What is different about developing instruction with both images and audio combined?

Developing instruction with both images and audio combined is different because you need to decide which elements of the lesson would be best presented with audio and which with images. You also need to be careful not to repeat the same information in the audio file that was presented in an image file. In addition, a balance between the use of audio and graphics needs to be established in the lesson set.

When designing an interactive lesson using software like Indesign, I had to rethink how the lesson would be presented. The first audio-only and visual-only lessons that I created were designed to be linear. Now, that the lesson is interactive and including both audio and images with the ability to link to images and text, the design of the lesson can be nonlinear. Therefore, I had trouble deciding how to put the directions on one page in an organized and meaningful design so that the directions were completed in the order of the steps outlined in the design document. I wanted to be careful not so have too many interactions or unnecessary animations that would distract from the lesson.

I thought that creating the lesson with both audio and visuals would be easy to create. However, I found it difficult and time consuming. For example, I would have an idea of how I wanted the information to be presented in an interactive form, but could not always get the software program to cooperate. Or perhaps, I really needed some more tutoring on the program. I watched many instructional videos, but the information that I searched for was not always available. This was a time when having a face-to-face instructional time would have been beneficial to prevent wasting time on some of the frustrating issues that arose with using the software.

            The overall lesson, once created, is beneficial for the learner. There are audio files that can be repeated and visuals that complement the audio files. The lessons can be used for distance learning, therefore providing unlimited access to the lesson.

            The limitation of creating interactive lessons using both audio and images would be the time that it takes to create the lesson. Also, you must spend time learning a program, like Indesign, that offers the interactive elements. Or course the benefit would be that you could show the lesson several times to various students. Once the lesson is fully designed, then the lesson could help the teacher work one-on-one with other students.