This chapter reviews the motivation for and literature on the use of interactive multimedia and the Internet in the K-12 classroom. As Winner (1997) points out, a proposal to use computers in the classroom begs the question, "Exactly how and when are computers distinctly useful as compared to other tools of learning?" This perhaps should be asked of interactive multimedia as well as the Internet. The literature shows the positive impact of technology on learning in K-12. Each year, more classrooms are provided with this cutting-edge opportunity. Many businesses have already taken advantage of Internet opportunities.

The literature shows the positive results of the use of the web in commerce and business. Hoffman and Novak (1997) cite numerous reasons for the success of commercial web sites. For example, web sites such as Amazon.com or bmgmusicservice.com have been heralded for their ability to provide access to greater amount of dynamic information that supports better decision-making. Their interactive nature allows for nonlinear searches customized by the user. Distribution is more efficient and widespread and the web is available 24 hours a day. These advantages are applicable to education as well.

But such advantages do not necessarily make it easy for the teacher to use. First, grades K-12 include a large range of skills and needs. Some breakdown of K-12 is necessary to accommodate the range of learning needs appropriately. Thus a web site that is intended for K-12 should provide options for different levels of learning. Second, although resources may be available on the web, teachers may not feel comfortable using them. It is unreasonable to expect all K-12 teachers that wish to use an engineering web site in their classrooms to have an engineering background. Therefore, it is necessary to scaffold the site for effective use in the classroom.

In this chapter, the worthiness of multimedia and the Internet for K-12 classrooms is reviewed with regard to learning theories, advantages over traditional classroom tools, and the availability of these resources in classrooms. The separation of K-12 into three levels of learning is addressed. Also in this chapter, the method of design, evaluation, and integration is presented in terms of Gould’s design and evaluation cycle. Learning theories recently employed by researchers are discussed and the WebQuest framework is reviewed for the scaffolding of the Cracking Dams module.

Interactive multimedia may include audio, video, Java applets, rollovers, or hypertext. Audio and video clips may be copied from a source or created in a number of software packages currently available for use in presentations or web sites. Adobe Premier is used in this project to create Quicktime© movies that may be viewed on the Internet. Computer simulation is now available on the web due to the introduction of the Java™ programming language. Java programs can be written for the web to provide a user interface for a more powerful computer simulation, as is with the case of this project (to be discussed later). A roll-over allows one image to change to another when the user rolls the mouse over a certain point on a webpage. A short JavaScript™ program creates the roll-over. Hypertext is created with the use of HTML (HyperText Markup Language), the language of most webpages. Hypertext allows the user to click on a hyperlinked word, usually denoted with underlining, or hyperlinked image to jump to another place in the text or to another webpage.

Numerous authors have recently reported the positive effects of interactive multimedia on learning. According to Bagui (1998), the advantages of multimedia include that it allows information to be accessed in multiple ways, allows learning to be non-linear and self-paced, and provides motivation and structure. Naijar (1996) notes that multimedia is most effective when it encourages dual-coding (multiple accessing) of information; the media clearly support each other; and learners have low prior knowledge of the subject. Findings show that multimedia improves motivation and focus, increases retention and learning rates, and decreases overall costs of education (Iskander et al, 1995). Multimedia case studies have been shown to have a positive impact on students especially in engineering studies. Hsi and Agogino (1994) found that multimedia allows for increased generalization and understanding of the concepts presented in case studies. Valenzuela (1993) found that multimedia does "add to the appeal of lectures … and affect the learner’s attitudes and values." The findings of these researchers provide substantial support for the use of interactive multimedia in learning. Several types of interactive multimedia are incorporated into the Cracking Dams module in an effort to increase motivation and focus, as was achieved in the aforementioned research, as well as to provide a hands-on simulation experience using a Java applet.

An issue that affects the use of multimedia is copyright. Many works, text, video, audio, image, or otherwise, are copyright protected and require special permission from the copyright holder for uses other than the intended use. As summarized by Goehner (1997), the Fair Use Doctrine has four basic guidelines that, if followed, can allow for the use of copyrighted material without explicit permission from the owner:

Goehner stresses the importance of full cognizance of the doctrine in order to assume fair use. Court cases often help one decide on appropriate applications of Fair Use, but in the case of use in a nonprofit educational environment, there are no deciding cases (Harper, 1999). Three minutes or 10% of motion media, whichever is less, may be used under Fair Use, given that the basic guidelines have been followed (Harper, 1999). Harper also suggests that there is a time limit on Fair Use – two years from the completion of the multimedia work that uses the copyrighted material.

