Introduction

Abstract

Academic conferences are a well-established and effective form of communication. Conference participants communicate by sight and sound, that is, by viewing individuals, text, and graphics and by hearing the spoken word. This same-time, same-place communication is sufficiently valuable to justify large investments in time and travel funds. Traditional printed conference proceedings and session videotapes are attempts to recapture the value of a live conference participation, but they are an insufficient substitute for having personally experienced speakers giving their presentations. Although multimedia conference proceedings are no replacement for interpersonal communication at the conference, they offer an integrated hypermedia environment combining printed proceedings with the audiovisual experience of listening to the speaker that would be impossible with audiotapes or videotapes and printed proceedings.