CH4.Multimedia Principle
4.4Research on the Multimedia Principle
4.5Implications for Multimedia Learning
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4.2 Words and pictures in the multimedia principle
4.1Introduction to the effects of multimedia
4.3Multimedia effects and media effects
4.4.2Multimedia Effect for Transfer
4.1.1Does multimedia work?
4.4.3Related Research on Multimedia
4.4.1Multimedia Effect for Retention
What is the definition of the multimedia effect for retention?
The multimedia effect for retention refers to the improvement in student performance on verbal retention tests when they learn with text and illustrations or narration and animation, as opposed to learning with text alone or narration alone.
Why might the addition of pictures not always be important?
One possible explanation is that the retention test only involved verbal recall, and all learners received the same verbal explanation. Therefore, adding pictorial material might not have been important in all circumstances.
Why is transfer performance important?
Transfer performance is important because it reflects how well students understand an instructional message.
What are the different categories of illustrations?
What important results does research on illustrations in text yield?
The different categories of illustrations are decorative, representational, organizational, and explanative.
Textbook authors often fail to fully utilize the potential power of graphics to aid understanding. Adding a carefully designed graphic advance organizer to a text passage can greatly enhance student understanding.
4.1.2Are pictures different from words?
What is meant by the term 'pictures'?
By 'pictures,' it means any form of static or dynamic graphic, including photos, graphs, charts, illustrations, video, and animation; in our studies, the pictures are illustrations (consisting of two or more frames of line drawings) or animations.
According to the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, are words and pictures informationally equivalent?
What is meant by the term 'words'?
By 'words,' it means printed or spoken text; in our studies, the words are often short passages or narrations adapted from encyclopedias or science textbooks
Does multimedia work in improving learning?
According to the information-delivery view, are words and pictures informationally equivalent?
Yes, the book provides evidence that multimedia works in improving learning,
The research summarized in the book shows that adding illustrations to text or adding animation to narration can help students to better understand the presented explanation.
No, according to the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, words and pictures prime two qualitatively different knowledge representation systems in learners - a verbal channel and a visual channel.
Yes, according to the information-delivery view, words and pictures are two different vehicles for presenting the same information.
4.5.1Implications for Multimedia Learning
4.5.2Implications for Multimedia Design
What theory does the research of multimedia effect contradict?
What is the main finding of the research summarized in this chapter?
What does the multimedia effect demonstrate?
What issues need to be clarified regarding the multimedia principle?
What is the first principle of multimedia design?
The research of multimedia effect contradicts the information-delivery theory, which assumes that adding pictures to words does not enhance learning.
The main finding is that adding illustrations to text or animations to narration helps students understand explanations better, which is referred to as the multimedia effect.
The first principle of multimedia design is to present words and pictures rather than words alone.
The multimedia effect demonstrates that student learning can be enhanced when pictures are added to words, that is when material is presented in two forms rather than one.
The kind of pictures that should be added, how they should be added, and when they should be added are the clarifying issues that need to be addressed.
4.2.2Words and Pictures Are Qualitatively Different: The Case for Adding Pictures to Words
4.2.1Words and Pictures Are Informationally Equivalent: The Case for Presenting Words Only
What is the prediction made for the information-delivery view in this chapter?
According to the information-delivery view, are multimedia presentations necessary?
The prediction made for the information-delivery view in this chapter is that students who receive presentations in words should perform as well on transfer tests as students who receive presentations in words and pictures, as long as the delivery of words is fully received by the learner.
According to a strict interpretation of the information-delivery view, multimedia presentations are not necessary because the same information is delivered twice.
How are verbal and pictorial mental representations different?
What can be said about the characteristics of pictures?
What is the rationale for the prediction about retention?
The rationale is that a multimedia presentation allows learners to hold corresponding verbal and pictorial representations in working memory at the same time, increasing the chances of building mental connections between them. This is an important step in conceptual understanding and helps in recall on retention tests.
erbal and pictorial mental representations are qualitatively different; by their natures, visual and verbal representations cannot be informationally equivalent.
Pictures are probably the original mode of knowledge representation in humans. They depict material in a form that is more intuitive and closer to our visual sensory experience. Pictures allow holistic, nonlinear representations of information.
4.3.1Distinction between Multimedia Effects and Media Effects
What theory is media research based on?
What is the research question for media effects?
What is the cognitive theory of multimedia learning based on?
What is the research question for multimedia effects?
What is the focus of research in multimedia learning?
The focus of research in multimedia learning is on how to design presentations that foster understanding in learners, rather than on which medium is best.
The cognitive theory of multimedia learning is based on a knowledge-construction view, in which learners actively build mental representations in an attempt to make sense of their experiences.
Research on media effects is based on an information-delivery view of learning, in which media are seen as delivery systems for carrying information from teacher to learner.
The research question for media effects concerns whether students learn more deeply when material is presented via one medium - such as computer-based animation and narration - than another medium - such as book-based illustrations and text.
The research question for multimedia effects concerns whether students learn more deeply when material is presented using two presentation forms - such as words and pictures - rather than one - such as words alone.