Interactive Video (IV), the combining of video and computers, became a technical reality in the early 1980s. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the potential for the use of Interactive Video techniques in the teaching of Technology based subjects. The project began in 1983 at the Polytechnic of Wales, Pontypridd. The aim was to produce an Interactive Video package capable of teaching the students in the Civil Engineering Department to use Surveyor's Levels. No previous work on Interactive Video had been carried out at the Polytechnic, thus all the hardware and software systems required for the project needed to be investigated. Eventually a multi-workstation, video tape system was designed, developed and tested at the Polytechnic. Final evaluation took place in the author's own college at Neath, W. Glamorgan. In late 1984 the author had the opportunity to be involved in a second project. This was for Safety Procedure training at the Central Electricity Generating Board's (CEGB) power station at Aberthaw, S. Glamorgan. It involved a detailed study of Safety Procedures, and the development of an Interactive Video programme to train a wide range of operatives at the power station. The system was videodisc based and produced a training programme of approximately five hours duration. Results from both projects indicated that Interactive Video material was capable of teaching a wide range of students. The study that follows discusses the theory involved in developing and testing of such an Interactive Video programme.
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