Presenting text, sound, and images . . .From Reading to Writing In his story “Ambush,” Tim O’Brien examines his experiences as a soldier during the Vietnam War and concludes, “Even now I haven’t finished sorting it out. Sometimes I forgive myself. Other times I don’t.”
MultimediaExhibit
Presenting text, sound, and images . . .It may be difficult to understand the strong feelings people have about war unless you know something about this emotional topic. One way to explore complex subjects is throughmultimedia exhibits.
MultimediaExhibit
Presenting text, sound, and images . . .In such exhibits, video recordings, music, visuals, artifacts, and other media are used to engage viewers and teach them about particular topics.
MultimediaExhibit
B a s i c s i n a B o x
GUIDELINES & STANDARDS Multimedia Exhibit
A successful multimedia exhibit should
• attract viewers’ attention with appealing visuals, interesting artifacts, and clear text
• present information about a topic logically and clearly
• contain a variety of objects and materials appropriate to the subject
• include specific and accurate written information
• lead viewers along an easy-to-follow pathway with clearly labeled beginning and ending points
Creating Your Multimedia Exhibit1 Planning Your Exhibit
Since your exhibit will probably be a group effort, you might begin by brainstorming possible exhibit topics with a small group of your classmates. Try to come up with broad topics—such as sports, war, peace, and childhood—that you can later refine.
Planning Your Multimedia Exhibit
1. Narrow the focus of your subject. You will need to
break down your topic into more specific parts. Use a
web to organize various elements of your subject
that you might cover, then pick one or two elements
as your focus.
2. Brainstorm a list of materials. What objects,
materials, and media are most appropriate to your
content and focus? Where will you find these things?
Are there any items you will have to make yourself?
Planning Your Multimedia Exhibit
3. Conduct research. Make some notes on what you
already know about your topic and what you need to
find out. Conduct library research to identify key
ideas, dates, and facts that relate to your topic. As
you research, consider what will interest your
audience. What might they already know about this
topic?
Planning Your Multimedia Exhibit
4. Sketch a rough floor plan. Where will you set up
your exhibit? Draw a sketch of the area and imagine
how you might arrange items in it. Keep in mind the
flow of traffic through your exhibit. To avoid traffic
jams, make sure you put enough space between
items in your exhibit. Also think about how many
electrical outlets are available and where they are.
Creating Your Multimedia Exhibit2 Preparing Your Exhibit
After you have gathered all of your
materials, use these steps to prepare
your exhibit.
Preparing Your Multimedia Exhibit
1. Revise your floor plan. Depending on what materials you’ve gathered, you may need to revise your initial sketch. Will you group your materials chronologically? thematically? Which organization will offer the clearest and most interesting path through your exhibit?
2. Create visuals. You may need to create charts, graphs, or maps for your exhibit. Make sure the visuals you create are neat, clear, and accurate.
Preparing Your Multimedia Exhibit
3. Write the text. For the beginning point of your
exhibit, create a sign that includes the title of the
exhibit and a paragraph explaining what viewers are
about to see or why you created the exhibit. Also
create labels that identify the items in the exhibit,
pointing out their important features and explaining
their significance. Finally, write a paragraph for the
end of your exhibit, summarizing what viewers have
seen. Your text should be clear, specific, and
accurate.
Preparing Your Multimedia Exhibit
4. Proofread the text. Although your exhibit may not
include a lot of text, everything you write should be
grammatically correct. Share the task of editing and
proofreading with other group members.
5. Arrange your materials. You may want to
experiment with the layout, but use your final sketch
to guide you in setting up your exhibit.
Creating Your Multimedia Exhibit3 Refining Your Exhibit
After you have constructed your exhibit,
ask several friends or classmates to walk
through it and share their impressions.
Use their feedback to make your exhibit
as interesting, informative, and clear as
possible. The following points can help
you review your work.
Creating Your Multimedia Exhibit3 Practicing and Presenting
Look at the exhibit as a whole.
Consider how well your materials work
together. Does everything fit in the
exhibit space? Does the order of the
items make sense? Do any of the
media overpower other points of the
exhibit?
Creating Your Multimedia Exhibit3 Practicing and Presenting
Evaluate your information. Have you
presented enough information about
the items? Have you presented too
much? Are your facts accurate? Is the
writing specific and clear?
Creating Your Multimedia Exhibit3 Practicing and Presenting
Review your media choices.
Audiences often ignore lengthy text in
favor of visuals. Do you have a good
mix of sound, visuals, and text? Look
for places where a visual would
present your information more
effectively than text.
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