Using interactive multimedia to teach pedestrian safety: an exploratory study.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate an interactive multimedia (IMM) program that teaches young children safe pedestrian skills.


METHODS
The program uses IMM (animation and video) to teach children critical skills for crossing streets safely. A computer-delivered video assessment and a real-life street simulation were used to measure the effectiveness of the program in teaching safe street-crossing skills.


RESULTS
Significant effects were found on the computer-delivered and behavioral measures.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that children can learn to discriminate dangerous elements in traffic situations using the IMM program and transfer that knowledge to real-life environments.
Glang
Ann
A
Oregon Center for Applied Science, Inc., Eugene, OR 97403, USA. aglang@orcasinc.com
Noell
John
J
Ary
Dennis
D
Swartz
Lynne
L
D000056:Accident Prevention; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D019212:Multimedia; D012449:Safety; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D016138:Walking