Murder on the Internet

In this article we describe the design and testing process that resulted in the production of Un Meurtre à Cinet and Un Misterio en Toluca, two role-playing applications which ask students of French and Spanish to collaborate to solve a murder mystery using e-mail, a listserv, and a culturally rich web site. Using our own pedagogical philosophy and our own production experience as guides, we also attempt to elaborate general guidelines for developing and adapting other materials, including other mysteries, for use in a pedagogically appropriate technology-mediated environment.