Ch'an Academy Multimedia Application Documentation

The Ch'an Academy, located at the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd., 33 Brooking Street Upwey, 3158, has been teaching the ancient methods of the Way of the Brush for twenty-five years.

Resident Teacher and Founder of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. and the Ch'an Academy, John D. Hughes, has studied with Chinese Masters and meditated in Bodhidhamma's cave in China. He has practiced Ch'an tradition for over forty years and is one of the world's few living Ch'an Masters.

The Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. is a peak organisation and a regional centre for the World Fellowship of Buddhists. The Centre runs on high level computerised administration, information and communications systems and is the number one distributor of authentic Dhamma information in Australia. The lemma of the organisation is 'lifetimes of learning' and students are taught to cultivate the five styles of friendliness, cultural adaptability, practicality, professionalism and scholarship.

The Centre currently has eight websites containing good information. One of its websites www.bdcu.org.au is accessible to a wide audience as the composition is mainly black and white text. Another website www.bdcublessings.net.au is a perfect promotion multimedia websites containing colour photographs, video, audio and text transcripts of their Radio Broadcast the Buddhist Hour.

The Ch'an Academy's goal is to become a Centre of excellence of an international standard for Ch'an arts, by creating a suitable location for the practice and teaching of this rare and ancient tradition in Australia.

In order to create the suitable conditions for preservation of the Ch'an tradition in Australia, the Ch'an Academy offers persons interested in learning Ch'an the rare opportunity to practice the 'Way of The Brush', throughout the four seasons, guided by Ch'an Master John D Hughes. Ch'an is an ancient Chinese practice (later known as Zen in Japan) which includes the style of ink painting. The Ch'an Academy hosts monthly Sumi-e (Japanese ink-painting) Classes with visiting Teacher Andre Sollier.

The purpose of this multimedia application is to allow more people, particularly those unable to attend teachings at a physical location, to have the rare opportunity to learn the ancient Buddhist tradition, Ch'an.

I proposed to design and build a multimedia application which would allow more people access to the ancient tradition of Ch'an practice.

Teacher John D. Hughes has granted permission to create a multimedia application for the Ch'an Academy for this assignment based on the design brief submission. This multimedia application will actually be used both online as a website hyperlinked from the Centre's other websites as well as Multimedia software on CD ROM.

Thank you to the Teacher John D. Hughes for providing a suitable environment in which to learn Buddhist practices including Ch'an Method and for permission to create a Ch'an Academy multimedia application for the benefit of many beings.

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Intended Audience

Buddhism is practiced by many people in many parts of the world today. Ch'an is one of the ancient methods of Buddhism.

This multimedia application allows people, with different levels of knowledge and skill, global access to Ch'an and Buddha Dhamma mind training methods and teachings. Therefore, the intended audience is comprised of practicing Buddhists, those practicing Ch'an method 'the way of the brush', artists, painters and those interested in learning about Buddhism particularly Ch'an (Zen) practices.

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Mode of engagement

This multimedia application software is presented in the form of a CD ROM. Very soon the software will be easily adapted and uploaded on the web.

This CD ROM will be presented to many Buddhist Organisations around the world. This multimedia application will also be delivered via CD ROM to people without internet access. For example, a Temple in Bangladesh having received a laptop from the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. could make use of this learning tool in the form of CD ROM.

Through online delivery interested people world wide will have access to teachings in Ch'an and Buddha Dhamma methods. Online delivery is an accessible and financially viable way to reach the intended audience. Many World Fellowship of Buddhists Regional Centres in England, America and Thailand have access to the internet and would benefit from this application online.

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Software Design Brief

This Ch'an Academy multimedia application was designed for assignment one a software design brief for Issues in Educational Multimedia EDF6441.

Learning model

The Ch'an Method cannot be described in terms of any Western theory of learning as it is a different paradigm. Ch'an method teaches students to quieten or calm the mind order to learn. Ch'an Method does not conform to Western theories of learning as Western theories do not incorporate this 'keeping the mind empty' approach.

