Can multimedia meet tertiary educational needs better than the conventional lecture? A case study

Abstract

Educational researchers have long derided the university lecture as an effective mode of delivery of educational materials, but currently there are many reports on the advantages offered by computer. In this study a multimedia solution was sought to replace existing face to face lectures because it appeared to offer a close ‘media versus need’ match. Consequently, a decision was made to develop a design template for an interactive computer based program that would be suitable for a range of subject content. In order to personalise the instruction, a large video insert was incorporated as the main screen’s most prominent design feature. From here the learner could navigate to support material including interactive simulations. The program was piloted with a small group of students and, in particular, the student tracking data that the program automatically generates yield some interesting learning style information.