ABSTRACT
Multimedia and the Internet are transforming the delivery of information and in particular education. Multimedia training courses for corporations have virtually eliminated classroom instructions. The purpose of this paper is to present an interactive multimedia geotechnical engineering courseware that is suitable for web-based instructions and/or delivery by a CD-ROM. Geotechnical engineering consists of a number of basic concepts such as consolidation, shear strength, effective stresses, etc. Multimedia can significantly enhance the presentation of these concepts and improve learning and retention. Two teaching modules — consolidation and shear strengths — from a courseware that contains text, interactive animations of the various concepts of geotechnical engineering, images, a glossary, notation, a notepad, a virtual geotechnical laboratory, interactive problem solving, electronic quizzes and computer program utilities are presented in this paper. These modules include virtual geotechnical laboratory tests.
