The soundboard program: A case study investigating the design, creation and evaluation of an interactive computer-based training program.

The world\u27s knowledge base grows exponentially on a daily basis. Businesses and schools are obligated to provide the latest methodologies and information to their respective fields of expertise. However, shrinking fixed resources such as laboratory space and the scarcity of funds negatively pressure the goals of providing these latest innovations to learners. The Communication Studies Department at the University of Windsor presently experiences these problems. The researcher of this thesis authored an interactive computer-based training program to address these concerns. The program teaches signal routing concepts and the proper setting of line levels for equipment found in one of the University\u27s recording studios. Graphics, animations and text were used to create the program. Smith and Ragan\u27s (1993) Instructional Design Process Model guided the researcher from the front-end analysis of the problems, to the design and creation of the soundboard program. The use and application of instructional design theories and research into designing messages for the computer are also discussed. An evaluation was conducted to see whether the instruction teaches. Twenty-nine students with no prior knowledge of audio production evaluated the program. They were tested two days later on signal routing and setting fine levels. A combined average of 43% was recorded. The soundboard program succeeds in teaching tasks. However, participants who had some guidance by a teaching assistant fared better than participants who used the program on their own.Dept. of Communication Studies. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1998 .B43. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 39-02, page: 0343. Adviser: Richard Lewis. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1998