Reviews

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

This publication is part of the Educational
and Training Technology series edited by
Chris Bell of the University of Plymouth. It
is aimed directly at teachers, trainers and
instructional designers who wish to incor-
porate diagrams into their instructional
materials.

The first section of the book deals with
diagrams in relation to learning processes and
the acquisition of visual, as opposed to
textual, information. Although a series of
important points are clearly indicated, there
is no reference to published work in the field,
and this weakens the value of this section of
the book. Furthermore, there is a biblio-
graphy but it contains just fourteen entries.
This is not therefore a book to use in
researching visual literacy.

The central section of the work is concerned
with the design and production of instruc-
tional diagrams, and here there is a wealth of
straightforward information and ideas presen-
ted in a clear and helpful manner which
would benefit even experienced instructional
designers. One feature of this section in
particular, but also of the book in general, is
the use of a common thematic topic (a
pepper mill) for exemplary illustrations. This
technique allows the writer to focus on
specific features of the illustrations without
introducing new, distracting information.
Having said that, I did feel that the book
might have benefited from including, at least
in one section, a wider variety of illustrative
examples.

The final section is concerned with the role
of diagrams in an instructional context and
the potential problems which a learner might
have in using diagrams. Again the approach
is clear and useful.

The book is directed at less experienced
instructional designers or those who feel they
should be exploiting diagrams more com-
pletely. It contains a range of useful pro-
cedural checklists, and draws together a
number of selected issues ranging from
design considerations to evaluation pro-
cedures. It is a useful addition to the
practitioner's bookshelf.

Dennis Moss, University of Wales at Cardiff

Hypertext in Context by C. McKnight, A.
Dillon and J. Richardson, Cambridge
University Press, 1991. ISBN 0-521-
37488-X.

The term hypertext was coined by Theodore
Nelson in 1967. He used it to describe
interactive systems which combine natural
language text with a computer's capacity for
interactive branching. Since it is now pos-
sible to combine text with a variety of other
forms of presentation (such as graphics,
audio and video), the term hypermedia is
now often adopted for such systems, hyper-
text being reserved for applications based on
just non-linear text. In this book, however,
McKnight et al refer to applications which
embed document or information linking as
hypertext, regardless of the modes of pre-
sentation they employ. In other words, the
term hypertext is used in a generic way to
refer to electronic documents which utilize
any number of presentation modalities.

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Reviews

The book is divided into eight chapters
which together chart the development of
hypertext from Aristotle (and the earliest
notions of inter-connected information)
through the history of writing and hypertext
applications to future potential.

Chapter 1 provides a discussion of the
meaning (or definition) of hypertext and its
potential impact on the way people organize
information. It is suggested that the 'real'
potential of hypertext goes beyond the pro-
vision of new ways of reading and writing to
fundamental changes in the way people
think. This is followed by a discussion of
some of the historical highlights in the
development of the hypertext paradigm, in-
cluding mention of some of the key figures
in the evolution of the concept.

In Chapter 2, the case for hypertext providing
new ways of thinking is further endorsed.
However, it is argued that many conceptions
about the linearity of traditional textual
systems are inaccurate, and the basic charac-
ter of both oral and written information is
questioned. This is used to focus on the idea
(popularly attributed to McLuhan) that the
medium determines the message. The evolu-
tion of written language is then discussed in
great detail, with emphasis being given to
changes in the style and purpose of written
material. Within this context, various tech-
niques for the production of textual resources
are described (such as printing and the
organization of printed material into books).
There is then a discussion of the impact these
developments have had on the cognitive
skills of readers.

Chapter 3 concentrates on a reader-centred
analysis of hypertext. The fact that paper-
based text and hypertext constitute different
media is noted, and this is followed by a
psychological and physiological discussion of
reader characteristics. This includes a
description of the physical characteristics of

the human visual system and the findings of
research into the cognitive ergonomics of
screen-based text. Then a classification for
information types is developed. The classifi-
cation of textual documents is based on three
dimensions which relate to: how they are
read, why they are read, and what informa-
tion they contain. This brings to the fore a
clear concern with looking at hypertext in the
context of actual tasks, since a simple
comparison of the effectiveness of paper-
based text as opposed to hypertext is un-
realistic without an account of the types of
task users wish to perform with the particular
information resource in question.

