Design dilemma (Clark & Mayer, e-Learning, chapter 3, pp ) VP thinks a short course should just consist of text and tells course designer: “Everything they need to know is in the text. All they have to do is read it. And we don’t have much time!” How should the course designer react? “Do you mind if I come up with something that builds on your text?”

The Multimedia Principle Include both words and graphics Why? Graphics facilitate active learning, mentally making connection between pictorial and verbal representations Words alone may cause shallow learning

Avoid decorative graphics Decorative pictures are “eye candy” Why? Give an example Merely decorate the page without improving understanding E.g., picture of a general in a lesson about explosives Instructional designer’s job is to enable learner to make sense of information

Match graphics to content Illustrate procedures with screen captures Show a process flow with arrows or animated graphics Organize topics by using rollover buttons to show different graphics

Psychology of multimedia Information delivery theory: learning consists of acquiring information Information format shouldn’t matter Cognitive theory: learning is actively making sense of information Active learning involves constructing and connecting visual and verbal representations of material

Graphics for different content Facts, e.g., a screen capture Concepts, e.g., a diagram of species Process, e.g., animation of a pump Procedure, e.g., animation of steps with arrows highlighting buttons or parts Principle, e.g., animation of genes passing from parents to offspring

Evidence for multimedia effect Ten lessons teaching scientific or mechanical processes, such as how pumps work Students who receive multimedia lesson perform better on post-test than students who receive same information in words Improvement of % more correct solutions to transfer problems Similar results in experiments with CIMEL

Design dilemma: resolution Based on cognitive theory, designer is confident in multimedia principle Explains to the VP that people learn more deeply when they are able to build mental connections between verbal and pictorial presentations Shows prototype storyboards

Contiguity principle Dilemma: use fixed screen displays or scrolling pages (to save bandwidth)? Principle: place text near corresponding graphics

Integrated vs. separate text Text integrated into graphic Text separate from graphic

Other applications of contiguity principle Can we apply this principle in the following situation? Identifying parts in a diagram: List of part names below the diagram? Pointers connecting names to parts? Hyperlinks from diagram image map to names and descriptions of parts? Pop-up text as mouse rolls over parts?

Pscyhology of contiguity When words and pictures are separate, people must use scarce cognitive resources just to match them up Less resources available to organize and integrate material in memory Contiguity reduces load on working memory and thus increases learning

Evidence for contiguity

Violations of contiguity Separating visuals and text Obscuring connection with scrolling text Feedback on a separate screen from practice question Second browser window covers related information on main screen Directions for exercise on separate screen from exercise itself