The success of distance education programs is directly related to the systematic instructional design and communication technology; the quality of instructional material and systems is critical to the success of a distance learning system. Merging technologies are of great importance to distance learning programs because the advanced instructional…

Examines in-depth one kindergarten child's comprehension when reading "considerate" (including multimedia effects integral to the story) and "inconsiderate" (including incidental multimedia effects) CD-ROM talking books in a classroom computer center. Finds considerate CD-ROM talking books support the child's understanding and retelling of the…

Outlines three major areas of technology use in second language education--computers as a writing tool, multimedia software, and the Internet. Critically examines the advantages and shortcomings of each of these domains and discusses the teacher's role in a computer-mediated classroom. (Author/VWL)

Describes an authentic multimedia Web development project for seventh and eighth graders. Discusses the structure of the course; the classroom environment; students' personal Web pages; project implementation; production; and benefits from the students' perspective and from an instructional standpoint. (LRW)

Discusses student and teacher perceptions of a new development in the use of the predict-observe-explain (POE) strategy. This development involves the incorporation of POE tasks into a multimedia computer program that uses real-life, digital video clips of difficult, expensive, time consuming, or dangerous scenarios as stimuli for these tasks.…

Discusses a comprehensive approach to teaching business Chinese online that is beng developed in the language learning laboratory at the University of Illinois. The courseware consists of two complementary parts: a business Chinese workbook and a business Chinese simulation. (Author/VWL)

Describes a study that used a Web-based survey and a modified Delphi technique to identify criteria important to multimedia instructional courseware evaluation, validate them with a panel of instructional technology experts, and examine the effect of conducting panel discussions online. Shows information accuracy and reliability as the most…

Finding information on the Web without encountering numerous false positives poses a challenge to multimedia information retrieval systems (MMIR). This research focuses on improving precision and recall in an MMIR system by interactively combining text processing with image processing in both the indexing and retrieval phases. A picture search…

Describes three websites that feature resources for science teachers, students, and department heads. The first allows teachers to design their own online worksheets, the second contains a collection of science-related images, and the third focuses on issues related to the running, organization, and management of science departments. (WRM)

Provides an overview of the recent trends towards publishing digital video disc (DVD) multimedia reference sources. Discusses the advantages of DVD-ROMs and the gigabyte storage potential of the technology for publishing multimedia reference sources. (AEF)

Discusses five steps in creating a Web page: (1) preparing; (2) "prewriting" the pages; (3) drafting; (4) editing; and (5) publishing. Notes that Web pages entertain and persuade their audiences while providing valuable information on programs. (VWC)

Presents a two-phase instructional design model that focuses on optimizing step size in whole-task approaches to learning complex, mainly non-recurrent, cognitive skills. Step size in a multiple-step whole-task approach-needed for the process worksheets-is determined on the basis of estimated part-task complexity. A developmental study of the…

Describes the instructional functions of multimedia presentation software. Explores the effects of computer multimedia in four large lecture classes in which students, graduate instructors, and a professor responded in journals, on objective tests, in focus groups, and on survey questionnaires. Discusses the results and examines the perspectives…

PBS TeacherSource and PBS VIDEOdatabase of America's History and Culture allow library media specialists and teachers to find and use high-quality multimedia resources with ease. PBS TeacherSource helps educators navigate the available resources from PBS, and the VIDEOdatabase is a new program to help schools establish a complete, definitive…

Describes a Web site that introduces novice Web users to principles of design and navigation of instructional Web sites. Discusses the process involved in designing the site, lessons learned while developing it, and recommendations for further research. Includes a list of research-based guidelines derived from the literature in the areas of screen…