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  1. Introduction

 

In the high computerized society the world has nowadays, it is impossible don’t use the computer to spread, teach, research and explain. The principal resource used for these goals is the multimedia.

 

Multimedia has many different means for different people. For some one, multimedia means that a computer has a CD-ROM. To others, multimedia is the use of a combination of many elements in order to build a dynamic visual presentation that can fix the user’s attention during the presentation. There are seven basic elements that have to be included in a multimedia presentation: text, graphic, photo, sound, animation, video and interactivity. Obviously, a really multimedia presentation combines all of these elements [1], [2].

 

Multimedia systems have been defined in different ways. One can define multimedia like a software that allows the creation and maintenance of information slice sets linked by a non linear way. In a general form, the notion of multimedia is related to the non linear way used to present and retrieve information, just like a network model, composed by interconnected nodes. These nodes can contain text and graphic information, images, sounds, animations and videos [3].

 

Through the riches of resources that a multimedia system gives, the health area has been used widely this technology. Many different multimedia systems have been developed for a variety of health has increased and has been spreaded, in the world. The computer in health has been used to help in the decision making and in the education [5].

 

In many European countries, such as: Italy, Greece, Germany, Ireland, United Kingdom and Portugal, the computer in health is a reality, and these countries have been developed many projects, spreading the computer in health into their universities [4].

 

In this way, the University of Itajaí Valley - UNIVALI, has been developing a Multimedia System to Explain Down’s Syndrome. This project started in 1997 sponsored by Science Computer Department in matching with Special’s Parents and Friends Associations - APAE’s in Tijucas city, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

 

In Brazil, many parents don’t have notion of how to take care of Down’s Syndrome bearer children, and most of the volunteers that help APAE’s in all Brazilian territory don’t have suitable training.

 



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