Home PublicationsJRTEPast IssuesVolume 40 Number 1: Fall 2007

	Edited by Dr. Lynne Schrum, George Mason University
formerly Journal of Research on Computing in Education

Volume 40 Number 1 Fall 2007

Investigating Means to Reduce Cognitive Load from Animations: Applying Differentiated Measures of Knowledge Representation

S. Guttormsen Schär and P. G. Zimmermann
University of Bern, Switzerlands

Abstract

This paper covers an experiment designed to investigate the relationship between the didactical setting and learning effects with animations. We investigated whether the cognitive load imposed by animations could be reduced when the students could control the flow of the animation. We did not find an effect due to the fact that the students did not actively use this feature to take more control of the presentation. Further, by applying differentiated knowledge measures, we investigated if the characteristics of the acquired knowledge were related to the characteristics of the multimedia presentation. We found that media do not influence knowledge acquisition homogeneously. The multimedia effects found in this study are in line with known principles of didactical multimedia design. This study sheds light on some theoretical aspects involved in the complex interaction between learning content, presentation, learning, and resulting knowledge.

 Download the full article (PDF, 151 KB)

Contributors

Prof. Dr. phil. Sissel Guttormsen Schär studied philosophy, statistics, and psychology at the University of Oslo, Norway. She led the research group Man Machine Interaction (MMI) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) from 1998–2005. MMI runs interdisciplinary applied research within the fields of human factors and technology, learning, interaction design, and communication technology. Since 2005, Mrs. Guttormsen is professor for medical education and the director of the Institute of Medical Education (IML) at the University of Bern, Switzerland. IML runs interdisciplinary research and development on differentiated assessment methods, computer-assisted learning, and development of innovative learning environments. (sissel.guttormsen@iml.unibe.ch.)

Philippe G. Zimmermann studied environmental sciences at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), Switzerland. He worked in the corporate IT-Departments of IBM and Siemens before he co-founded a company for Web development. From 2001–2005 he worked at the ETH in the Man-Machine Interaction group where he also pursued his doctoral studies. Since 2005, he is a research associate at the Institute of Medical Education. His current research interests include the assessment of affect in the context of HCI, affective reactions to design, and motivational parameters in instructional design. (philippe.zimmermann@iml.unibe.ch.)

Copyright 2007, (International Society for Technology in Education). All rights reserved.