DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF EARTH SYSTEMS MULTIMEDIA FOR K-12

The challenge in delivering educational multimedia is to design, develop, and assess a system that can be shown to significantly aid learning, especially as related to defined science objectives. We use as our design criteria for multimedia that the activities be led through driving questions and that:

1. The questions be authentic;
2. The activities be produced in a rich interface of imagery and animation with sufficient support to engage a diverse range of learners;
3. The students’ ability to construct knowledge to answer driving questions be aided by incorporation of guiding questions supported by smaller activities and resources; and
4. The students’ ability to grasp complex data sets be enhanced through use of multiple forms of data representation.

At least three learning activities are included on the CD-ROM for each of nine subject areas: 1) atoms and crystals, 2) rocks and rock cycles, 3) volcanism, 4) earthquakes and tsunamis, 5) earth's layers, plate tectonics, 6) geologic time, 7) groundwater, 8) winds, tides and currents, and 9) weather and climate. While these activities were originally developed for survey-level earth systems courses we have authored a new suite of twenty secondary school earth sciences activities that specifically address state and national science learning objectives. Results from our assessment of student learning and engagement measures made during 2002 will be reported.