• Revising the design of the program using feedback .
The Need for More and Better Research
A search of the ERIC database indicates that there were at least 250 publications related to the use of multimedia in schools in 1997 . But perusal of these articles indicates that the vast majority are based upon the perception that multimedia is something that students learn “ from ” rather than “ with .” There are very few schools where multimedia construction software is consistently used as cognitive tools , and even fewer research and evaluation studies of the type described above . Research focused on multimedia seems to be stuck in the traditional comparative paradigm . To give but one example , White and Kuhn ( 1997 ) compared elementary school students ’ ability to recall stories about historical figures presented to them via text , oral reading , and multimedia presentations . No significant differences were found , a finding typical of the last 50 years of media comparison research . A more fruitful investigation might have examined the effects of having students create their own multimedia representations of stories .
Ironically , while using multimedia as a cognitive tool remains on the fringe of mainstream K-12 education , most school systems are rushing to hook themselves up to the Internet to provide teachers and students with access to multimedia information on the World Wide Web . What are they going to do with access to all that multimedia ? One hopeful development is taking place in the form of “ constructivist learning environments ” described in the next subsection of this report .
Constructivist Learning Environments Wilson ( 1996 ) offers a definition of a constructivist learning environment :
[ a constructivist learning environment is ] a place where learners may work together and support each other as they use a variety of tools and information resources in their guided pursuit of learning goals and problem-solving activities . ( p . 5 )
Table 3 presents Grabinger ’ s ( 1996 ) list the major changes in assumptions about learning that guide the development of constructivist learning environments :
Table 3 . Old versus new assumptions about learning ( Grabinger , 1996 , p . 667 )
Old Assumptions
1 . People transfer learning with ease by learning abstract and decontextualized concepts .
New Assumptions
1 . People transfer learning with difficulty , needing both content and context learning .
2 . Learners are receivers of knowledge . 2 . Learners are active constructors of knowledge .
3 . Learning is behavioristic and involves the strengthening of stimulus and response .
3 . Learning is cognitive and in a constant state of growth .
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