Multimedia in Political Science: Sobering Lessons from a Teaching Experiment.

College students learn something about American government when taught using multimedia techniques, but it is not clear what that is. I report a controlled experiment to test the effectiveness of a multimedia method of instruction in political science against two alternative methods. The findings based from this particular experiment raise some questions about designing multimedia applications to achieve pedagogical objectives. Given the considerable costs associated with multimedia applications, educators should evaluate their use compared with alternative methods of teaching. It is not enough to rely on students' statements that they enjoyed viewing videos. 341 "Multimedia" is the current buzzword in educational technology. It refers to combining different electronic media, commonly computers and videodiscs, in teaching materials. Computer vendors present dazzling images of multimedia applications in classrooms, and many teachers view multimedia as the way to reach today's generation of TV-oriented students. Unfortunately, the road of good intentions in educational technology is strewn with failed efforts. One pioneer of computer applications to teaching in the 1960s became so disheartened by the lack of progress by the end of the decade that he wrote a critical essay, Run, Computer, Run: TheMythology ofEducationalInnovation (Oettinger, 1969). It criticized his earlier optimism and raised questions about the future of computers in transforming education in America. Of course, computingthen consisted ofmainframes and terminals, but the record of personal computers in education is also problematic today. Although a study by Sheingold and Hadley (1990) found hundreds of teachers in elementary and high school who used computers effectively, another researcher said that such imaginative usage is "extremely rare" (Becker, quoted in Chira, 1990, p. B6). Evaluating computing in the curriculum at a large midwesternstate university, Glick argued that "the impact of computers on the educational process on our campus and others like it is marginal at best" (Glick, 1990, p. 35). Perhaps multimedia, by relying on students' demonstrated fondness of television, offers a more robust technology that produces positive results more readily. Some advocates of the interactive video form of multimedia seem to say as much: