INTERACTIVE PROGRAM TO TEACH BICYCLE SAFETY:GRADE K-3

Although bicycle collisions are one of the leading causes of death and severe injury in young children, our review shows that there are currently no empirically-based easily implemented prevention programs targeting bicycle safety skills. This project will develop an interactive multimedia program to teach bicycle safety skills. This project will develop an interactive multimedia program to teach bicycle safety skills to children in grades K-3, for use in both school and home settings. The Phase I prototype successfully used animated and live-video presentation to teach children one of the most important bicycle safety skills crossing the roadway. The critical features of this Project are the utilization of interactive media for the instructional presentation to the individual user, the incorporation of instructional design features that have been shown to achieve maximum learning, and the application of safety skills in video-based examples of real-life traffic situations. The program will incorporate computer-based assessment with remediation to ensure content mastery. Phase II development will expand the interactive bicycle safety program to include a comprehensive set of bicycle safety skills (e.g., playing safely near streets, crossing with no intersections, walking in a neighborhood, crossing parking lots) across urban, suburban, and rural environments. The program will be evaluated in a randomized control trial. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: Multimedia educational software is a growing field, with both schools and home users comprising a large customer base. The individualization afforded by multimedia, combined with superior instructional design and remediation as needed, make this CD-ROM and Internet product a simple cost-effective way for schools to teach bicycle safety. This product will be attractive to parents seeking new ways to teach children safety skills.