The Ch'an Academy overtly concentrates on the Ch'an Way of the Brush, but covertly, practices the Ch'an Way of the Garden. A few of the Academy's students have developed the patience to undertake training in the Ch'an Way of the Garden over the four seasons.

Students practicing 'The Way of the Brush' with time learn to develop a steady mind as the ink and brush reflect the mind on paper. Through observation of 'The Way of the Garden' students learn the nature of change. Unwholesome minds cannot recreate or appreciate beautiful images or gardens.

Ch'an is a specialized learning area where students develop discipline, concentration and patience. Ch'an implies meditation and action.

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Hardware and Software specifications:

To access this multimedia application users need a personal computer with modem and internet access or CD ROM drive. The personal computer would need to support graphics, sound and video. A current internet browser is recommended to view the multimedia application such as the latest Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Quicktime Movie Player is required to view the videos and links to download this software at www.apple.com/quicktime/download are provided on the pages with movie files.

Rationale for Screen design(s)

"Unity and visual balance are desirable features of multimedia composition" (Boyle, 1997, p125).

The screens layout of this multimedia application is seen as a very important part of the design as this is what attracts to audience to the focal object, provides a sense of wholeness in the experience and affects overall aesthetic appeal.

The screen design was also important as the application is on the topic of Ch'an, therefore the design itself had the be Ch'an.

A common webpage format is used for every pager to enable the user to concentrate on the material contained in the multimedia application rather than spend time discovering how to use the program.

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The flow or navigation of the program:

In the software design brief I described the navigational structure best suited to this multimedia application as a composite structure where: "Users may navigate freely, but are occasionally constrained to linear presentations of movies or critical information and/or to data that are most logically organized in a hierarchy." (Vaughan, T, 1998, p388). The multimedia application is no longer based of the constructivist learning model as it is not in fact suited to this application as Ch'an is a specialised learning model itself which does not conform to Western theories of learning.

A site map was originally provided with the design brief with the intention that the site map and the index page be accessed from every screen. The site map would have served to show users which pages they have visited and their current location. This sitemap was found to be superfluous addition as the program follows a simple structure.

The navigational stucture of this application is hierarchical (Vaughan, 1998) as this is a practical way to structure the the material presented and mediums used.

Media Type

The term multimedia is in common use and is understood as a combination of media types. Vaughan (1998) offers three tiered definitions in his text Multimedia: Making it Work. This application is best defined as hypermedia based on the definitions by Vaughan given below:

Multimedia - Multimedia is woven combinations of text, graphic, art, sound, animation, and video elements.

Interactive Multimedia - When you allow an end user - the viewer of the multimedia project - to control what and when the elements are delivered, it is interactive multimedia.

Hypermedia - When you provide a structure of linked elements through which the user can navigate, interactive multimedia becomes hypermedia.

Although, this application is commonly referred to as multimedia, by definition it is hypermedia as the student can navigate through the application by a series of hyperlinked pages.

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Software Used (Name, Description, Terms of Licence)

I have used many PC Computers for the purposes of this software design brief; at the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. and friends computers to test the software.

I used the Monash University iMAC Computer and licensed software for converting video footage to digital, editing the videos and writing them to CD ROM. Special software was also used on the The IMAC to write the video clips and jpgs on a CD-ROM together with the other files, html, jpg, wav, etc.

Windows 98 operating system licensed to Pennie White.

Internet Explorer , free browser.

Netscape Navigator, free browser.

Star Office 5.1a, office package, Sun Microsystems free version.

Windows Sound Recorder, comes with windows operating system

1^st Page, HTML editor.

Irfanview, free for non commercial use, the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. has two licensed versions.

Sure Thing CD Labeler, First Edition, licensed to Pennie White.

