Modular development of multimedia courseware

The use of multimedia in courseware and Web based learning is a current topic. This is influenced by the wide availability and the permanently improving technical possibilities. The employment of multimedia technology in education makes it possible to illustrate and to grasp complex processes and coherences. However, the development of multimedia content is still a very costly and tedious task. In order to reduce the costs and effort needed to build multimedia contents, it is desirable to organize the content in a modular way so that it can be (re)used and created cooperatively. The authors present a development process for multimedia contents that supports a modular cooperative design of multimedia courseware. They argue that applying modularity to courseware design not only reduces the costs but also allows the development of a high quality reusable and configurable courseware. Configurable courseware can be adapted to meet the needs and characteristics of different lecturers, students and contexts.