On the Cracking Dams web site, clips from the movies Superman and Asteroid are used under the Fair Use Doctrine. The purpose behind using these clips is educational and nonprofit. The nature of the works is fiction, but the clips depict events that could occur naturally. Less than one minute of each work is included on the web site. Use of these clips will not effect the market value of the original works.

Attempt was also made to use clips about failing dams from the songs "High Hopes" and "Brain Damage." The desired clips from these songs constitute well over 10% of the works. As a result, the clips could not be used under Fair Use. Permission for inclusion could not be obtained from the copyright holders in either case. The Cracking Dams module is thus unable to present these multimedia clips.

There is some question of the applicability of traditional copyright laws to digital technologies (Labbe, 1998). The Digital Millenium Copyright Act, enacted in October of 1998, requires the US Copyright Office to submit suggestions to Congress by April 28, 1999 on the future nature of copyrights with respect to digital technologies for distance education. This may have some implications for the use of copyrighted multimedia on the Internet (US Copyright Office, 1999).

A second issue that affects the use of multimedia, particularly on web sites, is the need for plug-ins. Plug-ins are software programs that extend the capability of the web browser. Plug-ins are often required to play audio or video on web sites. As the name implies, plug-ins are not part of the browser. Plug-ins are added to the browser to add specific capabilities. Plug-ins are generally free and can be downloaded from the web, but the user may view this as a hassle. Quicktime is the only plug-in required by the Cracking Dams website and is a very common plug-in that users are likely to have already.

The Internet provides a meeting ground for many types of interactive multimedia, rich sources of information, and a medium of world-wide communication. In 1945, Vannevar Bush (1945) foreshadowed the Internet as he described the need for a useful record that must "be continuously expanded, stored, and consulted." Nelson predicted the use of the Internet for education, with the potential to "increase a student’s range of choices, his sense of freedom, his motivation, and his intellectual grasp… [in a] system that could grow infinitely" (Baecker et al, 1995).

Use of the Internet in the K-12 classroom allows for the combination of audio and video clips with hyperlinks and rollovers (movement of the mouse resulting in the change of an image). This in turn allows for non-linear, independent, self-paced learning, different and often more effective than traditional methods of learning (Hill et al, 1998, Baecker et al, 1995). Non-linear learning implies that the student can move about the material in any direction, more easily than in a traditional textbook that requires movement to be either forward or backward. Using the Internet brings technologies like Java into the classroom, which in turn makes computer simulations using engineering programs available for all ages. It provides immediate access to databases and resources that may not be otherwise readily available. Information on the Internet is typically diverse and up-to-date; there can be questions of reliability though. The Internet provides the opportunity for children to communicate outside the classroom through asynchronous bulletin boards or synchronous chat rooms or technologies such as CU-See-Me™. The same opportunities are available for teacher communication on specific projects or general uses of the web.

Availability is an important issue for using the Internet in the classroom. As noted earlier, 95% of the public schools in the US are projected to have Internet access by the year 2000. The current ratio of computers to students is about 1:11; an effort is being made to lower this to 1:5. National statistics on hardware and connection times for classrooms was not available. An informal regional survey by the author indicates that classrooms typically have Mac’s or PC’s with 14" monitors. Also, Netscape 3.0 or later is the most common browser and many schools have Quicktime, a plug-in that allows the browser to play Quicktime movies.

There are several other issues in bringing the Internet into schools. First, some schools hesitate to connect to the Internet for fear of where the students will venture (Troy, 1999). Second, the classrooms or labs where students have access to computers and the Internet are often set up like traditional classrooms – the teacher is intended to be in the front of the room and all desks face front. Class sessions on the Internet provide a temptation for students to visit other web sites during class time. The teacher cannot see what is on the computer monitors in this arrangement, allowing students to browse the web more easily. As an answer to the first issue, web site filtering software enables schools to block access to web sites they deem inappropriate. For the second issue, different classroom layouts can aid the teacher’s view, and thus control, over what the students are doing on their computers. One suggestion for a classroom layout is a U shape with the monitor screens facing into the center of the U (Lovely, 1999). Also, if the web site the class is using provides motivation and focus, students will be less likely to wander the web.

