Whether you're producing videos for an online course, sharing a graphic with students, building a slide-based presentation, or creating any type of multimedia presentation, there are a few key principles to keep in mind while building your content.
Based on the work of Richard Mayer1, we recommend focusing your use of multimedia by concentrating on three goals:
The following sections outline how to accomplish each goal.
Learning is hard – don't make it harder. These first principles will ensure that you're not placing an unnecessary load on the learner's cognitive processes.
Principle | Description |
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Coherence | Carefully consider whether each multimedia component is necessary to meet the desired learning outcome. Bad Example: This example includes unnecessary photographs, font styles, and on-screen text. Good Example: This example removes extraneous graphics and text. |
Signaling | Highlight essential material. Bad Example: As the narrator describes a specific step within the Project Management process, the entire process displays on-screen. Good Example: The specific step that the narrator is discussing is highlighted, focusing the learner's attention on the most essential material. |
Redundancy | Limit multimedia to narration and animation when possible, avoid including redundant on-screen text. Bad Example: The narrator reads the on-screen text verbatim. Good Example: On-screen text is minimized and the narrator provides detailed content. |
Spatial Contiguity | Display corresponding words and pictures near each another. Bad Example: The words are listed along the left side, separate from the image on the right. Good Example: The words are listed alongside their corresponding portion of the image. |
Temporal Contiguity | Sync corresponding visuals and audio. Bad Example: The narrator describes the steps, then a short video demonstrates the process. Good Example: The narrator describes the steps as a short video demonstrates the process. |
Trying to explain the unexplainable? These principles outline ways to clarify content that is particularly complex.
Principle | Description |
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Segmenting | Allow the learner to control the pace of multimedia presentations. Bad Example: The presentation is delivered as an 11-minute video. Good Example: The presentation is delivered as a series of 1- to 2-minute videos. |
Pretraining | Provide an opportunity for learners to learn basic, prerequisite content before launching a more complex multimedia presentation. Bad Example: The learner is launched immediately into a video demonstration using unfamiliar vocabulary. Good Example: The learner reviews unfamiliar vocabulary before launching the video demonstration. |
Modality | When possible, use graphics with spoken text rather than graphics with written text. This principle may not apply to learners with higher levels of expertise in a given subject area2. Bad Example: The learner's attention is split between the graphics and text. Good Example: The learner processes visuals and audio independently, resulting in higher cognitive capacity. |
After you've reduced noise and clarified complexities, learners can concentrate on building their own meaning of the content. These principles will help you promote sense-making.
Principle | Description |
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Multimedia | Present words and pictures rather than words alone. Bad Example: On-screen text is presented without any visual representation. Good Example: A corresponding visual representation is presented alongside the on-screen text. As a result, the learner builds connections between the verbal and visual representations. |
Personalization | Use a conversational tone rather than a formal tone. Bad Example: The narrator uses formal, passive language. Good Example: The narrator uses more conversational, direct language, and is perceived as a conversational partner. The learner works harder to understand what their "partner" is saying. |