9451653 Tankersley A comprehensive computer-based multimedia resource center is used extensively in laboratory courses for both science majors and non- majors. The networked facility, consisting student multimedia workstations (Apple Macintosh Quadra 660av computers) attached to an Apple Workgroup Server 95, supports a variety of interactive laboratory exercises that emphasize learner-centered instruction, small-group interaction, and critical thinking. The most innovative application of the proposed facility involves student use of multimedia authoring software to create "electronic term- papers" that combine text, graphics, color images, full motion video, animation, and sound to produce digital reports which become part of an interactive library and database. Students enrolled in the Department's non-major course entitled "Human Ecology" use authoring software to organize and develop documentaries on environmental and conservation issues affecting the Pacific Northwest. The same multimedia software is used by science majors taking Comparative Physiology to design and develop visual simulations and animations of physiological processes.
