Synchronized Media Integration Language, a markup language designed to present multiple media files together. For instance, instead of using a video with an integrated soundtrack, a separate video and sound file can be used and synchronized via SMIL. This allows users to choose difference combinations, e.g., to get a different language soundtrack, and permits text transcripts to be optionally presented; both options have accessibility benefits.
Published in Chapter:
Web-Based Multimedia Children's Art Cultivation
Hao-Tung Lin (National Chi-Nan University, Taiwan) and Herng-Yow Chen (National Chi-Nan University, Taiwan)
Copyright: © 2009
|Pages: 6
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-198-8.ch344
Abstract
With the rapid advance in Web and multimedia technologies, authoring various types of multimedia content and distributing them on the Web has been very popular for many years. These technologies are applied in e-learning extensively, such as from language learning (e.g., ESL) to professional domain knowledge (e.g., computer science). In contrast, e-learning systems focusing on art domains, especially for kids or teenagers, are few. This is a notable shortcoming, because from a technical viewpoint, current advances in multimedia technology via the Web promise this kind of application. On the other hand, compared with technologies needed for more general-purpose knowledge, cultivating children’s art through e-learning technology needs much more edutainment ingredients – it must be interesting and interactive and offer multimedia. Realizing this kind of e-learning is really a challenge, not only from a pedagogical viewpoint (the first ingredient) but also technical ones (the latter two ingredients).