Criteria for Evaluating and Selecting Multimedia Software for Instruction.

Evaluating and selecting the appropriate software is a very important component of success in using multimedia systems in both educational and corporate settings. Computer-mediated multimedia (CMM) is the integration of two or more communication media, controlled or manipulated by the user via a computer, to present information. CMM can be combinations of text, images, animation, sound, color, and video in a single, computer- controlled presentation. The evaluation and selection of CMM systems may be different from computer-mediated instruction (CMI) systems. This paper seeks to explore the issues surrounding the evaluation of multimedia software and to present comprehensive criteria for evaluating and selecting CMM software for effective instruction, both general software evaluation criteria and specialized multimedia evaluation criteria. Issues considered for evaluating CMM software in the study include: content, instructional design, user interface, and documentation. The criteria for evaluation will provide a useful framework to help educators and/or trainers select quality instructional software for their instructional purposes. (Contains 30 references.) (SWC)