Chapter 4 deals with the idea that departure
from linear information structures can cause
users to become lost within an information
space. The psychology of navigation is
discussed both within the context of paper-
based and electronic documents, taking into
account the types of schemata and models
used for navigation within textual environ-
ments. The way in which users can construct
cognitive maps of the information space is
dealt with, along with the ways in which
such maps can provide navigational know-
ledge. There is also an outline of the ways in
which metaphors can be used to address
navigational problems.

Conversion from text to hypertext is the
subject of Chapter 5, where techniques for
converting paper-based resources are contras-
ted with approaches involving the develop-
ment of original hypertext materials. The
underlying structures are also treated, and
consideration given to implementations
which retain an underlying linear structure
while facilitating web-like semantic links
throughout the knowledge corpus. Semantic
networks are described along with the defi-
ciencies that can result from embedding
information within a network structure.

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ALT-J VOLUME 1 NUMBER 2

Chapter 6 deals with the potential effective-
ness of hypertext within applications aimed
at learning and education. A general view of
education is briefly covered, followed by a
look at the question of whether hypertext can
play an effective role in the fulfilment of
educational goals viewed in terms of both
developmental and performance criteria. In-
dividual learner characteristics are also
briefly discussed along with the concept of
incidental learning which may occur while
browsing.

Chapter 7 presents an outline of a practical
implementation of a hypertext system. The
Hypertext Database is an application inten-
ded to support research workers with the
objective of discovering whether a hypertext
database can be of significant use to people
who would ordinarily use a paper-based
equivalent. The system is described in detail
along with the findings of experimental work
into its effectiveness.

The final chapter, not surprisingly, looks at
the future potential of hypertext, and identi-
fies some key areas for future research. Areas
such as computer supported co-operative
work and intelligent hypertext are briefly
treated, and an attempt is made to clarify the
overall position of the authors with regard to
hypertext.

There is a glossary, a reference list, an author
index and a subject index - facilities essential
in a book like this which makes significant
and useful reference to related work. The
glossary is atypical, however, since it con-
sists entirely of short descriptions of hyper-
text systems, not definitions of keywords.

I cannot fully endorse all the ideas presented
in this book, but it is readable, and it will no
doubt prove useful.

Stephen Richards, University of Teesside

Hypertext: a Psychological Perspective
edited by C. McKnight, A. Dillon and J.
Richardson, Chichester, Ellis Horwood,
1993. ISBN: 0-13-441643-0.

This is an edited volume of seven chapters,
each discussing the design of electronic text
and how that design might be informed by
psychological theory. Good coverage is given
to most of the key controversial issues. This
could be a useful book for students as well as
a provocative one for researchers active in
this area.

The editors adopt a commonplace view that
there are really three relevant traditions of
psychological theorizing to contemplate.
First, there is Behaviourism. Hardly anyone
claims Behaviourism as an inspiration any
more, but custom requires that it is identified
and vigorously dismissed. Certainly, no chap-
ter here represents this position. Secondly,
there is cognitive psychology/science. Nick
Hammond contributes a very readable chap-
ter exploring the dominant themes from this
tradition. He briefly reviews key empirical
research, and derives a sort of learning cube:
a figure comprising three dimensions of
computer-based learning (and finding accom-
modation for hypertext in a rather murky
corner of this shape.)

Behaviourism and Cognitivism differ in their
preferred conceptual vocabulary for analys-
ing knowing and learning. In particular, they
disagree on the need to theorize in terms of
symbols and symbol-relations within private
representational systems. This seems a fairly
stark alternative: deal with behaviour or with
information processing. It is hard to imagine
how there could be an in-between perspec-
tive. But a third theoretical tradition identi-
fied here is claimed to occupy the middle
ground. This third tradition is Constructiv-
ism. Donald Cunningham and colleagues
articulate such a position and illustrate, step

73



Reviews

by step, how electronic media can be made
to harmonize with it.