There are several recent examples of educational projects on the Internet that have found success. Each of these examples provides some precedence for continued development of educational web sites. The examples include McKenna and Agogino’s Simple Machines web site, Perrone et al’s WebQuest, Guzdial et al’s WebCaMILE and WebSMILE, and Ward and Tiessen’s Zebu. These are discussed below.

(http:// socrates.berkeley.edu:7009/simple_machines/)

Simple Machines is a web site developed by McKenna and Agogino (1997) to introduce simple machines, engineering problem solving skills, and connections between math and science theory and physical machines. The designers stress gender equity and making use of existing knowledge as a base for learning in the site content. The main components for each simple machine are a Java applet that allows simulation, an off-line activity that is described online, a plotting page, a share-your-findings page, and a video page. The site promotes critical thinking, reflection, and collaboration by using interactive multimedia and several representations of the same concept.

(http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~corrina/mud/)

The WebQuest designed by Perrone et al (1997) combines Piaget’s constructivism with interactive simulations on the web for classroom use. The WebQuest focuses the user by presenting the student with a complex task, the creation of a game, for which he or she browses the web for information to complete their task. Students follow a worksheet that scaffolds movement through the task. The WebQuests are created and played in groups to promote collaborative learning. Testing and evaluation results showed that the WebQuest successfully provides focus and promotes collaboration and critical thinking. Perrone et al’s WebQuest is distinct from Dodge and March’s WebQuest, the latter being used in this thesis project.

(http://www.cc.gatech.edu/edutech/projects/software.html)

The EduTech Institute at Georgia Tech has produced educational web sites, WebCaMILE and WebSMILE, that use combinations of problem-based learning, case-based reasoning, and collaborative learning (Guzdial and Carlson, 1995; Guzdial et al, 1997). WebCaMILE (Collaborative and Multimedia Interactive Learning Environment on the web) was designed to facilitate asynchronous collaboration between engineering students working on design projects. Asynchronous collaboration implies the use of an electronic bulletin board. WebSMILE (Scaffolded Multi-user Integrated Learning Environment on the web) was designed to allow synchronous and asynchronous collaboration on case studies. Both WebCaMILE and WebSMILE began as software and were transported to the web to take advantage of its platform-independence. EduTech’s experiences indicate that students can be guided through reflection and critical thinking as they move at their own pace on the web.

(http://www.mc2learning.com/zebu.html)

MC Learning Systems Inc. at Simon Fraser University has produced another web software tool to facilitate collaborative, scaffolded learning called Zebu (Ward and Tiessen, 1997). Zebu addresses the need to work in groups to collect, organize, and synthesize information in order to learn it and then share the information with other students. In effect, Zebu is an educational web-based groupware tool that allows students to create their own webpages using a template. Testing of Zebu shows promise in using the web for collaborative project-based learning.

These four examples of educational resources on the web prove that the web is a supportive place for K-12 students to learn. The web allows collaboration and sharing, simulation, and motivated, self-paced learning. It is platform-independent; that is, it can be used on Mac’s, PC’s, or workstations. These projects also show that learning on the web can be effectively scaffolded, in some cases with a worksheet.

Two publications of national significance on educational standards for math and science became available in 1996: A Perspective on Reform in Mathematics and Science Education by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (Vos, 1996) and the National Science Education Standards by the National Research Council (1996). These publications address the goals and organization of math and science skills for K-12. In both sets of standards, K-12 is divided into three levels of learning: K-4, 5-8, and 9-12. The basic goals of science as inquiry; connections between science, technology, society, and math; math and science as problem-solving; communication; reasoning; and real-world applications are the same for all three levels. The amount and complexity of content increases at each level. Generally, the basic building blocks of knowledge are being constructed in K-4 so the amount of content and complexity is minimized. Although fundamentals are still being learned in grades K-4, the standards call for the same approach to learning as in grades 5-12. Grades 5-8 build on the fundamentals and become building blocks for grades 9-12. Grades 9-12 are expected to achieve more of a personal understanding than in the earlier grades.

