The multimedia textbook. A revolutionary tool for pediatric education

Textbooks are now available via computers. These new electronic or multimedia textbooks appears similar to conventional books but differ in function. In addition to text and images, they contain video and audio clips and allow readers to interact with the content. Multimedia textbooks contain digital media, can be quickly and inexpensively updated and repurposed for lectures and handouts, and are available on-line via computer networks for distance learning. We present the concept of computer-generated multimedia text-books; describe their creation by an easy-to-use, sophisticated authoring system; and describe the underlying instructional design approach to guide future authors of multimedia textbooks.