Use of Interactive Videodisc Technology in a Physical Education Methods Class.

This study examined the use of interactive videodisc technology in a physical education methods course. It was designed to: (1) evaluate the use of interactive videodisc technology by physical education majors; (2) describe the amounts and type of control utilized by learners using interactive videodisc technology in a controlled learning situation; (3) evaluate potential problems of the use of interactive videodisc technology with novice users; and (4) describe student attitudes toward the use of interactive video. Subjects were enrolled in a physical education methods course, and were studying playground equipment and use of playground equipment with physically handicapped students. After a pretest on the instructional material, subjects viewed the interactive videodisc and, through controls incorporated in the HyperCard-based computer program, were able to stop to take notes and/or to review any of the video segments. At the conclusion of the videodisc segment, subjects were tested again and the results correlated with subject actions (stopping the disk, reviewing the material, and time on task) which occurred during the viewing of the instructional material. Subject actions were also correlated by gender. Results indicated that females stopped the videodisc and reviewed segments more often, and spent more time on task than males. Subjects' scores on the posttest reflected these differences. It is concluded that the level of user control is an area that must be addressed when developing interactive videodisc materials for instruction use. (DB)