Designing a web site to communicate engineering topics requires a design process similar to engineering design. The same basic elements appear in both: design, evaluation, redesign and re-evaluation, and integration into the appropriate environment for successful use. This process is described by Gould (1988) in his article, "How to design usable systems," and is reviewed here. In addition to the process, there are certain important attributes of web sites to be considered, which are also discussed.

In the article "How to Design Usable Systems," John Gould (1988) of the IBM Research Center proposed a usability design process for computer systems. It is likely that he intended that "computer systems" to mean computer software to be used in the workplace. Gould aimed his suggestions "at system designers who want to know more about how to design useful, usable, desirable computer systems – ones that people can easily learn, that contain the functions that allow people to do the things they want to do, and that are well liked" (Gould, 1988). The designer of an educational web site fits into Gould’s explicit definition of the intended users of his process; thus "computer systems" can easily be extended to include educational web sites.

The four principles of the usability design process include early and continual focus on users, early and continual user testing, iterative design, and integrated design. The basis for each of the principles seems obvious but it gets to the heart of what is necessary to design a usable system. Early and continual focus on users implies, first and foremost, knowing who the users of the system will be and how they will be using the system. Early and continual user testing requires involvement of the user for the first prototype of the system as well as involvement at each iteration of the system thereafter. Iterative design requires a willingness to both identify and make changes in the system through multiple cycles of design and evaluation. Finally, keeping all aspects of usability (user interface, language) in mind throughout the whole process achieves integrated design.

These four principles are integrated in the four steps Gould suggests for the usability design process:

• Gearing-up phase

• Initial design phase

• Iterative development phase

• System installation phase

The gearing-up phase involves researching and planning the intended system, researching existing systems, defining the user group, and getting to know the users. The initial design phase immediately focuses on users; the design of the initial prototype is based on information gathered about the users. The initial design should consider all aspects of usability, which should continue through the design process. Basic evaluation should also begin during this phase. The iterative development phase requires knowledge of what the user is expected to get out of the system, or behavioral goals, user testing of these goals, and redesign or refinement of the system; these steps should be cyclical. Finally, system installation involves setting the system up at user locations, training, maintenance, and support, which may lead into another iteration. "For most systems, delivery to the customer should not signal the end of the road…" (Baecker et al, 1995). System integration, in this case, involves integration of the web site into classrooms by supporting it with an educational web-framework and making teachers aware of the web site as a resource.

Each principle and phase of the usability design process focuses on the user and on keeping the system workable and understandable. This is just as important in educational systems as in professional systems. Students will certainly benefit from a web site that they, essentially, helped create with their feedback. Thus Gould’s design process is used as a guideline for the creation of the Cracking Dams module.

Jakob Nielsen published "The Top Ten Mistakes" in web design in May of 1996; he resurrected them in May of 1999, noting that these mistakes are still being made (Nielsen, 1999). By avoiding these mistakes and following design suggestions in the literature, a web site design significantly increases in usability. There are three main categories for consideration in web design: appearance, navigation, and content.

Some of the more "severe" mistakes in web design include "bleeding-edge" technology, scrolling text and looping animations, outdated information, and slow download times (Nielsen, 1999). Bleeding-edge technology refers to things such as JavaScript, which are not effectively integrated into all browsers and may cause errors that would send users away. Scrolling text and looping animations have negative impacts on users when the animations resemble advertising designs; advertising designs on the web are often ignored. Outdated information breaks the user’s trust of the site; this may be avoided by labeling a site archival. Finally, slow download times can also cause users to turn away before they have even seen what is on the site.

The appearance of a web site or graphical user interface includes colors, text, layout, and images. Color should be used to emphasize information or group related items. Color has been shown to have positive effects on a person’s comprehension and memory (Marcus, 1995). Blue, black, white, and yellow are suggested for the periphery of the visual field. Lines of text should be less than 60 characters long, aligned left, and use a maximum of three typefaces. A standardized layout that groups related elements is suggested (Marcus, 1995). Finally, images should be included specifically to help with association of terms or ideas, not just to take up space.

