Development and test of a model for designing interactive CD-ROMs for teaching nursing skills

The use of interactive multimedia is well documented in the education literature as a medium for learning. Many schools of nursing and healthcare agencies purchase commercially-made CD-ROM products, and, in other cases, educators develop their own. Since nurses are increasingly designing CD-ROMs, they must be aware of the instructional design needed to develop comprehensive and effective CD-ROMs that do not compromise the quality of education. This article describes a process for developing and testing an interactive, multimedia CD-ROM on oral medication administration, using an instructional design model based on Chickering and Gamson's Principles of Good Practices in Education. Results from testing the model are reported. The findings can be used to guide the work of nurse educators who are interested in developing educational software.