A Tape-based System of Interactive Video for Computerised Self-instruction

Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) will only be of real use in the medical curriculum when a system is available which interfaces the computer with visual material and which can be used readily by subject-matter experts with limited computing knowledge.This paper describes an interactive video system based on a BBC microcomputer coupled to a video-cassette recorder (VCR). The computer video signal and the VCR output are genlocked to give a combined display. An author language was specially written to direct the presentation of material, to analyse student responses and to control tape transport, all by means of simple commands. The educational text is prepared and edited using a standard word processor. As this system is videotape-based, it is quite easy to prepare CAI programs incorporating existing videotapes and to modify and edit the material.