September 2001 — Applications
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Seeing is Believing in Bowling Green State University's Video/Multimedia Lab
In 1996, Ohio's Bowling Green State
University (BGSU) made its initial investment in the creation of a
combined teaching and training laboratory for video editing and
multimedia education. The university entered into a collaborative
agreement with Media 100, a leading manufacturer of video editing
hardware and software, and the campus now has a large number of Media
100's high-end machines. At the same time, BGSU began work on a
well-equipped video and multimedia laboratory where the school's 
National Institute for the Study of Digital Media (NISDM) could offer
workshops.
The new laboratory was carefully planned so students could gain max-imum benefit from the equipment. The room was laid out with 20 computer workstations for students, as well as group work areas for collaboration. Other design features included special lighting for room flexibility, acoustical paneling, a projection system with track lighting, special floor-based wiring for electrical connections, as well as a built-in wireless microphone and speakers.
Each student workstation was equipped with a computer with dual monitors, a VCR, a PCTV monitor and a tower video breakout box. Desks measuring 6' x 3' were used to accommodate all of this equipment.
One Major Consideration Overlooked
But after having set the video editing and multimedia equipment in place, we realized that we had overlooked one major consideration: the machines had literally built a wall around the student workstations. Even the tallest student could barely see over the mountain of hardware.
Although the equipment met the training needs of virtually every student and instructor, the lack of visibility prevented the lab from being as effective a learning center as it could be. The institute's clients verified our conclusion in evaluations. They gave the facility high marks for its training resources but affirmed that visibility was not adequate.
Both students and teachers were affected by the lack of a line of sight between them. Students tended to become distracted because they had difficulty making visual contact with the instructors, seeing PowerPoint slides and videos, and following instructions. Trainers, unable to see their trainees, had no access to non-verbal clues to their instruction's effectiveness. For both students and teachers, communication was made more difficult by the workstation walls that blocked the line of sight, impeded sound waves, and reduced the ability to hear or lip-read - serious implications for people with hearing challenges.
Issues of Monitor Size and Multimedia Education
These problems are not unique to the NISDM. Issues relating to monitor size are the bane of virtually every computer-based instructional facility, ranging from K-12 to higher education to adult learning centers. Today's 17" and 19" monitors are not only a visual block, but also uncomfortable. Computer users must look up at them, causing neck and shoulder strain - a particular problem for adults who wear bifocals.
Multimedia education creates an additional ergonomic issue because of its shift from the keyboard to the mouse. And pullout keyboard trays require the computer user's arm to be further extended and slightly raised, an uncomfortable posture that can lead to musculoskeletal disorders.
