Reviews

The Hutchinson Electronic Encyclopedia, First Electronic Version, Oxford, Random Century and Attica Cybernetics, 1991. ISBN: 1–873472–00–5. Price £99

The Brachial Plexus: Development and Assessment of a Computer Based Learning Tool

The objective of the present study is to evaluate the use of multimedia technology to simplify study of the brachial plexus. A combination of newly-rendered illustrations, animations, explanatory text, and a set of printable sample questions were combined into a program to provide a tutorial for the brachial plexus. One aspect of the program is an animation showing the development of the brachial plexus from its developmental origins that illustrates limb rotation and the resulting adult anatomy and dermatomal arrangement. The cross-platform program requires Quicktime 3.0 and is packaged on CD-ROM. Student evaluation of the program highlights its ease of use and intuitive navigation. User evaluation provides validation that the use of illustrations and animations is beneficial to user’s understanding and retention of the material. Future plans involve incorporation of pathologic images in order to enhance the clinical relevance of the product

What is the problem to which interactive multimedia is the solution?

This is something of an unusual paper. It serves as both the reason for and the result of a small number of leading academics in the field, coming together to focus on the question that serves as the title to this paper: What is the problem to which interactive multimedia is the solution? Each of the authors addresses this question from their own viewpoint, offering informed insights into the development, implementation and evaluation of multimedia. The result of their collective work was also the focus of a Western Australian Institute of Educational Research seminar, convened at Edith Cowan University on 18 October, 1994. The question posed is deliberately rhetorical - it is asked to allow those represented here to consider what they think are the significant issues in the fast-growing field of multimedia. More directly, the question is also asked here because nobody else has considered it worth asking: for many multimedia is done because it is technically possible, not because it offers anything that is of value or provides the solution to a particular problem. The question, then, is answered in various ways by each of the authors involved and each, in their own way, consider a range of fundamental issues concerning the nature, place and use of multimedia - both in education and in society generally. By way of an introduction, the following provides a unifying context for the various contributions made here

Art in motion

The world of electronic publishing changes quickly, and CD-ROM is the latest technology. Many electronic publishers are getting involved in what is called CD-ROM publishing (also called Optical publishing). CD-ROM means Compact-Disc Read Only Memory. CD-ROM publishing changes the way information is presented, searched, retrieved, and distributed. Electronic publishing takes on a whole new identity with CD-ROMs. The computer screen now replaces hard copy as the viewing medium. This is why CD-ROMs are called the new CD-ROMs allow the user to deal with dynamic and moving images in lieu of static ones. The technology promotes the fact that CD-ROM applications are fun and entertaining ways to learn as well as allowing interaction with the user. Some CD-ROM products already on the market include children\u27s books, reference books, and adventure games. CD-ROMs also offer users of the desktop many advantages including high storage capacity, permanency, and easy accessibility to data. However, the biggest disadvantage to CD-ROM is its slow seek time and data transfer rate. This thesis project is comprised of two parts. The first part involves the creation of a CD-ROM application. In this case, it is a poster book. The poster book was designed to give the impression of motion within the pages. Some of the hardware and software utilized in the implementation of the poster book include QuarkXPress, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and the Macintosh Quadra 700. Using Kodak\u27s Writable CD-ROM hardware and software, the poster book\u27s digital file was then written to a CD-ROM disc. The second part of this thesis project involves the development of a reference guide. The reference guide explains the basic steps on how to create a CD-ROM application. It is designed to serve desktop users and novices to CD-ROM technology. Most resources that were available were too complex for any beginner to comprehend in completing their CD-ROM projects. The Reference Guide to CD-ROM Technology covers the fol lowing topics: data collection, text preparation, image preparation, sound preparation, disc origination, data submission guidelines, disc production, and data protection. The last chapter of the reference guide provides a list of CD-ROM manufacturers that can be consulted for more in-depth information on CD-ROMs. Upon completion of this thesis project, a questionnaire was used in evaluating the CD-ROM application, Art in Motion. The viewers were asked to compare the CD-ROM version to the printed version. The results were then summarized at the end of the study

CD-ROM preparation: An overview and guide

A primer on the options and procedures involved in producing CD-ROM products in a small to medium sized business operation is presented in language that persons with a minimal technical background can easily understand. The capabilities, limitations, and standards of CD-ROM technology are surveyed. Emphasis is placed on CD-ROM production, especially upon design, data conversion to an electronic medium, data file preparation, the use of vendors, and the steps for in-house production of CD-ROM products

Pedagogy First, Technology Second: teaching & learning information literacy online

This paper explores the pedagogical and technical issues, challenges and outcomes of creating an online information literacy course. Currently under development, this course will be offered as a parallel study option to Advanced Information Retrieval Skills (AIRS:IFN001 ) for QUT postgraduate students, a compulsory face-to-face course for all QUT research students. The aim of this project is to optimise students’ access to AIRS:IFN001 and meet the University’s objectives regarding flexible delivery and online teaching. Still in its developmental stages, AIRS::Online extends beyond the current notion of static online information literacy tutorials by providing a facilitated, student focussed learning environment comprising content and learning experiences enhanced by appropriate multimedia technology and resources which engage students in planned facilitated and/or self-paced learning events. Course assessment is formative and summative, and is comprised of a research log and reflective journal to provide a means for reviewing the content and key process of advanced information searching and retrieval

Trademark Searching Tools and Strategies: Questions for the New Millennium

The intent of this discussion is to raise questions about trademark searching which will be discussed in future issues of IDEA. I will lead you through the questions raised by my journey through primarily legal literature in treatises and periodicals on the Lexis and Westlaw platforms

Reviews

Successful Instructional Diagrams by Ric Lowe, London, Kogan Page, 1993. ISBN: 0–7494–0711–5