The momentum gathering behind authentic learning/critical skills raises fundamental issues concerning teaching and learning. This article discusses some of the more general arguments surrounding authentic learning with particular reference to an in-depth evaluation of its impact on schools in one part of Great Britain. It then moves on to describe how this approach to teaching and learning influenced the design of a multimedia CD-ROM examining attitudes and policies towards poverty in the nineteenth century Glasgow. The article concludes by arguing that authentic learning and multimedia together create a powerful medium for learning by mirroring the methodology and sources used by historians. (Contains 6 figures.)