With respect to navigation of the site, Laurillard (1998) not only stresses the importance of providing alternative methods for browsing and navigating but also the significance of providing structure. Menus allow the user to point and click instead of having to remember where something was. This is appropriate if there are numerous options (Baecker et al, 1995). But menu items must be meaningful to the user to be effective (Schneiderman, 1995). Also, the user needs to know his or her relative position in the site, where he or she came from, and where he or she can go. This may be accomplished with menus and forward and back buttons. In general, the best navigation devices are designed for human error in anticipation of where the user might want to go next or meant to go next (Baecker et al, 1995).

In web design, content consists of text and numerous types of multimedia. The main suggestion in the literature on content is to take advantage of the multimedia capabilities of the web. Teachers who choose to work with the web in their classrooms are not doing so because they have found an on-line textbook (March, 1997). These teachers use the Internet because they have found a web site that gives them something more than a textbook. Long sections of on-screen text become tedious; short sections of text with graphical representations have a better effect on students (Guzdial et al, 1997). These design suggestions are employed in the design of the module to make it as clear and user-friendly as possible.

Several learning theories have been the backbone of successful educational efforts recently. Such learning theories include collaboration, constructivism, problem-based learning, scaffolding, and case-based reasoning. Each of these theories provides a building block for the achievement of the AAAS/NRC’s call for a new way to teach science. Several recent projects have shown success in one or a combination of these theories, as discussed below. Case-based reasoning is not reviewed here as it is discussed in Chapter Three in conjunction with the histories of fractured dams.

Collaborative learning has students learn in groups to promote development and synthesis of ideas through group sharing and reflection. Guzdial and Carlson (1995) have found that group work is more realistic in that each student performs a role and contributes to the group instead of having to learn everything perfectly. Their WebSMILE and WebCaMILE projects at the Georgia Institute of Technology employed collaborative learning techniques successfully (Guzdial and Carlson, 1995; Guzdial et al, 1997). Tabak and Reiser (1997) stress the importance of discussion within groups and between groups in their project BGuILE (Biology Guided Inquiry Learning Environments). Social interaction and the sharing of results are noted as important by Ward and Tiessen (1997) in Zebu. Other researchers who have promoted collaborative learning techniques recently include Agogino and Hsi (1995), Soloway (1996), Gay and Lentini (1995), and Dodge (1995). Collaboration is successful not only with groups in a single classroom but also through bulletin boards and synchronous chats across classrooms (Guzdial et al, 1997). Thus the Cracking Dams module encourages collaborative learning through its use of WebQuests, as discussed below, and electronic bulletin boards.

Constructivist methods, as based on Piaget’s ideas, suggest that students learn new knowledge through personally motivated, hand-on experiences (Blough and Schwartz, 1990). Perrone et al (1997) stress that constructivist methods ideally should be combined with more traditional instructionism to maintain a fundamental classroom context for the material. Perrone et al’s work at the Center for Life Long Learning and Design at the University of Colorado have incorporated constructivism into the web-based projects, the WebQuest and Mr. Roger’s Sustainable Neighborhood. McKenna and Agogino’s (1997) Simple Machines web site makes use of Java applets to allow hands-on experience of simulation. All of the researchers noted above have combined collaborative learning methods with constructivism.

Problem-based learning (PBL) provides a complex task or problem to motivate student learning. This method of teaching usually incorporating both collaboration and constructivism. Soloway’s (1994) project-based science, essentially the same as PBL or Bruner’s discovery-inquiry (Blough and Schwartz, 1990), suggests three main components to learning: collaboration, enactment (constructivism), and reflection. Reflection promotes development of cognitive understanding and synthesis of ideas. Dodge (1995) and March (1998) constructed their WebQuest on the basis of a main task that provides motivation for inquiry. Dodge and March as well as Tabak and Reiser (1997) suggest providing a framework for the thought process to solve the problem or complete the task. Guzdial and Carlson’s (1995) projects center on PBL and use case-based reasoning as well.

Gordin et al (1997) suggest that "students need guidance to effectively use the information that can be found on the web." Much the way scaffolding is required to build a structure, a student needs a support system to help him or her move forward in a task or process, especially one that uses the expanse of information, technology, and communication opportunities made available by the web. The scaffolding achieves the goals of, among others, joint problem solving between the student and the teacher, intersubjectivity (arrival at a common understanding), and keeping the child in a zone of proximal development (sufficient scaffolding but also sufficient challenge for the student). Vygotsky’s metaphor of scaffolding sees the teacher as the scaffold for the student (Berk and Winsler, 1995). The metaphor may be extended to include the structure or framework of the task or process as scaffolding as well. This portion of the scaffolding may be in the form of a worksheet or the framework of a computer or web-based activity.

