This document discusses designing dynamic online instructional environments using multimedia. It proposes using multimedia like graphics, audio and video to make online learning more engaging by addressing multiple senses, as traditional online learning using only text can be passive. Various technologies are presented that can help replicate the instructor presence and interactions of face-to-face learning online, like blogs, Facebook, Google Docs and wikis. The concept of the zone of proximal development and cognitive apprenticeship models of learning are discussed as frameworks for the online environment. Open resources for different types of multimedia content are also listed.