Delivering Multimedia Teaching Modules via the Internet

Abstract

The rapid development of the Internet has provided a powerful medium for the delivery of computer‐aided learning materials. There are distinct advantages to using this medium. These include: the availability of information at all times and from remote locations; reduced work load for instructors (following the initial authoring of materials); and the diversity of media that can be used to convey a message. Of course there are also some disadvantages. These range from the infrastructure needed to cope with increased usage of the Internet, security of published material and potential for viral attack from downloaded files to the development of a two‐tier system of providers and users. On the whole, however, there are good academic reasons for using the present infrastructure and software to deliver either existing lecture material or new information by this method. This paper discusses some of the advantages and disadvantages of using the Internet for delivering teaching modules and makes some recommendations on how to proceed.