student handbook - course information

Course Description: Interactive Multimedia

Distinctiveness of Subject

Interactive Multimedia is a wide subject, calling on many disparate activities and skills. It is also in a state of rapid change, in futures unpredictable. Not only is there a convergence of various technologies, but also their inherited practices. There is a need to encompass different styles of working into an integrated subject, to establish a new aesthetic rather than produce multimedia bearing the "hallmark" of a particular trade. This new aesthetic must emerge from an educational environment which encourages a multiplicity of contrasted views, in order that students may make their own synthesis.

Design is not only a "problem-solving" activity, but also an opportunity for debate and personal resolution. The placement of the course with Design, with the close cross-relationship between the family of courses, supports the activity of Interactive Multimedia, encouraging a fully rounded approach to all aspects of the design process, supporting group activity and helping students to become experienced and self-sufficient designers.

A fully integrated approach to issues of technology, and of communications, encourages innovation and experimentation, whether in the context of free exploration or specific design tasks. However, whilst it is important that a student may have the freedom to experiment, to undertake ambitious projects which may not succeed, there is also a "vocational" requirement that the course reflects the realism of commercial activities. These opposed forces will co-exist within the course, with industrial involvement where possible, to help to balance innovation and relevance.

Syllabus

The programme places strong emphasis on both production and critical evaluation is also. Visual design is very important, but is not the sole consideration. Another important issue is that of information design and the nature of information. Information of any type should be seen as the product of successful communication to the individual user and groups of users. It is fundamental to interactive systems that information flows not only from the system to the user, but also - through the process of interaction - from the user to the system, and this process needs much consideration.

For the designers and users of interactive publications and products, the fact that the communication is interactive is often more important than the combining of multiple data types. The programme provides both a depth of understanding of the process of design, and a breadth of knowledge of the many aspects of interactive multimedia necessary for innovative work in this new discipline, together with the opportunity for the student to develop applications which emphasize its creative potential.

A student completing the Interactive Multimedia single subject will have: an understanding of the evaluation and use of a variety of media in an interactive context, and the relationships between the various elements within Interactive Multimedia; a critical understanding of what differentiates and what unites the various information types from a technical, conceptual and visual point of view; based and interactive use of the various information types; an understanding of the role of Interactive Multimedia in business, education and the home; an understanding of current commercial developments and trends within Interactive Multimedia; development of a well-grounded critique of Interactive Multimedia, including using the critical tools of other disciplines; an understanding of the historical context of computer-mediated information including its development and future role; an awareness of the relationship between technological and cultural change.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Students studying the subject of Interactive Multimedia will engage in group activities for a part of the course, for pedagogic, practical and vocational reasons. An increased range and depth of ideas emerges from co-operative working; the range of skills required is such that an individual may not have (or wish to have), sufficient skills to work alone, and teamwork reflects industrial practice. Collaborative working cross-discipline, and with partners in other institutions, is actively encouraged.

Throughout the course, there is an emphasis on project-based work. In some cases, projects are negotiated on the basis of students' own ideas (managed through learning contracts), and provide a forum for collaboration. Responsibility for the success of a project lies with the student. Students are supported and guided in their learning through a range of teaching and learning methods. Skills-based workshops support the learning of the practical skills required in order to undertake the projects. These are sometimes based on prescriptive exercises, sometimes on free exploration.

A typical structure would be an hour’s demonstration, followed by two hours supervised practical work, but other arrangements are also used (as attached in the unit descriptions). "Group critiques" of students practical work form part of the seminar programme. Although these critiques may be initially disconcerting, the ability to present one's ideas and to handle constructive criticism is an important part of the learning process. Seminars are of various kinds; those with a direct relationship to workshop activities; those which are specific to Interactive Multimedia; and those which provide knowledge and stimulus to discussion on a variety of issues related to contemporary graphic communication.

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