Comments on the papers of this theme issue, which are concerned with the impact of verbal and nonverbal representations in acquiring expertise in complex domains. Outlines lessons from first generation work in this field and issues for second generation research. (SLD)

Presents a matrix of skills necessary for multimedia development. Skills are identified in business, artistic, and technical areas. These skills are then applied to the following reasons for multimedia use: to condense time and material; to effect rapid skills transfer; and to manage feedback and evaluation. (MES)

Intended to provide a basic understanding of virtual reality (VR) from an educational perspective, this article describes the debate between conceptual and technological orientations to VR; the conceptual orientation to VR; technological definitions of VR, artificial reality, and cyberspace; dimensions of VR; and VR's impact on education. (11…

Reviews two software programs: (1) "My Mediatext Workshop," an integrated media program based on a simple word processing program that joins sounds and graphics through media links; and (2) "Aesopolis," a CD-ROM product that displays classic paintings of scenes from Aesop's fables and enables students to read and hear the…

The effervescent progress of technologies in the modern era demands new pedagogical techniques in the process of effective and successful teaching and learning. The prospective teachers who are competent with technical skills and have command over language alone can produce articulate students. Prospective teachers, when they enter the real…

The current study evaluated the use of a manualized social skills program, Superheroes Social Skills, to increase the use of prosocial behaviors and decrease the use of aggressive behaviors for children with externalizing behaviors. The training was implemented by a school psychologist in a pullout group with four children with high-incidence…

New information and communications technologies (ICT) are redefining teacher education. A university faculty member and an instructional technology consultant incorporated information and communications technologies within a graduate university methods course. The following research questions explored student perceptions of using Web 2.0 tools as…

This article aims at analyzing the importance of using Mass Media in the classroom and finding the ways how to use Printed and Audio-visual Media. It is the result of an in-depth study, surveys and questionnaires thus trying to make the ideas in this article more trustworthy. It is based not only on the literature review but also on long personal…

This paper discusses modalities of meaningful use of multimedia sources in Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) theory and the design of CSCL software tools. A discussion about main similarities and differences between the concepts of networking, coordination, cooperation, and collaboration is presented at the beginning. These concepts…

In many academic areas, students' success depends upon their ability to envision and manipulate complex multidimensional information spaces. Fields in which students struggle with mastering these types of representations include (but are by no means limited to) mathematics, science, medicine, and engineering. There has been some educational…

Expert operative information is a prerequisite for any form of surgical training. However, the shortening of working hours has reduced surgical training time and learning opportunities. As a potential solution to this problem, multimedia programs have been designed to provide computer-based assistance to surgical trainees outside of the operating…

As Japanese uses three writing systems (hiragana, katakana, and the ideograms known as kanji), and as materials in the target language include all three, it is a major challenge to learn to read and write quickly. This paper focuses on interactive multi-media methods of teaching Japanese reading which foster learner autonomy. As little has been…

We tested the effectiveness of an interactive, video CD-ROM in teaching persons with intellectual disabilities (ID) about their human rights. Thirty-nine participants with ID were trained using both a classroom activity-based version of the training program and the interactive CD-ROM in a counterbalanced presentation. All individuals were pre- and…

The purpose of this case study is to better understand the relationships between Web usability and students' perceived learning in the design and implementation of Web-based multimedia (WBMM) tutorials in blended courses. Much of the current research in this area focuses on the use of multimedia as a replacement for classroom instruction rather…

This study developed an interactive multimedia-based software program for Optics instruction, which was expected to overcome the imperfection of traditional optical labs. The researcher evaluated the effectiveness of the program through an experimental study that compared the learning outcomes of the students who used and did not use the software.…