Animated vs. Static Learning Agents - My M.Ed. Capstone Research | onehundredfortywords
Judy Unrein researched animated and static learning agents and found no difference in animation. Learning agents have value, but this research points to no extra value for more expensive and time-consuming animation.
Learning Visions: Ruth Clark: Evidence Based E-Learning #dl09 #dl09-104
Cammy Bean's live blogged notes from DevLearn with Ruth Clark. Lots of this is the multimedia principles I've read before (and maybe don't always apply in authentic learning environments, but that's another story). The research on animations vs stills was new to me though.
Donald Clark Plan B: Brilliant 35 studies in media and learning
Great summary of research points on our perceptions of media with implications for using media effectively for learning. For example, audio quality matters a lot, but video quality can be low and still effective. Large, wide screens are preferred over higher quality images on smaller screens.
35 psychological studies into the human reaction to media all point towards the simple proposition that people react towards media socially even though, at a conscious level, they believe it is not reasonable to do so. They can't help it. In short, people think that computers are people, which makes e-learning work.
As long as a media technology is consistent with social and physical rules, we will accept it. Read that last part again, 'as long as a media technology is consistent with social and physical rules'. If the media technology fails to conform to these human expectations - we will very much not accept it.
Coherence or interest: Which is most important in online multimedia learning?
A challenge to the coherence principle: the idea that all information in multimedia learning should be essential, and nothing should be added simply for interest. This research found that in an authentic learning setting that performance was the same whether learners had only the essentials or had additional interesting information, directly contradicting Clark & Mayer's work.
Overview of research on how multimedia can improve learning. Includes principles from Mayer, Moreno, & Clark's research on cognitive overload. Also debunks the numbers often associate with Dale's Cone of Experience
Top News - Analysis: How multimedia can improve learning
Research on how effective use of multimedia can improve learning outcomes. Based on research by Mayer, Moreno, Clark, & others. Much of this is in e-Learning and the Science of Instruction, but some of these principles, especially on interactivity, aren't included in that book. (Quotes from page 4)
Direct Manipulation Principle: As the complexity of the materials increases, the impact of direct manipulation (animation, pacing) of the learning materials on the transfer of knowledge also increases.
However, when the average student is engaged in higher-order thinking using multimedia in interactive situations, on average, that student's percentage ranking on higher-order or transfer skills increases by 32 percentile points over what the student would have accomplished with traditional learning.
Innovate: Online Teaching and Classroom Change: The Trans-Classroom Teacher in the Age of the Internet
Research on teachers doing both face-to-face and online teaching. 75% of the teachers said that teaching online improved their face-to-face teaching. Course design and communication changes were most common, but some teachers also added multimedia.