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Technical Information and Close analysis of the process and screens or "nodes"

Table: Media Types and acquisition

MEDIA TYPES	NUMBER	ACQUIRED	RATIONAL
HTML documents	8	Constructed with Star Office and will be edited with 1stPage for the web so that meta tags remain. Most Office programs disregard tags. For the CD ROM this was unimportant.	Can be read by internet browsers
Images, jpg	50	Taken with Digital Cameras. Copied from Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.'s Existing Websites Some Paintings Scanned images to accompany video taken with IMAC software for digital editing and later resized with Irfanview	Best format for web as file size is small which helps fast downloading Irfanview resizes jpegs reducing file size.
Video files	12	Video taken with VHS video recorder.	Borrowing a digital camera proved difficult.
Sound files, wav	1	Recorded with tape player on audio cassette then converted to wav format.	Most systems come with wav playing facilities.

CD ROM Cover and Label

To give a professional finish I purchased Sure Thing CD Labeler, which comes with software to make labels for CD ROM disks and covers.

I designed the cover including the Ch'an logo or chops as they are known. I included only the essential information on the cover and label to keep the style in line with the multimedia application. Instructions for use appear inside the cover which is to open index.html with an Internet browser.

I gave the multimedia software the title The Ancient Way of the Brush; Timeless, Practical, Relevant in the 21^st Century.

Screen One: Ch'an Academy Index

File name: index.html

Heading: Ch'an Academy* HTML Font Size: 7 (40 point, Star Office)

URL www.buyresolved.com.au/chan/index

Hypertext links to other pages:

The Way of the Brush

The Way of the Garden

Exhibitions

The first feature of this screen is the heading the Ch'an Academy. It is accompanied by the Ch'an Academy logos, one each side. Initially the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd's. Logo the Dhamma Chakra Wheel were used simply to illustrate the basic page layout.

The first screen features the familiar Zen circle which helps quieten the mind of the viewer and is a simple way of introducing the content of the application.

Underneath this Zen circle is the text: Ch'an (Zen) trains the mind using ink, paper, ink slab, and brush, over the four seasons.

This text succinctly describes the purpose of Ch'an and the content of the application.

To become skilled in the art of Ch'an the audience needs a clear mind, therefore, the screens layout is designed to be free of clutter. The use of colour and gimmicks have been limited to assist the learner by not distracting them from the material. It is fitting with the Ch'an tradition to have black images on a white background. White space also makes the layout aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Screen Two:

Heading: The Way of the Brush

URL www.buyresolved.com.au/chan/brush

Picture One: The Dragon Gong located at the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.

Hyperlink: Sound the Gong

Student have the option to sound the gong on entry.

The gong was recorded by Vincenzo Cavuoto and played by myself. Brendan Grainger, from Hillside radio converted this recording to wav and mp3. I selected the wav file because the one gong was recorded well and played easily.

The sound of the gong may be activated by the user having the effect of 'cutting' their mind and leaving it empty and more open to learning. The main aim of Buddhist and Ch'an methods is to clear the mind and therefore make it more receptive to learning and reality.

Take virtual classes at the Ch'an Academy.

Videos: There are eleven videos which form a complete Sumi-e class. The segments may be viewed by double clicking the hyperlinks below the jpeg images which give and indication of what is contained in the videos.

The second node included in this screen is the Introductory and Preparatory Video with Master Andre Sollier. This can be accessed by double left clicking on the hypertext below his picture. This picture was as planned taken in the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.'s Hall of Assembly at 33 Brooking Street, Upwey, 3158. The main Altar did as planned formed the background of this image. Andre Sollier was be the focal object and in front of him the tools required for the class such as brush, ink, water, ink slab and paper. In this series of videos Andre Sollier gives and introductory meditation and demonstrates various aspects of the art including grinding the ink and discusses how this itself is part of the meditation as well as practical aspects of painting with ink.

Video One: This video series begins with an introductory meditation with Master Andre Sollier.

Video Two: This video describes Sumi-e and its history and what it is as a discipline.

