Multimedia animation

Draft

Definition

“One of the most exciting forms of pictoral presentation is animation. Animation refers to a simulated motion picture depictingmovementof drawn (or simulated) objects. The main features of this definition are as follows: (1) picture - an animation is a kind of pictorial representation; (2) motion - an animation depicts apparent movement; and (3) simulated - an animation consists of objects that are artificially created through drawing or some other simulation method.” (Mayer 2002:88)

Design principles

The consensus among media researchers is that animation may or may not promote learning, depending on how it used. For these reasons the search for media effects has been called off. In its place is a search for the conditions under which various media, such as animation, affect the learning process. Taking a learner-centered approach, we aim to understand how animation can be used in ways that are consistent with how people learn. Instead of asking, "does animation improve learning?" we ask "when and how does animation affect learning?" (Mayer 2002:88)

Mayer's Seven Principles of Multimedia Learning (Mayer 2002:94)

1. Multimedia principle: Deeper learning from animation and narration than from narration alone.
2. Spatial contiguity principle: Deeper learning when corresponding text and animation are presented near rather than far from each other on the screen
3. Temporal contiguity principle: Deeper learning when corresponding narration and animation are presented simultaneously rather than successively
4. Coherence principle: Deeper learning when extraneous narration, sounds, and video are excluded rather than included
5. Modality principle: Deeper learning from animation and narration than from animation and on-screen text.
6. Redundancy principle: Deeper learning from animation and narration than from animation, narration, and on-screen text.
7. Personalization principle: Deeper learning when narration or on-screen text is conversational rather than formal.

Links

• Wikipedia:Educational animation - This is a good article by people who seem to understand the issues.

• Lowe, R.K. (2004). Interrogation of a dynamic visualization during learning. Learning and Instruction, 14, 257-274.

• Mayer, R.E., & Moreno, R. (2002). Animation as an aid to multimedialearning. Educational Psychology Review, 14, 87-99.

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• Mayer, Richard E. , The promise of multimedia learning: using the same instructional design methods across different media, Learning and Instruction, Volume 13, Issue 2, , April 2003, Pages 125-139.

Abstract/PDF (Access restricted). (Note: The same journal issue also contains other important articles on multimedia in education)

• Stempler, Luann K. (1997), Educational Characteristics of Multimedia: A Literature Review, Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia (1997) 6(3/4), 339-359. PDF

• Tversky, B., Morrison, J. B., & Bétrancourt M. (2002). Animation: Can it facilitate? International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 57, 247-262.