Suggests that future research in language and social interaction should (1) focus on studies of media or mediated discourse as forms of social interaction as one broad group; and (2) engage in the flow of postmodernist discourse. (Author/VWL)

Fewer than 60% of 114 business-education deans answered questions correctly about fair use and the use of copyrighted multimedia materials in instruction. Those with less multimedia experience assumed copyright regulations to be more restrictive than they actually are. (SK)

Ponders whether multimedia composition can help first-year composition students learn how authors sort memories to make narrations powerful. Describes students' experiences in a composition course when they were asked to digitize sound and graphics to add meaning to written texts--to make their narrations more powerful and concrete. Suggests an…

Discusses the use of simulation, a form of interactive multimedia training that re-creates the work environment to a degree of near realism, as a training method. Discusses the benefits of simulations and the cost and process of developing materials. (JOW)

Describes an end-of-semester assignment used in business communication courses in which groups of students give final presentations comparing communication strategies of three companies in an industry. Notes that the techniques of creating and giving multimedia presentations are learned by students from each other. (SR)

Argues that instructors can help to alleviate students' fears regarding different multimedia techniques by taking time to give some basic file explanations. Discusses a few of the most common multimedia file types in Windows (graphic, audio, and video), as well as compressed files. Uses slide show software as a base because of its widespread use…

Describes experiments in the retrieval of spoken documents in multimedia systems. Problems in spoken document retrieval are discussed, and a voice mail application is explained that combines state-of-the-art speech recognition with established document retrieval technologies to provide an effective and efficient retrieval tool. (Author/LRW)

Reviews the areas of intellectual property law--patent, copyright, and trademark--and discusses how multimedia raises legal issues in each area. The scope of available protection and the concerns involved in negotiating licensing and publishing agreements for multimedia are discussed, as well as issues related to online material. (Author/LRW)

States that computer-based instruction (CBI) using multimedia and hypermedia is an approach to teaching that is becoming increasingly popular in academic and nonacademic settings. Reviews findings to help technical communication teachers and practitioners explain the value of audience analysis, goals analysis, and control analysis; accomplish…

Discusses multimedia Web site design that may include images, animations, audio, and video. Highlights include interfaces that stress user-centered design; using only relevant media; placing high-demand content on secondary pages and keeping the home page simpler; providing information about the media; considering users with disabilities; and user…

Argues for a more liberal, inclusive definition of literacy, which would incorporate the multi-media world in which we live with its non-linearity, and its capacity to embrace simultaneously many aspects of reality. (Author/VWL)

Presents a Japanese multimedia project and discusses its main characteristics and the basic structure of the modules, as well as the results from an evaluation study. Shares what has been learned through the development and evaluation process. (Author/VWL)

This paper presents a platform-independent method for packaging learning objects and learning designs. The method, entitled a Smart Learning Design Framework, is based on the MPEG-21 standard, and uses IEEE Learning Object Metadata (LOM) to provide bibliographic, technical, and pedagogical descriptors for the retrieval and description of learning…

An understanding of the structure and functions of expressive communication in face-to-face communication and audiovisual media can inform the development of new educational services for human development across cultures in the emerging broadband environment.

Institute for the Future of the Book, based in Brooklyn, aims to combine new ways of thinking with new media to forge a new path for expression. The institute, which was founded in 2004, is on its way to releasing the first version of Sophie, an "all-purpose tool" for creating multimedia texts. Like the institute itself, Sophie's mission…