The ‘M-Word’: Multimedia Interfaces and Their Role in Interactive Learning Systems

As discussed in the Editors’ Preface, many writers use terms with an apparently imprecise idea of their meaning — and of what the reader will understand by them. This chapter makes a valuable contribution by proposing definitions which distinguish between two important concepts: medium and mode. On that basis it is possible to go on to make consistent statements about interfaces which use multiple media and multiple modes, and the author does this in the context of describing the development of novel interfaces. This review looks at interfaces from a number of viewpoints. First, developments in the technology of human-computer communication are considered, along with recent attempts to develop the somewhat neglected modalities of touch and audition in the human-computer interaction (HCI) context. Thus, for example, the imminent arrival of digital video is discussed, as well as recent work on using non-speech audio, touch and gesture, in interfaces. Next, an attempt is made to point to. the likely effects of multimedia interaction on the user by turning to the human-performance literature and by attempting to derive some broad guidelines. In the last section of this chapter, which focuses on the implications for interactive learning, the question is put: what can we claim for multimedia? The answer is that it improves the quality of HCI dialogue, and it gives a greater opportunity to engage the learner’s interest. In the context of a long history of disappointments in the use of technology for learning, these must be considered as highly promising gains.