Of the other chapters in the book, three are
focused on more particular features of psy-
choogical theorizing and how they inform the
development of hypertext. So, Patricia
Wright considers what can be learned from
empirical research on reading. Then the
editors themselves have written a chapter
locating 'navigation' as a general topic
within Psychology - and, of course, relating
this to thinking about hypertext development.
Finally, David Jonassen reports some studies
exploring the effects of making the semantic
network of expert knowledge explicitly avail-
able in the linking structures of a hypertext
application, thus relating hypertext design to
models of semantic memory.

There are two more chapters. Peter Whalley
starts the book with a critical essay on the
(liberation) rhetoric of hypertext, and Tho-
mas Landauer and colleagues describe a
series of elegant experiments that make up
the formative development of their high-
specification electronic book. Landauer's
chapter gives the strongest sense of progress
arising from research (it is also the longest
piece - occupying a third of the book). But
the chapter reminds us of an important
distinction: electronic text for information
retrieval versus for learning. These resear-.
chers are clearly working with the former:
their 'SuperBook' is a technical manual for
telephone engineers. The challenge of
designing this kind of document seems more
amenable to cognitive psychological research
methods (and less dependent on highly
articulated theory).

Most of the other authors in this volume are
oriented towards creating tools for learning,
and here progress seems more halting. In the
end, I fear the truth may be that Psychology
is not delivering the goods for this enterprise.
For example, Wright feels obliged to con-

clude: 'Despite a century of work on the
psychology of reading there is no theory of
the reader that designers can employ to
develop a usable hypertext document from
first principles.' For me, this tends to expose
Psychology as a rather narrow discipline.
Here is a hint of it taken from within this
book: studies described in one chapter are
said to be 'concerned with the psychology of
information access by humans.' 'Humans'?
Well, this is a discipline over-anxious to
affiliate with biology (and, of course, com-
puter science). A discipline where people
participating in research are often termed S's.
In short, Psychology is curiously isolated
from the culture of other social sciences -
and not very interested in their progress. For
problems defined in the present context, this
probably matters. So, greater sensitivity to
developments in literary theory, discourse
analysis, ethnography or semiotics might
enrich empirical research on some of the
problems defined in this book (for example,
the topical social science interest in 'narra-
tive' rather passes Psychology by). Psycho-
logy is also a discipline fixated on one
particular conceptual vocabulary for
analysing cognition: dwelling on component
processes manifest by de-contextualized
actors - usually acting in the abstract settings
of laboratories. So, for example, it is very
rare in psychological literature on 'learning'
to find reference to (or a presence in) the
events of classrooms.

This is Cognitivism. Could the so-called
middle ground of Constructivism then be an
alternative way forward? I find the charac-
terization of Cunningham et al here too
sweeping; it blurs too many important dis-
tinctions (for instance, they say their position
is 'variously labelled constructivism,
experientialism, semiotics'). However, by
any account, Constructivism remains a Cog-
nitivist tradition, albeit one that has a
welcome emphasis on studying activities

74



ALT-J VOLUME 1 NUMBER 2

during the circumstances of learning. I
believe there is an alternative theoretical
perspective. Hammond flirts with it briefly in
a section (also rather broad brush) on situated
action and affordances. Alas, the editors
chose to defuse this with the label 'new
behaviorism'. Cunningham et al embrace it
as socio-cultural theory, but it fails to surface
on their landscape as a distinctive alternative.

A more socially grounded theory of mind
might help in many ways. One would be in
forcing us to take seriously the significance
of context. If this volume captures represen-
tative 'psychological' research on hypertext
(and I think it does), what is striking is a lack
of concern for the broader settings in which
these computer-based applications get used.
Our understanding of this new medium will
be impoverished until we take seriously both
the interpretative practices that particular
constituencies of users bring to it, and the
broader framework of teaching and learning
into which it gets variously located. I take
Whalley to be raising these issues in a
helpful way, and his is a chapter that I wish
was longer.

Yet, this book is a balanced, accessible
overview of recent research. I found it
helpful in provoking new lines of thought on
the subject in my own mind, and I am sure it
will do so for many other readers, although
not necessarily the same lines of thought!

