A practitioner validated list of competencies needed for courseware authoring

The purpose of this study was to develop a practitioner-validated list of competencies needed by educators to author multimedia courseware. A four round Delphi survey using electronic mail for all communication was the method used to collect data. A list of sixty-three specific competencies guiding this study were derived from the recent literature on authoring multimedia courseware. This list was verified by a panel consisting of eight multimedia-using experts, Panel A, in Round One of the study. These experts were selected on the criteria of their current work and publications in multimedia graphic design, instructional design and authoring.

Panel A members were asked to accept, delete or edit each competency. Based on the panel's responses all competencies were accepted without significant revision. This verified list of competencies was then rated in three subsequent rounds by Panel B.

The identification of panel members for Panel B was made from two sources. One source was the membership of nine educational listservs groups. Another source was the membership of the editorial boards of three research journals. A total of 73 participants qualified as Panel B members and were sent the list of competencies for Round 2 of the survey. These panel members were asked to rate the competencies on a likert-like scale from 1, not important, to 6, critical.

The results of the last three Delphi rounds were analyzed using a HyperCard stack, Delphi Statistical Tool (Holden, 1992). In addition to the rating given each competency based on mean score after the Fourth Round, the researcher also analyzed the data based on the consensus of panel agreement and the stability of panel response.

A total of 57 panelists completed the last round. Total participation for these Delphi rounds was 78 percent. A consensus rate of 100 percent was achieved; a stability rate of 8.8 percent was achieved. Analysis of the data revealed that importance ratings were high. The mean value of all 63 competencies ranged from a low of 1.68 to a high of 5.61. Only one competency was determined to be critical (mean score of 5.5 or above): The educator will be able to understand and identify the needs of the target audience. A total of 25 competencies were ranked as very important (mean score between 4.5 and 5.49); while 30 competencies were ranked as important (mean score between 3.5 and 4.49). Therefore, of the competencies identified in the literature by the researcher, 58, or 92 percent, were ranked in the upper half of the rating scale (mean score 3.5 or above).Only 5 competencies received ratings with means less than 3.5.