PowerPoint is roundly reviled and ridiculed, yet this technology enjoys universal popularity. This article reviews the criticisms of PowerPoint and its peer technologies, describes its affordances and advantages, and suggests innovative PowerPoint applications in instruction. Beyond garden-variety applications of PowerPoint, it may also be used to…

An inquiry-based approach to watching videos of children engaged in learning, supported by tools that allow for frequent and close viewing, provides an opportunity for prospective teachers to develop their skills of observation and interpretation before entering the classroom. The in-depth study of videos creates a context in which teachers can…

The authors describe the generative process for using video editing for teachers' professional development. The article provides a rationale, a theoretical framework, and a critical review of the authors' work over the past five years.

Contemporary changes in pedagogy point to the need for a higher level of video production value in most classroom video, replacing the default video protocol of an unattended camera in the back of the classroom. The rich and complex environment of today's classroom can be captured more fully using the higher level, but still easily manageable,…

Examines the match between multimedia data and local area network (LAN) infrastructures. Highlights include applications for networked multimedia, i.e., asymmetric and symmetric; alternate LAN technology, including stream management software, Ethernet, FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface), and ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode); WAN (Wide Area…

Examines the relationship between instructional design (ID) and courseware development, especially for multimedia and hypermedia systems. Discusses ID models; external and internal reasons for the neglect of models; characteristics of models suitable for multimedia and hypermedia development; and models integrating those characteristics: Guided…

Discussion of computer-based simulations focuses on the development of a coaching agent as an alternative to traditional feedback for a multimedia simulation that will help change training from traditional instructor-led courses to learn-by-doing simulations for point-of-need training. The limitations of traditional feedback are examined. (LRW)

Identifies guidelines from the literature relating to screen design and design of interactive instructional materials. Describes two types of guidelines--those aimed at enhancing motivation and those aimed at preventing loss of motivation--for typography, graphics, color, and animation and audio. Proposes a framework for considering motivation in…

Examines the education/methodological aspects of DeskTop Conferencing (DTC) used in classroom learning, adult distance education, and inservice training. Describes a project involving Italian primary and secondary schools aimed at collaboratively producing a hypermedia package using DTC. Lists guidelines for organizing multimedia conferencing in…