Charles Crook, University of Durham

The Art and Science of Computer Anima-
tion by Stuart Mealing, Oxford, Intellect,
1992. ISBN: 1-871516-16-1.

Computer animation is the creation of the
illusion of movement from discrete static
images on a computer screen. It is an
emerging discipline which embraces a wide
range of subject areas, spanning both the arts

and the sciences. There are many books
available which deal with the mathematics,
geometry and programming of computer
graphics, while others deal with the tradi-
tional animation techniques used by the film
industry, but there are very few which deal
with the integrated subject of computer
animation at any length. This book aims to
fill that gap.

It is divided into two main parts. Part 1
covers the basic background material necess-
ary to gain a full understanding of computer
animation. The first chapter introduces tradi-
tional animation techniques in relation to the
role of the computer, and the following
chapters describe various applications of
computer animation (from TV graphics to
medical imaging), the basic principles of
computer graphics and movement control,
and various hardware and software conside-
rations.

Part 2 builds on Part 1, describing in greater
detail the latest developments in the area,
including an attempt to predict the future
applications of emergent technologies. The
book concludes with detailed technical
appendices, a glossary of terms and a
bibliography. It is produced to a very high
standard, attractively laid out with numerous
effective illustrations.

In fact, this is certainly one of the most
readable computing texts I have encountered.
It well conveys the author's enthusiasm for
his subject: clearly, computer animation
should be fun, yet this does not make the
book lightweight. What is most impressive is
that all the necessary subject areas are dealt
with comprehensively enough to make it an
excellent starting point for those readers
seriously considering undertaking a com-
puter-animation project. Little prior know-
ledge of either mathematics or computing is
assumed, making it possible for the more
general reader to develop a broad understand-

75



Reviews

ing of the field. And a comprehensive
bibliography, combined with recommended
texts, enables interested readers to make
further inroads.

Most importantly, the author has concentra-
ted on concepts and principles, rather than on
supplying pages of mathematical formulae,
or the ephemeral minutiae of proprietary
hardware and software. This was a wise
choice which will maximize the shelf-life of
the book - an important consideration, with
the rapidly increasing rate of technological
advance. However, to provide balance, a case
study, The Making of Pencil Test, from a
paper by Galyn Susman of Apple Computer,
is supplied in an appendix. This paper
describes in detail the complete process of
making a computer animation, and is particu-
larly useful as it highlights the realistic
day-to-day problems which must be dealt
with during production.

While the book provides a great deal of
useful information throughout, it is the
material contained in Part 2 which makes it
an essential read, since much of the material
in Part 1 is available in a range of other texts
(though this is not a criticism). In Part 2, I
would single out Chapters 9 to 12 as being of
particular merit. These are effectively state-
of-the-art reviews of the areas of simulation,
soft modelling, behavioural animation and
the simulation of human movement: inform-
ation which is not readily available else-
where.

In all, I can confidently recommend this book
to students, industry professionals, and any
enthusiasts who wish to learn about computer
animation.

Lorraine Warren, University of Hull

Instant Multimedia for Windows 3.1 by
Kris Jamsa, New York, John Wiley and
Sons, 1993. ISBN: 0-471-58972-1.

The use of computer systems for the gener-
ation and delivery of multimedia resources
(text, sound, static pictures, animation and
motion video) is growing rapidly. The ease
with which these activities can be undertaken
is also rapidly increasing. This is due mainly
to the advent of the MPC (Multimedia
Personal Computer) and the general avail-
ability and popularity of graphical user
interfaces. This book is timely in that it
provides a technical (and very readable)
introduction to multimedia generation and
applications using Windows version 3.1. It
also offers hands-on use of a PC, since it
comes with two floppy disks containing a
range of multimedia material linked to
various chapters.

There are 23 chapters. Some of them are
very short but all are to the point. Together,
they cover most of the important aspects of
multimedia deliverable on a PC, although
certain topics (such as digital full-motion
video) are not treated in any great depth.
There are also two appendices and a detailed
subject index, but unfortunately there is no
bibliography; nor does the author makes any
reference whatosever to other sources of
information, not even a Windows 3.1
manual!