McKenna and Agogino (1997) use the setup of their Simple Machines web site to scaffold learning. Guzdial et al (1997) suggest that use of whiteboards and bulletin boards can help scaffold students as well. Tabak and Reiser (1997) emphasize the role of the teacher to scaffold the learning process. Ward and Tiessen (1997) also emphasize the role of the teacher as well as the contribution of new student knowledge to a knowledge base. Dodge (1995) and March (1998) also use their WebQuest, not to be confused with Perrone et al’s WebQuest, to scaffold use of the web in the classroom, as discussed below.

2.6 The WebQuest (http://edweb.sdsu.edu/webquest/webquest.html)

Dodge and March’s WebQuest provides a framework for using the web in the classroom combining all of the aforementioned learning theories. The WebQuest (distinct from Perrone et al's WebQuest) was originally developed in 1995 by Bernie Dodge, a professor of Educational Technology at San Diego State University. It has since been refined by Dodge and March and so the components and objectives of the WebQuest have grown. The original main components of the WebQuest are the introduction, to draw the user in; the question which sets the stage, which should actually need answering; the task or what should be accomplished, usually collaboratively creating something to be shared; a set of information resources, usually a list of links to research; a description of the process that makes an expert's investigative reasoning explicit; guidance on organization of the information gathered, perhaps a worksheet; and a conclusion to reiterate what has been learned (Dodge, 1995; March, October 1998). The WebQuest also includes these aspects: use in groups; roles for each member of the group; and an interdisciplinary nature. Finally, the teacher is aided in drawing a connection between the curriculum and the WebQuest by a separate page of the WebQuest specifically for the teacher detailing the skills and concepts used in the WebQuest.

A short term WebQuest requires one to three class periods and a student should have made sense of a significant amount of new information. A long term WebQuest may last a week to a month. The learner should manipulate and understand a depth of information and produce something to contribute to a community. WebQuests have commonly been used to answer questions that are controversial or at least have several viewpoints from which they may be addressed.

The WebQuest provides a great organizational structure for use of the web in the classroom in that it lays out all pertinent information for both the teacher and the student. The WebQuest scaffolds all involved by making motivation (the quest) and the direction of the thought process explicit. Although students are faced with a good amount of information, the WebQuest focuses the student on what is important. The quest is motivational in itself by being a question that has an impact on the students in some personal way. The students are to work in groups, each becoming an expert in his or her role. The results of the WebQuest, a letter to the editor of the newspaper on the subject perhaps, promote community involvement. Postings to a bulletin board on the quest can promote inter-classroom collaboration. Successful use of WebQuests has been shown to promote critical thinking in a motivated, personal way (March, 1998).

Several WebQuests are developed in this thesis project for the Cracking Dams module. The WebQuests are intended to make the module easier for a teacher to use in the classroom by providing scaffolding, motivation, and opportunities for collaboration. Dams are an ideal subject for a WebQuest due to their controversial nature. The Cracking Dams WebQuests address more than just controversy; they also teach engineering skills and simulation.

This chapter culminates in a review of the educational web-framework, WebQuest, as an outline for scaffolded, collaborative learning using the web. The WebQuest combines recently heralded learning theories for an effective educational use of the web. WebQuests are developed for the Cracking Dams module and are discussed in Chapter Four. A description of the design and evaluation cycle and design issues for the creation of the web site was presented. The design suggestions and Gould’s design cycle are incorporated in the development of the site to create a clear, usable design. Finally, this chapter began with supporting literature on the use of multimedia and the web in K-12 classrooms. Various forms of interactive multimedia are included in the Cracking Dams site to provide motivation, focus, and hands-on opportunities to perform an engineering simulation and consider the impact of engineering. The four examples of educational uses of the Internet provide substantial support for the creation of the Cracking Dams module and the use of the web in a scaffolded, collaborative manner. The next chapter discusses the subjects of the module, fracture and dams.