Supporting constructivist learning in a multimedia presentation system

The research in presentation production for learning electronically (RIPPLES) group in the Department of Computer Science at UMASS Amherst have developed a course delivery system named multimedia asynchronous networked individualized courseware (MANIC). MANIC uses the approach of "record and playback". While record and playback technologies can be very effective in supporting a constructivist mode of instructional delivery, the technology is not inherently constructivist. In support of a more constructivist mode of instruction, we have implemented advanced indexing and search features in MANIC that makes use of ranking and relevance, and a query expansion technique to generate queries and conduct search over the World Wide Web (WWW) using Google™. In this paper we describe initial experiments conducted, and our plans for additional assessment and enhancement of the search mechanism.