Synapse Technologies and IBM are developing an interactive multimedia knowledge system called Columbus – A Journey to Discovery: developed to coincide with the 500-year anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America, the program is said to enable users to assess the impact of Columbus’ dreams and accomplishments as well as introducing the concept of discovery as it relates to world change; also, Ulysses, first in IBM’s Classic Series, is being developed by AND Communications in partnership with IBM; based on the poem by Lord Tennyson, the project, says IBM, combines multimedia resources to assist the user in exploring the interrelationships between the literary work and the arts, sciences and – believe it or not – the human condition in general; both the Discoverers and Classic Series are packaged using CD-ROM and Laser Disc technology; the underlying rationale, claims IBM, is part of a paradigm shift in education that recaptures the imagination of students and motivates a rethinking and ultimately a restructuring of learning; others say that that kind of jargon exemplifies all that has gone wrong with education on both sides of the Atlantic over the past 20 years.
