Assignment Two Multimedia Product Evaluation

Teams

Team One: Ken, Michelle, Janice. Anita

Team Two: Lisa, Gail, Tammy

In this assignment, each team member will select one multimedia product for evaluation. Working together, the team will create an evaluation rubric to assess the effectivenes of the design and functionality of each product. Teams will be formed later in the semester.

Two rubrics are provided as examples -- one is lengthy and one is short. Using these rubrics, construct your own team evaluation rubric based on principles of multimedia development and use it to conduct a rigorous evaluation of online multimedia products.

Your evaluation should include, at a minimum, ratings and written descriptions of audience relevance, design elements, media use, quality and usability. The products chosen must be approved in advance by the instructor, and be accessible by both the instructor and other students. This assignment is worth 150 points.

Example Rubric One
Example Rubric Two

Report Elements

The following steps are suggested elements of your paper; you may certainly add or modify as best fits your team's perspective.

Step 1: Evaluate Media

• Examine images (all formats)

• Examine animation for effectiveness and quality

• Evaluate audio and video components if present for effectiveness and quality

• Evaluate appropriateness of MM elements for audience

Step 2: Review General MM Site or Product Design

Review the site hierarchy and the use of templates or consistent design. Determine if there are metaphors and if so, how they impact interface quality and navigation elements. Determine if the site/product follows commonly accepted web design principles & standards.

Step 3: Determine Significance of Content

Consider the distribution of content throughout the product -- is it loosely organized or does it represent a logical flow? Is it chunked appropriately so that users aren't overwhelmed, and are transitions present and effective? Does the product have an introduction and conclusion?

Step 4: Test Functionality (Usability testing) Check to see if:

• Media plays as intended

• Navigation links work

• Exit options are placed appropriately

• Any other problems exist in using the product

Step 5: Spelling & Grammar This is self-explanatory.

Step 6: User Motivation and Interest

Determine if:

• The content and MM elements engage users

• Media helps users focus or is distracting

• The product has novelty, originality, etc

• Whether or not the product is appropriate for the audience

End your evaluation report with a summary paragraph summarizing your reviews. Identify the one (or more if this is the case) products that you consider to be the best, and why.

Report Order

Your report should follow this order:

• Introduction or Executive Summary

• Overview of MM products that were reviewed (with location information) along with an explanation of your rubric or evaluation method used

• Product 1 overview/intro

• Product 1 comprehensive review

• Product 2 overview/intro

• Product 2 comprehensive review

• Product 3 overview/intro

• Product 3 comprehensive review

• Summary with best product & justification; how this product review helped your critique & evaluation skills

You are not bound by maximum or minimum page requirements. Just remember that you will be graded on the quality and substance of the evaluations. Given the page outline above, you should have ample guidance to compose this report! Just let me know if you have questions.