The need for effective information processing in business and education has created a big market for multimedia technology. This article discusses a study of the project management techniques of successful multimedia developers (proposal writing, instructional design team assembly, marketing). The interview questions are appended. (LRW)

Explains how the Open Training and Education Network in New South Wales (Australia) has addressed the issue of designing learning materials for learners in vocational and pre-vocational areas with physical, intellectual, vision, hearing, psychological, or neurological disabilities and learning difficulties, such as low literacy and numeracy…

Reviews common approaches to instructional materials development used at distance education institutions with the team approach considered in some detail. Management of the team is emphasized, the process of change is discussed, and a model for adopting educational innovations--the Concerns Based Adoption Model--is explained. (12 references)…

This article examines the appropriateness of current publications with respect to teaching handicapped adolescents about Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Twelve publications were analyzed using the Fleusch Readability Formula, and none were found appropriate for handicapped adolescents. A new brochure was designed from these findings,…

Explores aspects of writing materials for publication, with emphasis on combating sexism in English-as-a-Foreign-Language materials. Problems and solutions are analyzed in the areas of language content and culture that pose problems for editors, making special note of possible conflicts between ideology and pedagogy. (Author/VWL)

Explains courseware abstraction as a method of creating generalized computer assisted learning (CAL) lessons that can then be applied to provide as many concrete examples as desired. Topics discussed include generative CAL; cost efficiency; lesson verification; student evaluation; and factually exhaustive lessons. (nine references) (LRW)

Reviews research on how geographic maps influence the recall of associated text and describes a theoretical model of map-text learning based on dual-coding theory and working memory operations. Instructional implications are explained, and recommendations for instructional applications are given. (Contains 84 references.) (LRW)

Discusses how to design interactive video materials for adult learners. Highlights include capabilities of interactive video; characteristics of adult learners; allowing adults to set their own goals; establishing a need to know; linking new information to prior knowledge; and individual responsibility for learning.(LRW)

In the third of a series of articles on teaching psychomotor skills in dental education, the design of instructional materials is discussed. Steps include identifying appropriate teaching strategies for the tasks; organizing and sequencing subskills; identifying and collecting common errors; and drafting learning exercises for each subskill. (MSE)

Gatehouse Books in Manchester and Pecket Well College in West Yorkshire are publishers of adult basic education materials. They offer different and inspiring models for what can happen when adult literacy work merges with the activities and philosophy of the community writing and publishing movement. (JOW)

Discussion of instructional design in distance education focuses on a collaborative process of preparing course materials for a distance education course on curriculum at Queensland University (Australia). The viewpoints of the instructional designer and the teacher are examined throughout the course development process. (Contains 31 references.)…

Describes a study that addressed three issues in the provision of distance education at the University of Tasmania: the nature of the instructional designer/academic author relationship; perceptions of the role of the instructional designer; and institutional factors perceived by authors as impeding the development of quality instructional…

Text characteristics that have been shown to enhance learning of diverse learners are proposed, to improve the audience appropriateness, text organization, and use of organizational aids in instructional materials. Characteristics include use of personal pronouns, analogies and examples, sidebars, developmental appropriateness, deductive…

Describes a prototype process for the development of educational multimedia materials, based on the ARKive project in the United Kingdom, which can help educational multimedia software developers produce more coherent and effective learning resources by making explicit the value/belief system on which the project is founded. (Author/LRW)

Describes a theoretical model of stages in the comprehension of a machine from diagrams and accompanying text, and considers the implications of this model for designing hypermedia manuals that explain how machines work. Reports on three experiments with undergraduates that evaluated hypermedia and multimedia manuals based on this model.…