The book is organized into four broad
sections. The first (chapters 1 to 10) deals
primarily with the creation and use of sound.
The second (chapters 11 to 14) treats
CD-ROM and its applications, the MPC
standard, and more advanced uses of sound.
The third (chapters 15 to 20) deals with
fonts, scanners, video and animation. The
final section (chapters 21 to 23) covers a
range of topics including future possibilities
and applications.

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ALT-J VOLUME 1 NUMBER 2

The first two chapters serve to introduce
simple sound effects (based on the MPC's
internal speaker) using the driver and digital
sound files provided on the companion disks.
Chapter 3 covers multimedia screen savers,
while Chapter 4 (being slightly more 'acade-
mic' in that it deals with the physics of
sound) brings out the relationship between
sound quality, storage requirements and digi-
tization parameters. Chapter 5 introduces a
program called Excuses which uses the
digital sound effects provided on one of the
companion disks in a variety of interesting
ways, and Chapter 6 gives the reader the task
of experimenting with the speaker driver by
exploring various customization parameters
and the ways in which they effect sound
quality. Chapter 7 introduces another pro-
gram called Presidents which offers multi-
media information about some of the pre-
sidents of the United States. It is possible to
explore a textual biography, listen to a
quotation and view a photograph of any of
the seven presidents included in the demonst-
ration.

Chapter 8 introduces the MPC standard by
describing the basic configuration required to
support it and the facilities it should offer
(such as a sound board and a CD-ROM
drive). The 'Ultimedia' (IBM's MPC render-
ing based on a PS/2) is also mentioned.
Sound boards are treated in greater depth,
however, in Chapter 9 (here, the material on
IRQs and DMA transfers is quite useful),
while Chapter 10 deals with how to use a
board to record and mix sound using the
Windows Sound Recorder accessory. Further
material on sound effects is presented in the
two subsequent chapters, the first of which
describes the Windows Media Player, MCI
(Media Control Interface) and the control of
external devices such as CD-ROM drives,
videodiscs, and so on, while the second
describes the purpose and use of MIDI
(Musical Instrument Digital Interface).

In Chapter 11 the author introduces some
basic material on CD-ROM drives and their
associated optical discs. This is followed in
Chapter 12 by a fairly detailed description of
the various multimedia and hypermedia elec-
tronic books that make up the Microsoft
Bookshelf CD for Windows (Jhe American
Heritage Dictionary, Bartlett's Familiar
Quotations, The Concise Columbia Diction-
ary of Quotations, The Concise Columbia
Encyclopedia, Hammond's Atlas, Roget's
Electronic Thesaurus, and The World
Almanac and Book of Facts). Further exam-
ples of multimedia CD books are described
in Chapter 22.

The visual mode of communication is con-
sidered in more detail in chapters IS to 20.
These cover a wide range of topics such as
fonts (vector, raster and outline) and their use
in both textual and multimedia documents
(created by Write and Paintbrush), scanners
and their applications (for creating image
collections and OCR work), digital electronic
cameras, and the use of bit-map images as
wallpaper for use in Windows screens. The
'theory' of video is covered somewhat
superficially in Chapter 18, while the next
two chapters treat animation. Some examples
of animation and video clips from the
companion discs are used to illustrate the
kind of thing that can be done with an
animation package - in this case, Autodesk
Animator.

The last three chapters deal with future
possibilities (such as virtual reality, new
ways of publishing information in multi-
media documents, and the potential utility of
multimedia techniques in education). Chapter
22 gives a very useful overview of a number
of currently available multimedia CD pub-
lications such as Multimedia Beethoven,
Survey of Western Art (which contains over
1,000 images and 300 biographies), Sherlock
Holmes, Consulting Detective (which embeds

77



Reviews

motion video), Time Table of History,
Science and Innovation, Mammals - a Multi-
media Encyclopedia, Compton's Multimedia
Encyclopedia, and various hypertextual CD
applications such as Ebert's Movie Home
Companion. The final chapter describes some
of the ways in which sound effects can be
incorporated into other Windows applications
such as spreadsheets, memos, electronic mail
and applications programs using the Win-
dows OLE (Object Linking and Embedding)
facility.

