Problem-centered project work, involving groups who work and learn collaboratively, is an important form of instructional organization. This is especially true for students learning about the design and development of multimedia learning materials, since working as members of design teams will be an important part of the professional futures of many of the students. At the University of Twente in The Netherlands, students in the Faculty of Educational Science and Technology have an initial experience in the multimedia-design process in a first year required course. Covering two cycles of the course, this paper describes the instructional design of the course itself and illustrates how information technology is both studied and used as the learning environment in the course. It shows how the World Wide Web (WWW) provides an integrated setting for the students, so they can experience as learners the sorts of environments they are studying and designing in their groups. Emphasis is placed on: the integration of process and product; evaluation as a key unifying process throughout the course; the use of "productive communication" (semi-structured messages entered on the class web site); learning how to learn; and the implications of the new roles for both students and instructors. An appendix includes student evaluation feedback data. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/SWC)