Avenues to understanding: A qualitative study into how students learn from multimedia

Many interactive multimedia programs direct learners down a one-way street. This paper describes a program based on a situated learning model which sought to open up the 'avenues to understanding'. Nine critical characteristics were defined from the extensive literature on the situated learning and used to inform the instructional design of a program on assessment strategies in mathematics. The paper describes a preliminary evaluation of the situated learning framework by investigating the use of the multimedia program by two students, and their thoughts opinions and feelings about learning from this type of program. Early findings indicate that it is a successful approach enabling students to construct their knowledge about the topic in an effective, non-linear, and collaborative manner.