the click of the buttons.

The pros and cons are similar to theconsiderations for the previous page.

FIGURE 1

FIRST PAGE

Atir Ek:n'2 en4 flenTs

141:11:4 144.1 043'"6-7.1 haw 404,4...t.tinI

A--stl...^e

!Vara Pa111 AV r 41rrreIrldch,b 1 horyar.

FIGURE 2

COSTA RICA

WIN,

OTid Pk=:(1,111F t.111111(

PI11.31 Resources

"Mumurki.t

nun

Topic III. Flora and Fauna (Figure 4)

This topic displays a graphical overview of theendangered species in Costa Rica. It contains aslide show of pictures and photos changing to therhythm of superimposed music. A subset of pageswith examples of endangered species, whichincludes sound clips, text, video and graphics, canbe reached from this page.


8BEST COPY MAL

- 1:a' 1' III 11.11 II.

.1111 . 1 'I '1. 8.:. I. . a

ri u"'",,,i7:11515510 111-r"

tv-tuialtow so" ir mv-mi,-,

...C:',"1307,- , ,14

lowls I,

, 1.,r5ta In ,n,11111r,

Vo- ills rev-mm/15, t fAYX4

:'

"7,43.31,33

43,4_411

t. ,,

3 "a .*1 ,a3,

°-,->T ...., :"::-.

`','. kt. , ......,,,,,

, ta

, ,,, :'

''''"..e.'"443' r'll'I.:4'01C11;11-,10,wontrn ne,'i+Iat .,:'il,.. in13 1

-,s-- 1%,,,,,111. ili Vi L'1.114AN. 1 VI praSrV II I I 01,5'-',77.,

...5nfttnif4 h...,:14.4:405:tral,, 1,0.,..bA; If). , -.5. ,-11 411.5itrrYp5511x r,, ,,l r...,,u,,,;,_

11 a ta,: In, t TIC .1,.I.A.,44. tir.r.riet)f 10..1 r,,, , .. ...._%, ,-. ,.,'''' ut, 7:, -

IS I 'I VIIIPOS Intnc 5 I Dir. I CM,'41,1A

" 1a.

1111

I

II1 II 11:

,

Ill' 8" w. 1I' 00 II I l I. . 1.1 .

. 1 11.

1 1 :

nLIP)

1`

.

Of

1 11

II

.0 1.!. .11 I*8.

I' II 11

I Is .11 Boa I.I "

1: 1 .

0 II 1 .1" 11 0:0 '1 I a«

8 P 1:1: 11:.

:. . '1 I.1 1 1'

1: 1111'

I.a,

I ." .IleIs I .

00'. 1 SO

I. e-s 1 t -1^I I. I

1 I' 1. 11'118 I. . 2'

II '. I.!'

I. P 11

1.7. 1 11"8 I"1 Ill II. 1. I.1 ' I I I 1 1' a_ II 1'

II I a- Do .11 Illoa POO .

:. 11 1'8 '. 1" 11

11 1

. II "

SO' I' 11 II P .111 .11' I.

I 4An.

, ..-.,,,,eft,la.

Et411'7.7"7-=i;it,:'..i-`-;:. ',4,r .......,,, ,..,,.....,..,,,,,.._,.......__,,Le.64,339 Amnpoolants313.::

IW,

,5313.1AMET.,65,121

.treen US? iLrba3s

Topic V. Travel (Figure 6) of having been there and being one's own set ofmemories.

This section provides information about entryrequirements, car rentals and accommodations,banking and currency, shopping and restaurants.This information is useful for tourists alreadydeciding to travel.

Unsuccessful Technique. The use of fonts andcolors is not appropriate. The selection of largefonts is more appropriate for presentations ratherthan on-screen reading.

Successful Technique. The amount ofinformation and the use of blinking images adddynamism to the page.

FIGURE 6

TRAVEL

'

&Lauds.

EntryRequirements

antler,' :enkr.

I. oul ,le..un .t

Ezu rub ng

!Ono tarter,Wm. 1,1,1,7g,a,ries

, .

tffe4i,1.33

llitLt,&ill=ilwialip I

...t;111511111-

TravelltOrtt mute thr I ;oilinor lon,iif 11 rby ni The Jnrot gilaMnrin

ansional Airport.tenit airline 6..rai c ei rt a,ail able tooto tete puni 0 riugm rolltin tbc

runnr, C. you earl hire on lir lou

Visitot Access'II trivlirrvul CiufOr WriVe 0 J1191Sareeeruria lnetrntonal Airport. Iocotud

Topic VI. Eco-memories (Figure 7)

This page is a photo-album for the user, an ex-post experience with a collection of images of theadventurous trip. Since the developers of the CDare trying to reproduce "real travel" with "virtualformat," the photo-show creates anothersuccessful simulation element. It producessettings similar to a movie theater.

Unsuccessful Technique. The photo-show fileruns very fast without pausing to enjoy thebeauty of the scenery, as it would be desirable inthe real situation.