Video Three: This video described the materials used; the brush, the ink and ink stone.

Video Four: This instructs how to make ink

Video Five: Shows how to put the ink on the brush.

Video Six: Shows how to hold the bush and body to paint the Zen circle.

Video Seven: Instructional video on the straight stroke in all directions.

Video Eight: How to paint the Bamboo.

Video Nine: How to paint the leaf stroke.

Video Ten: Applications of the strokes learnt so far, the bird, fish and the Australian gum leaf.

Video Eleven: Conclusion of the Sumi-e lesson.

The best way to learn some of these painting techniques is first by viewing and then practice. The audience has the advantage of learning this by repeating the short video over and over.

This application is appropriate for an English as a Second Language audience as the use of text is limited. As well as learning Ch'an the audience can develop their English skills especially by viewing the instructional videos.

Screen Three:

Heading: The Way of the Garden

URL: www.buyresolved.com.au/chan/garden

Sit in the Virtual Ch'an Garden

Video: The Australia Pond in the Ch'an Garden at the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd.

Photograph of Master Andre Sollier and student Jan Bennett in the Ch'an Garden.

The purpose of the video of the Australia pond is to quieten the mind. The authentic sound of the Garden are heard. The Way of the Garden is not romanticized by artificial sounds, the real sounds of nature are heard including the people, cars and constuction work.

Screen Four:

Heading: Exhibition

URL: www.buyresolved.com.au/chan/exhibit

Three pictures are included on this page. Each represents a themed section of the exhibition that can be accessed by clicking in the picture.

Picture One: Images of Australia over the four seasons by John D. Hughes. (12 pictures)

Picture Two: The Life of Siddhartha Gotama by Andre Sollier. (9 pictures) From this page a link to another page containing the text story is also included.

Picture Three: The Ten Ox Herding Pictures by Andre Sollier. (10 pictures) Accompanied by verse adapted from poetry written by Japanese Zen Master Daisedz Teitao Suzuki by myself that was published last year in the Buddha Dhyana Dana Review. The beast represents our ego and the taming of the mind.

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Problems and solutions

Layout of page too cluttered conflicting with Ch'an - Removed left hand side hyperlinks from all pages. Removed Star Office advertisement and links to browser updates.

When I recorded the sound of the gong played by Vanessa Macleod straight to my laptop the sound recorded was unknown file type to other players and too quiet. The solution to this problem was to re record using audio tape and enlisting the help of Brendan Grainger from Hillside Radio to convert the tape to digital and save it to floppy disk. On the mp3 file three gongs were recorded, however, the beginning one gong was chopped so I didn't use it. The mp3 also meant that some users would need to download players to do this. The wav file with one gong was good quality and appropriate.

Could not simulate image of Bodhi tree growing over twenty years to show the nature of change - not solved. The nature of change is demonstrated in other ways in the software.

The Nobbies Images over the four seasons. (4 pictures) and the option to hear the sounds of the sea recorded at the Nobbies were not actualised. The paintings already appear in the Australia over the four seasons exhibition. A trip to the Nobbies Phillip Island would be required to record the sounds at the Nobbies and this was seen as impractical.

The first design of the pages were too cluttered through trying to achieve too much and being swayed towards gimmick such as star office logos and visitor counters. A site map was originally provided with the design brief with the intention that the site map and the index page be accessed from every screen. The site map would have served to show users which pages they have visited and their current location. This sitemap was found to be superfluous addition as the program follows a simple structure.

The digital movie camera I organised to borrow arrived later than expected so firstly, I didn't have time to learn how to use it and secondly was unaware of what film would be needed for the machine. As a back up plan I borrowed my cousins Video Recorder which turned out to be what I recorded with on the day.

I had organised for some professionals to convert and edit the video. They had trouble doing this as the audio would not work in sync with the visual or at all. I was also concerned that although I had given detailed second by second instructions for the editing that it would be difficult for someone else to do what I needed as I was more familiar with the content and of course what I wanted to achieve. I immediately implemented plan B, do it myself. So with the help of kind David Yamouni, I had access to the 'staff' iMAC at Monash University. He said as I was Bernard's student I could be trusted. He was right the videos were successful.