What one has here is therefore a good overall
introduction to the topic of multimedia. The
material is sometimes of a technical nature,
but the book itself is written in a way which
makes that material understandable even to
the novice. In fact, it should provide a
helpful exposure for readers who are coming
at this topic for the first time, and who
require a guided exploratory approach to
multimedia.

Philip Barker, University of Teesside

Producing Teaching Materials: a Hand-
book for Teachers and Trainers by Henry
Ellington and Phil Race, 2nd Edition,
London, Kogan Page, 1993. ISBN: 0-
7494-0393-4.

Neither of the reviewers of this book was
familiar with the first edition. That was no
disadvantage - books should be current,
update or not. As the authors recognize in
their introduction, preparing a second edition
raises the vexatious question of what to leave
out from the first, published in 1985. Since
then, document preparation and the produc-
tion of teaching materials has undergone a
technological revolution at all levels of
education and training, and is still running.
There are signs that the baggage from the last
decade has slowed the authors down in their
attempts to keep up.

In most areas there is an admirable linkage
between the technology and the learning
objectives. A good example is the section of
Chapter 2 on printed materials which deals
head-on with the current interest in open and
flexible learning, provides definitions, and
asks the pertinent questions anyone consider-
ing a venture in this area should be able to
answer. As is appropriate for what is still the
most widely used medium, print is covered in
some detail. But do we still need to know
how a stencil duplicator or even off-set litho
work?

Chapter 3 discusses the use of non-projected
display materials, posters, flipcharts, and
magnetic boards. It includes a section on how
a chalkboard should and should not be used.
We are not sure which concerns us most; that
this section should be in the book at all, or
that teachers at all levels in education
actually need the instruction. The production
of still projected display materials is detailed
in Chapter 4 with some excellent reference
data on layout of OHTs and 35 mm slides.
There is also a useful discussion on the
management of a library of these materials.

Production of audio materials is looked at in
some depth in Chapter 5. The section on
design and management of the materials is
practical and to the point, though some of the
technical aspects as presented would serve to
confuse and frighten off certain teachers who
might be considering the use of this medium.
It was delightful, however, to see Chapter 6
given over to the production of tape-slide
material, which provides an effective linking
of the techniques discussed in the preceding
chapters.

Video technology is dealt with only three-
quarters of the way through the book in
Chapter 7, which might be an appropriate
allocation of space for those working in
primary and secondary education, whose
funds are tightly constrained. For further and

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ALT-J VOLUME 1 NUMBER 2

higher education, however, with many insti-
tutions now providing audiovisual services
centrally, the teachers might feel short-
changed.

With millions being spent on the Teaching
and Learning Technology Programme, Chap-
ter 8's 30 pages on the role of computers in
the classroom is miserly, given the multitude
of applications. Many of the photographs in
this section already look dated, and in some
cases risible, such as those on two pages
where essentially the same configuration is
first captioned as a multimedia workstation
and then as being used for computer con-
ferencing. With computer technology advanc-
ing so fast in the time it takes to read a book,
let alone in the time it takes to write one, the
authors clearly had difficulties. The book has
thus tended to concentrate on the principles
and concepts of using computers in different
teaching and learning situations. It looks at
some concepts like multimedia and authoring
languages, and at some of the new technolo-
gies, including CD-I and electronic books.
The chapter, and book, ends with a couple of
case studies. Somewhere along the way, the
balance between the treatment of the old and
new technologies has gone astray. The
outcome is a book whose primary use would
be as a student reference to how things used
to be.

Mike Kibby and Stephen Welsh, University
of Strathclyde

Interactive Multimedia - Promise and
Pitfalls, edited by Colin Latchem, John
Williamson and Lexie Henderson-Lancett,
Kogan Page, London, 1993. ISBN: 0-
7494-0815-4.

Virtually all forms of learning depend on
effective communication. Multimedia
approaches to knowledge transfer are attrac-
tive because the limitations and inadequacies

of one channel of communication can usually
be compensated for by the advantages of
another. Also, introducing interactivity into
communication mechanisms gives the reci-
pient of a message considerable control over
the nature of the information received and
how it is presented. For reasons such as
these, interactive multimedia would seem to
offer significant potential for the design and
implementation of effective and efficient
communication mechanisms. This book
explores some of the possibilities, and
describes some current approaches to using
interactive multimedia in an educational
setting.

