Evaluating hypermedia: a methodology and case study

Multimedia applications, particularly educational applications, represent one of the fastest growing markets. Hypermedia represents one major segment in this market. Though the advances in multimedia technology have enabled us to create dazzling displays of hypermedia instructional material, its instructional efficacy is somewhat unclear. In part this is due to the often simplistic cause and effect models used to evaluate hypermedia applications. Such simplistic models tend to obscure outcomes. Moreover, they ignore the theories that would explain when and how hypermedia instruction might be efficacious. To this effect, the authors offer a research methodology which incorporates an evaluation model. The model, heavily based in hypermedia learning theories, is used to examine the efficacy of a hypermedia system called KARTT, the Knowledge Acquisition Research Training and Teaching Tool.