Successful Technique. The settings bring backmemories and pictures that give the impression

FIGURE 7

ECO-MEMORIES

Topic VII. CCC (Figure 8)

This is an introduction to the role of theCaribbean Conservation Corporation and itsefforts on sea-turtle protection. The national parkof Tortuguero and its environment is described,with additional information on ecologicalactivities.

Unsuccessful Technique. This topic can beseen as the last or the first in the list, dependingon how the users decide to scroll the software. Abetter approach would have been one of openingthe CD with an overview of the CCC activitiestherefore focusing on the objectives of the CD.

Successful Technique. Assigning CCC its ownseparate place, independent to other topics givesa stand alone value to each topic and opens thepossibility of using the CD for exploring differentelements. If the user is not interested in sea-turtle protection, he can still use the software asa good representation of the beauty of a placeinteresting to visit.

214 Proceedings of the l2'h Annual Conference of the International Academy for Information Management

Gc..

1 0 I COPY MAU LE

,atf1477.-XLCITZTA,

FIGURE 8

CCC

orluguero Conservation Area

estwoweo Ualstaal P.{ (11.3.,... rele1.11.1m,1 n.,1,ie ;Ana, and wt.,. euriw, eel al. in? Ii. lit a,/ ;ea NI did.

m l,.viciI tali 11.-..h edri kkinsla la dm 1NP dm yeawise:trey Lon el tun. ea me oleo Ingh liti4 TheC recogmad rex or. of Cottm mn,1 dill,,. 1.11111a1rem heel ,n owe,. nt "petite NA e.o0inri loahlrnt r)ren

heel vete., thee taco. ia Coln Pico era he tametta et. Tr vi tc,mncIom mpement of tan ie oh, idiath,`woe rem. tIVIC link, 1.11 evith llama AreenrInnional ad! efc Retw.11. TrA 't,atoi,kdio chr

nrho Pun hnlopnal ream, in NiCRIlwa, onnkinp thi. arcst h.-0,a 410 0(1.1.14 lenelrind tropical mcr fen+,cell of the "Mc irrtportemee of *a a. wildloredomplen ro corotn viablt nopylatictoelde nn.noC4 end etre epteitte apt!, ni ispar, ectIon. harpy

rand ium hoped pa ccariee a :entral America only+e oventated Unforanalelv. the lowland fore n a dna, that

I

Phase 4. Integration in a(authoring) by team

single program

This phase is the stage in which completed smartpages are put together. Programming is needed tointegrate the sections through the linksestablished in the individual objects.

Unsuccessful Technique. Some objects in thesmart pages needed to be eliminated, as theprogram could not run the animation. Earliertesting would have saved the time used for thedevelopment of the discarded animation.

Successful Technique. After integration,quality and content control can be completed.Redundant information was removed.

Phase 5. Testing and correction of finalprogram by team

Testing was conducted on several computersaround campus. Initially, testing was limited tocomputers available in the multimedialaboratory.

Unsuccessful Technique. In the testing stage,several bugs were revealed, starting with theinability to display the videos. Some computersdid not interpret the same video conversionformat used in the digitization. Prior testing oncomputers different from the ones used fordevelopment would have detected the problem

earlier. Each video file needed to be re-saved ingeneric format, compatible with standardinstallations. The quality of the original videoswas substantially reduced. In addition, it wasrevealed that font size and appearance variedwith the computer resolution. The applicationwas designed for 800 X 600 resolution and majorchanges in each page where required. As time didnot allow for extensive changes, a note on the CDcase warns users about optimal hardwarerequirements.

The important lesson learned is that developmentneeds to be conducted in lower resolutionsthroughout the project or, at least, it needs to becarefully tested on different hardware platformsduring the project. The same applies when filesneed to be embedded, as size affects theuploading time.

Successful Technique. This phase gives realunderstanding and feedback about successfultechniques. It is crucial that testing is conductedthroughout the development in other facilitiesthan the regular multimedia laboratory.

Phase 6. CD-recording by team

After the software is tested, CD-recording(burning) can be the easiest step as well as themost complicated. Mistakes can definitely bemade at this stage, particularly by incorrectcopying of the directory structure. Realistically,few CDs are lost in the process. Unless a re-writable CD is used there is room for faults. It iscrucial that all the files used in the developmentare copied onto the CD for it to run successfully.

Lessons Learned in the Process

To recapitulate the lessons learned in thedevelopment, it can be stressed that the mostcrucial need in multimedia creation is to test theapplication on different platforms. Testing withlower quality equipment becomes crucial. Testingneeds to be undertaken during the developmentas well as at the end. Early testing allows solvingproblems as soon as they appear. It also indicateshow feasible is to implement abstract ideas into aprogramming language. Often times, the bestidea is not easily translated into code.

Another lesson is that multimedia developmentin the classroom is best carried on in teams

Proceedings of the 12" Annual Conference of the International Academy for Information Management

BM COPY EVIALABLL11.