The book was originally conceived as a
result of an international conference held in
January 1992 in Perth, Western Australia,
and several of the papers presented at this
conference are included, along with others
that have been specially commissioned.
There are 12 chapters, produced by an
international group of authors from Australia,
Canada, The Netherlands, the UK and the
USA. All are well-written, and each contains
a useful list of references. A glossary, author
index and subject index are also provided.

The opening chapter, written by the editors,
gives an overview of interactive multimedia,
outlining its basic nature and discussing the
role of instructional design and the problems
of introducing new technologies into learning
environments.

This is followed by a chapter by Nigel Paine
and Philip McAra which is mainly technical.
It offers a summary of current developments
in interactive multimedia, such as authoring
systems, MPC, AVI, CD-ROM, DVI, CD-I,
CD-ROM XA, Photo CD, interactive video
and virtual reality.

In Chapter 3, Alexander Romiszowski dis-
cusses the problems of developing interactive
multimedia courseware and communication

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networks to support teaching and learning. In
doing so, he raises a number of relevant
design issues, such as the dichotomy between
the instructional and informational roles that
interactive multimedia can play.

Chapter 4 (by Thomas Reeves) discusses the
current lack of research foundations to
support the use of interactive multimedia,
then goes on to describe some possible
directions of future development based on
constructivism, exploratory case studies and
computer modelling.

In Chapter 5, Stephen Heppell outlines the
historical development of educational com-
puting in terms of four overlapping stages,
then discusses some of the changes needed to
make it more pedagogically effective. Some
interesting illustrations taken from the
Xploratorium are presented.

Peter Olaf Looms continues the educational
theme in Chapter 6 by dealing with the use
of interactive multimedia at the schools level,
describing the current state of the art in both
North America and Europe, and concluding
by discussing some obstacles that need to be
overcome before interactive multimedia will
become widely used in schools and colleges.

In Chapter 7, Jenny Preece describes multi-
media and hypermedia and their potential for
the support of interactive learning, giving
special consideration to human factors issues.

The contribution by William Tan and Ann
Nguyan (Chapter 8) treats lifecycle costing
models for interactive multimedia systems,
then compares the cost-effectiveness of three
different approaches to providing computer-
based instruction with conventional instruc-
tor-led classroom presentations. Although the
costings used relate to Australian experience,
the models would be generally applicable to
other situations and the same is to some
extent true for Chapters 9 and 10, where two
interesting Australian projects are described.

Lyn Henderson outlines the difficulties invol-
ved in overcoming cultural problems using
interactive multimedia methods (based on
Macintosh computers) within a remote-area
teacher education programme (RATEP) in
North Queensland. In Chapter 10, Ian Con-
boy deals with the use of audiographic
telematics in schools in order to improve
retention rates. This project (called MAX)
uses Macintosh computers, fax transmission
and audio-conferencing methods in order to
create an 'electronic classroom' made up
from participating groups distributed geo-
graphically throughout the state of Victoria.

The last two chapters (11 and 12) deal
respectively with interactive multimedia in
libraries, and the creation of information
products based on electronic publishing. In
Chapter 11, John Frylinck and David Raitt
review current technology, its potential roles
in libraries, and ways in which libraries may
have to adapt in order to accommodate
interactive multimedia products such as elec-
tronic books and multimedia encyclopedias.
The final chapter by Eric Lugtigheid
describes a forward-looking Canadian ven-
ture called the Jean Talon Project, intended
to produce a range of multimedia educational
products dealing with various aspects of
Canada: its political system, cultures, scienti-
fic achievements, geography, and so on.

I found this book readable and extremely
interesting. Although some parts of it have a
necessarily technical orientation, on the
whole most of it deals with conceptual issues
involved in using interactive multimedia
within educational and training settings.
Taken together, the chapters form a well-
balanced whole, adequately reflecting the
current state of the art in interactive multi-
media from an educational perspective.

Philip Barker, University of Teesside

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