College students were surveyed to determine whether they comprehended, identified with, and were motivated by poster messages regarding safer sex, alcohol use, and stress management. Results are presented for males and females, response differences between men and women are discussed. Suggestions for improving effectiveness and eliminating design…

The evolution of environmental education in West Germany from the late 1960s to late 1980s is chronicled, and insights into the process of environmental education gained from these experiences are discussed. Additional emphasis on direct contact with natural phenomena, more innovative teaching methods, and increased focus on collaboration are…

Discusses factors that influence learners' preconceptions of television, the mental effort they invest in processing a video-based lesson, and their achievement. The effects on mental effort and achievement of characteristics of media, the task, and the learners are addressed; and recommendations for future research are offered. (Contains 42…

At Carnegie Mellon University, interactive videodisks are used to create real-world moral dilemmas in the classroom for students studying ethics, values, and critical thinking. The medium combines the power of film with the control of the computer, but production of materials can be time consuming and difficult. (MSE)

Two programs are described for teaching earth science and introductory chemistry to secondary students with learning disabilities. Development of the two models involved curriculum revision to engage students in higher order thinking, teaching fewer topics in more depth, and design of materials to provide an integrated, problem-solving basis for…

Designing publications to recruit graduate students is a far different task from designing materials for undergraduates. Syracuse University has found three principles helpful: relying on the expertise of the institution's academic units; providing useful information, not a sales pitch; and using desktop publishing to produce targeted…

Instructional materials on hypoglycemia, foot care, and exercise were developed and field tested with 98 diabetes patients who had low vision and/or low literacy. A pretest and posttest revealed an 81% reduction in wrong answers overall and a 72% reduction in wrong answers by a subset with low vision. (Author/DB)

The time required to develop instructional material for an entire course tends to be longer than the lifetime of the system used in the authoring process. Argues that it is difficult to develop new approaches under these circumstances. (DDR)

A European project developed guidelines for use of multimedia in adult basic education, reviewed existing multimedia resources, and developed strategies for teaching literacy using multimedia. Individual learning styles and processes can be accommodated with the media, but teachers need new skills to plan and monitor individually based multimedia…

Discusses the evolution of staff development and the new Supporting Open Learners' (SOL) materials at the United Kingdom Open University. Outlines objectives of the SOL program. Discusses issues arising from use of SOL materials, including instructional attitudes; modelling good practice; developing the reflective practitioner; perceived value;…

Provides guidelines on how to adapt common games such as checkers, tic tac toe, obstacle courses, and memory joggers into interactive games in multimedia courseware. Emphasizes creating generic games that can be recycled and used for multiple topics to save development time and keep costs low. Discusses topic themes, game structure, and…

Outlines some tools and tactics for the knowledge-elicitation process in multimedia design by facilitating communication between the designer and subject matter expert (SME). Defines multimedia SME and exploratory multimedia, and discusses the role of the SME, stages of SME consultation, as well as problems and tips to optimize SME consultations.…

This study of 36 K-12 teachers focused on computer use for noninstructional activities and their perspectives on facilitating and impeding factors. Study revealed that computers were used 94% for preparing instructional materials and 58% for finding subject area information. Most common obstacle to computer use was not enough time to learn new…

Addresses the main functions of concept mapping as a student activity in their learning processes: (1) design method to be used as a structural scaffolding technique before and during the development of hypermedia; (2) navigation device for exploring hypermedia documents on CD-ROMs or WWW; (3) knowledge elicitation technique; and (4) authentic…

Teachers who want to show their students how to use multimedia in their projects should consider using HyperStudio. Four sites listed show HyperStudio's capabilities. Discussion includes publishing HyperStudio stacks on the Internet. Sites for more information are also listed. (AEF)