In the 1980s the analog videodisc provided a means for interactivity in multimedia instruction. However, the video images remained in an analog form so that their use was limited to images or part of images as they were recorded and simple graphics placed on the video. The development of digital video stored on a compact disk has changed that situation. One can now obtain video images which are stored in digital form, played in real time, and manipulated by a computer as computer graphics are. The digital video format provides a full range of possibilities, including the combination of different scenes and the changing of parts of a scene, to create images which realistically appear and which respond to student needs. The proposed project will combine digital video with up-to-date software techniques, research on student learning of physics, and information about reaching diverse audiences. Instructional models, paradigms, and materials will be developed for the teaching of modern physics. These materials will address issues of teaching difficult and abstract concepts by enabling students to make connections between their "real" (Macroscopic) world and the world of the very small or very high speeds. By using software and the manipulation of digital video images the system will be able to make gradual changes from the students' everyday experiences to the physicists' models. Because the students will have control of the changes and the rate at which they are made, they will also control their own learning. In this way the digital video learning platform will demonstrate how this technology can open new possibilities for the teaching of science.
