From CD-ROM to the WWW: Coming Full Circle

Abstract

This article describes the challenges faced and solutions adopted in adapting a multimedia-rich CD-ROM program, the Variétés de français program, to operation over the World Wide Web (WWW). While full web functionality offered the promise of flexible network distribution, it also had to confront the dual limitations of multimedia authoring systems and web based programming. In seeking to combine the best of full multimedia programming and centralized WWW mediated delivery, the Variétés de français-WWW program has come full circle to the CD-ROM for its base. The program runs locally to retrieve media resources, perform intelligent answer processing, and data collection and turns to the web only when necessary for data transfer, external WWW links, and electronic communication. Given the current state of the art, the article concludes that such a hybrid solution offers the most effective approach to courseware development.