Multimedia Learning About Physical Systems
From Eduwiki
Multimedia Learning About Physical Systems by Mary Hagarty
Complex Physical Systems:
• Man Made – Mechanical http://www.animatedengines.com/otto.shtml
• Biological http://www.dnalc.org/resources/animations/
The Need: With the enormous potential of new media, we need basic research on how people comprehend and make inferences from multimedia.
The Goal: A literature review on comprehension of static and animated multimedia diagrams of complex physical systems from an informational processing perspective. i.e. creating and understanding an accurate mental model.
Understanding the Systems:
• Configuration: parts – materials – connected – configured in space
• Behavior: movement of components – interrelated affect of component movement - acting forces on the system
• Function: design purpose – understanding of behavior and structure to achieve the desired function
Media and Modalities:
Static Diagrams: • Spatial Representations Shape – location – connectivity – movement
• Iconic and Schematic Isomorphic to the system or abstract
• Mental Animation Arrows – small multiples (Tufte) – phase diagrams – infer motion – 2 and 3 dimensions
Animation:
• Direct representation of motion
• More realistic
• More Isomorphic in time and space
• Perceive rather than infer motion
• Variety of Speeds
• Spatial - 2 and 3 dimensions
Verbal:
• Express facts – draw attention to minor details and non-visible entities.
• Linear structure – words in sequence.
• Not Isomorphic
• Visual text - flexible speed of reading - rereading
• Aural – less flexible – speech rate – sound effects
Dual Coded :
• Duuuuuhhhh! Better learning with either static diagrams or animation
• Present as closely as possible to diagram, thereby not interrupting visual image for long, both are in working memory together.
• Simultaneous verbal, (not before or after) with animation using arrows and highlights
• Structure of presentation needs to match the linearity of the verbal, such as a chain of events.
The “Overwhelming” result of many studies: Comprehension measures were not affected!
Whether presented on a computer including animation, auditory commentaries and hyperlinks or
presented on paper using traditional printed text and diagrams.
Why isn’t animation better?
• Can comprehension keep up with speed? Static is self-paced.
• Change blindness, focusing on one location of a display is likely to blind the viewer to another region.
• Passive process; static is more cognitive, more actively engaged generating ideas and explanations-mental animation.
• Format mismatch; sequence of events rather than all at once.
• False sense of security; people overestimate their understanding of how systems work and they learn more effectively when this “illusion” of understanding is shattered!
Summary and Conclusions:
• What is understood from a multimedia display is jointly determined by aspects of the display and the qualities of the student.
• Static diagrams – phase diagrams prior to multimedia animation enhanced learning.
• Contrary to intuition, there is NO evidence that more realistic representations are more effective than abstract static representations that display motion.
