PsyCLE project: Educational multimedia for conceptual understanding

PsyCLE is a three-year project involving over 30 universities to develop computer-based material for introductory psychology courses. The project, now nearing completion, has developed a wide range of multimedia resources and courseware. Our goal has been to find tasks which support more active learning than traditional hypertext and which encourage the student to form a deep understanding of concepts under study. Thus, rather than relying on presentational tutorials, the developments focus on interactive tasks (such as simulations of classic experiments), illustrative case study material (such as video clips of patients) and tools to support critical thinking and analysis (such as concept-mapping). We discuss the rationale for the approach we have adopted, describe selected aspects of the developed resources and issues arising from their evaluation and use to date.