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Further development

The Ch'an Academy logo is featured next to the heading on the title page and the other pages; The Way of the Brush, The Way of the Garden and Exhibitions. One further development could be to generate images to appear either side of the headings relevant to the web page content. For example Individual designs may be generated such as a a black and white picture of a Ch'an brush made from bamboo and wolf hair for Screen Two: The Way of the Brush. For The Way of the Garden a miniature picture of a bodhi tree could be made also in black and white. For the Exhibition page a small painting image could be used. These pictures could then form buttons to go to these pages from the index page.

Pop up text could be provided for the user to gain further information on what can be accessed by each link when the mouse is positioned over the text.

This multimedia application will become a website available by internet.

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Experiential Learning

Very different things were learnt by doing the tasks of a software design brief and then building the application. The software design brief was an essential planning activity where ideas were sketched and the content selected and structured for presentation. During the planning phase the screen layout was overhauled as it was discovered that the ideas sketched for the pages did not suit the material as the screens were too cluttered. The desire to add fancy gimmicks and excessive hyperlinks was dropped and a simple more aesthetically pleasing design was adopted.

The building of the application involved different experiences such as working with others, acquiring knowledge and equipment needed to actualise the design brief.

When I had edited the movie clips, particularly those of Master Andre Sollier teaching in front of the Altar at the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd., I had a feeling of de ja vu as what I had envisioned many months before I had actualised.

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Conclusion

Building this multimedia application itself was a learning experience. Hands on learning or learning by doing is effective because the outcomes are real. Myself and other Members of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. learnt many skills from this process. As well as learning more about the Ch'an I learnt to work with others in a consulting fashion and to research and implement technology skills such as image manipulation, building web pages and how to create real learning experiences from multimedia applications.

Building an actual multimedia (or hypermedia) application that will really be used by an organisation in the form of a web site and CD ROM made the task easier as it seemed more real than a hypothetical assignment and it was fun!

Thank you to the Teacher, John D. Hughes, Master Andre Sollier and Members of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. and the Ch'an Academy.

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Acknowledgments

John D. Hughes, Dip. App. Chem. T.T.T.C., GDAIE, Founder and resident Teacher at the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. and the Ch'an Academy, Vice-president of the World Fellowship of Buddhists. John D. Hughes gave permission for this software design to be developed using the Centre's resources and copyright material.

Master Andre Sollier, guest Teacher to the Ch'an Academy, has taught Sumi-e classes monthly at the Ch'an Academy for ten years. Thank you to Master Andre Sollier for conducting a special Sumi-e class at the Centre where the Way of the Brush segments were filmed.

Brendan Grainger, Manager Hillside Radio 87.6 FM and 88.0 FM, for converting audio cassette of gong to wav and mp3 formats.

Evelin Halls, Enterprise Technology Manager of the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. For consultation.

Julian Bamford, editing Australia Over Four Seasons pictures with Irfanview software.

Jan Bennett for driving Andre Sollier to the Buddhist Discussion Centre (Upwey) Ltd. For the filming of the Sumi-e class.

Isabella Hobbs for providing the perfect lunch for Master Andre Sollier and members on the day videos were filmed.

Vincenzo Cavuoto for recording the gong played by Pennie White with his equipment.

Julie Nestic, for lending a video camera and training me to use it.

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References

Boyle, T. (1997). Design for Multimedia Learning, Hertfordshire: Prentice Hall Europe.

Vaughan. (1998). Multimedia: Making It Work, Fourth Edition, Berkley: MacGraw Hill.

Student Name	Pennie White
Subject	EDF6441 Issues in Educational Multimedia
Date	12 July 2001
Assessment Task	Multimedia Application
Lecturer	Bernard Holkner