How can we avoid a trail of broken promises concerning the educational benefits of
new educational technologies such as multimedia learning evironments? A reasonable solution is
to use instructional technology in ways that are grounded in research-based theory. The
overarching theme of this paper is that effective use of a new instructional technology must be
guided by a research-based theory of how students learn. Fortunately, advances in cognitive
psychology provide the starting point for such theories. We are convinced that one of the most
important avenues of cognitive psychology is to understanding how technology--such as
multimedia--can be used to foster student learning. As an example, in this paper we provide a
research-based review of five principles of multimedia design.