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Computer-assisted learning has gone a long way toward bridging the digital divide. People from distant parts of the world are now able to access up-to-date educational content through e-learning. One mode of developing self-paced e-learning content is through interactive multimedia. Interactive multimedia content can be described as online instruction that combines multimedia features with activities that help learners to apply their knowledge and receive feedback from the content (Mayer, 2009). Interactive multimedia course content consists of “print, sound, visuals, animation, movies, interactivity, non-linear navigation, together with encyclopedic references and a virtual environment” (Taub, 2019). The term “interactive multimedia” has also been described as a system where multiple media may have an effect on people through interactive behavior (Deliyannis, 2012). Therefore, interactive multimedia includes not only video but also interactive features meant to aid the learner. For the purposes of this study, text-based content is defined as instructional content that only includes text and still images, and which is delivered in either soft copy format. A software application course is defined as a training program meant to educate learners on how to use a particular software application.
This study evaluates the effects of interactive multimedia in comparison to text-based content when used in a software application course. As described in the subsequent section, previous research in this area has resulted in different outcomes. This study uses novel interactive technologies, for example the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), so as to evaluate the effects of these technologies on the learner.