215

assigned different tasks for gathering data andsound, video and graphic files. In order tointegrate the project once the individual objectshave been completed, these teams need to followpre-agreed guidelines.

There are still a series of bugs that could not befixed before the end of the semester. The mainconcern was producing a final product that couldbe stand-alone and that could be shown tomultimedia developers and environmentalexperts not just as a finished application, but as arepresentation of an idea that can help theenvironment.

Multimedia can NOT be a substitute to directexperience. However, it can be a useful trainingprogram for tourists deciding to get in contactwith the environment: they need to learn howthey are expected to behave and what are theDo's and Don'ts of their ecological experience.Multimedia can definitely be close substitute todirect visits for those that are not able to practiceecotourism because of physical constraints.Taking all this into account, the virtualexperience becomes desirable.

FURTHER RESEARCH

One interesting aspect of this application thewriters intend to explore is the impact of thisproduct on general users. Do their attitudestoward environmental protection change afterbeing exposed to the program? Do they see thebenefits of virtual- travelling? Would they changetheir itinerary on the basis of the message theyreceived from the CD? Would they, at least,consider an adjustment to their travelling style toinclude attention to recycling and respect for theflora and fauna? If yes is the answer to one or twoof the questions above, this is already a step inthe right direction. These and similar questionswill be posed to full-time MBA students takinginformation systems courses. An on-line surveywill be administered to these students before andafter the use of the CD. Results will be analyzedin a hypothesis-testing framework and willinclude statistical analysis of data.

There will be several factors and biases that willneed to be taken into account in the evaluation(i.e. the sample surveyed is not random).Controlling for these factors and recognizing theireffects will be crucial. However, if statistical

significance is found, it is hoped that the analysiscan constitute a step forward in creatingprofessional applications that will be moreenvironmentally oriented than traditional touristapplications. Thet greater benefits for theenvironment will ultimately benefit the wholepopulation.

REFERENCES

Angus, J. G. (1995, 2/20). IconAuthor ProvidesProgrammers Terrific Tool. InfoWorld. p. 105

Anonymous. (1997, Winter). Almost Like BeingThere. Fortune. p. 168-170

Burns, T. (1997, June). Multimedia Training.."Get Lemonade, Not A Lemon!" The Journal forQuality and Participation.

Caudron, S. (1996, June). Your LearningTechnology Primer. Personnel Journal. p. 120-136

D'Amore, L. J. (1993, Winter). A Code of Ethicsand Guidelines for Socially and Environment.Journal of Travel Research. p. 64-66

Drohan, J. (1996, Aug/Sep). SustainablyDeveloping the DMZ. Technology Review. p. 17-18

Garzotto, F., Mainetti, L., & Paolini, P. (1995,August). Hypermedia Design, Analysis, andEvaluation Issues. Association for ComputingMachinery, Communications of the ACM. p. 74-77

Geis, D., & Kutzmark, T. (1995, Aug). DevelopingSustainable Communities. PM . PublicManagement.

Goodrich, J. N. (1997, Spring). Nature Tourism:Managing for the Environment. Journal of TravelResearch. p. 94

Heid, J. (1997, September). Director 6Multimedia Studio. Macworld.

Hequet, M. (1997, Feb). How Does MultimediaChange Training? Training. p. A20-A21

Nicholls, P. (1997, April). Becoming AMultimedia Author: Courses and Programs forMultimedia. E Media Professional. p. 107-112


12

Oz, E., & White, L. D. (1993, May). Multimediafor Better Training. Journal of SystemsManagement. p. 34-38

Schuler, D. (1994, Jan). Community Networks:Building a New Participatory Medium.Association for Computing Machinery.Communications of the ACM. p. 39-51

Wirth, I., & Scott, A. J. (1996). Distance Learningfor Project Management. Transactions of AaceInternational.

Zebich-Knos, M. (1997, June). PreservingBiodiversity in Costa Rica: The Case of theMerck-INBio Agreement. Journal ofEnvironment & Development.

,s


1 3.

217

" ,7777 :,.':17,Z.:;:''z'.7.V"nn'-'!'.."73VG:CTZTITc+.7.77711.Irr'.'..t=artriAnTe.T.:!!-;.;,,,s..,..1..,..t...:s.,e,,,,St 4,0 '1,

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONOffice of Educational Research and improvement (0 ERI)

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

NOTICE

REPRODUCTION BASIS

ERIC

This document is covered by a signed "Reproduction Release(Blanket)" form (on file within the ERIC system), encompassing allor classes of documents from its source organization and, therefore,does not require a "Specific Document" Release form.

This document is Federally-funded, or carries its own permission toreproduce, or is otherwise in the public domain and, therefore, maybe .reproduced by ERIC without a signed Reproduction Releaseform (either "Specific Document" or "Blanket")..

Documents

DOCUMENT RESUME AUTHOR Passerini, Katia; Granger, Mary J. · AUTHOR Passerini, Katia; Granger, Mary J. TITLE Designing Multimedia for Ecological Tourism in an. ... The theory of multimedia,