Teaching systems analysis and design using multimedia and patterns

Research in educational multimedia shows many benefits of learning with the use of multimedia environments. To take advantage of these benefits we developed the Multimedia Assisted Teaching Environment (MATE), which is currently trialed in supporting our teaching of IT subjects. MATE's main strength is its ability to facilitate reuse of multimedia components while developing teaching material. We describe MATE from the perspective of a student learning systems analysis and design via projects and case studies. We illustrate the workings of the MATE tool with an example that shows our approach to teaching design skills with reusable design patterns.