Development of multimedia modules and courses for education present a significant opportunity to modernize curricula and improve effectiveness of teaching and learning.

Recent studies show that computer-aided instruction (CAI) provides a significant opportunity to improve the quality of teaching profoundly and cost-effectively. It has been reported that CAI may present a 50 percent increase in retention, a significant improvement in the learning rate, an increase in course completion, and a decrease in the overall cost of education, particularly when distance learning is involved. Based on these statistics and as the computer technology, simulation tools, and graphics software continue to grow, expand, and improve, the development of technology-based educational tools-interactive multimedia software-is not only justifiable but also commendable

Keep in mind that many multimedia products are nothing more than electronic books or glorified page-turners. Instead of presenting kids with simple words and numbers, we've added pictures and sound. They can be slow and boring. The value of this technology only comes when we empower the student to take a more proactive role in the acquisition and analysis of information.

Interactivity, therefore, is the potential of this medium that distinguishes it from earlier instructional technology innovations such as slides, film, and video. Where interaction formerly was limited to "off" and "on," multimedia may provide a "hook" to help transform students from passive recipients of information to active participants in their own learning process. The dynamic, media-rich environment provides a potent way to reach students, laying the pathway for truly investigative learning.

Reasons to Use Multimedia in Education

Definitive research on the positive impacts of multimedia in education has not yet been assembled. While many would argue that the jury is still out, here are some important reasons to use Multimedia in Education:

• It facilitates student-centered learning allowing choice in the pathways for learning and the rate at which new material is introduced.
• It can address several learning styles and modalities -- providing a rich variety of instructional approaches which can teach in most of the ways that students learn best. 
• It motivates student interaction, experimentation, and cooperative learning.
• Students often work together on computer projects as they never did on paper-and-pencil projects.
• It facilitates "storylines" or thematic learning -- where a pathway for exploration can easily be woven around a particular concept dynamics.
• It promotes the "constructivist" view of learning.