Teaching with Multimedia: Example and Issues

Abstract

Recent advancements in desktop‐computer multimedia coupled with lower prices have increased the use of this form of educational technology in engineering programs around the country. An example of a self‐paced, multimedia module, developed to highlight stream discharge measurements, serves to illustrate what is possible at relatively low prices using midrange desktop computers. The proliferation of such examples, however, raises larger issues that merit discussion in the engineering education community: Who should develop these materials? How should they be incorporated into the classroom? Will faculty find that their efforts jeopardize their promotion and tenure opportunities?