Where Should Multimedia Be Used?
Multimedia has vast ramifications when applied to the world of organisational learning and more specifically e-learning. When considering multimedia from an educational perspective it is essential to consider the inter-relationship between e-learning and multimedia, how multimedia can improve information retention and instances where multimedia can be inappropriate or non – conducive to learning.
Contents:
- Multimedia & E-learning
- Multimedia & Information Retention
- When Multimedia can be Inappropriate
Multimedia & E-learning
Multimedia has a multitude of applications, but within the educational context relates predominately to e-learning. The evolution of e-learning has opened a market for training and learning thats key function is interactivity, which multimedia has in some part offered the solution. E-learning that contains audio, video, animation and educative games has been enhanced by multimedia. It has been argued by William Powell that e- learning designed with multimedia is more engaging, that by making learning fun it is more likely to be retained and the interactivity of multimedia minded design is a blessing when keeping generation ‘Y’ engaged. However, Powell also eludes that the decline in take up of game based e – learning is largely due to the unbearable cost of multimedia designed training.
James Kirk also agrees that interaction is key to maintaining learner’s engagement and suggests “Quality learning materials should be attractive, visual, and engaging… Materials that are interactive change in appearance or content in response to a user’s actions. For example, a short movie plays when a learner clicks on a graphic.”
Criticism of e – learning in the past is that “It’s boring, one-dimensional [and] impersonal” (Millbower, 2003). Multimedia is said to negate these criticisms by enhancing content with streaming video, animation and audio. Lenn Millbower proposes that sound considerably enhances learning by: compensating for lifeless text, enhances action and dramatic impact and relates more deeply to emotions. More importantly audio engages another sense into the learning process, making the electronic learning environment a step closer to holistic learning.
The adoption of multimedia formats into e-learning is still but emerging, professionals in the field are experiencing a reluctance to adopt ultra interactive e-learning with a wealth of integrated multimedia, instead turning to more traditional text based design. To add to the myriad of inter-related issues involved with the adoption of e-learning the shift away from multimedia may be attributed not only to the cost but accessibility of the course, performance on low bandwidths and the novelty of a new emerging technology wearing off.
Multimedia & Information Retention
The paradox surrounding multimedia and the notion of information retention is how to correlate separately, aspects of information retention in regard to the medium and information retention in regard to the message. Richard Mayer ( in Simons 2006) suggests that “It is not possible to determine whether differences in what students learn from text-based versus computer-based presentations are caused by the medium or by the content and study conditions, which are inseparable from the medium.” This concept is further extrapolated when considering the impact multimedia has on information retention. The heart of the issue is how the medium (e-learning and associated multimedia enhancements) can be measured against the message (content) in facilitating information retention when the two concepts are intricately interwoven into the context of the learning itself.
Mayer’s research (Simon, 2006) is primarily focused on the transfer of information, which is a learner’s ability to apply new content to previous knowledge to develop more meaningful connections between learning objects (link to definition). Mayer (Simon, 2006) found that information retention increased by 89% if the information was enhanced by multimedia when measured against the same piece of information presented as a paragraph in a book. Other findings included “when certain types of material are presented using multimedia methods, retention (defined as the ability to recall facts or steps in a process) increases by an average of 23 percent; when text and graphics are combined, retention goes up an average of 42 percent; and if the text of a presentation is spoken rather than read – if students hear the words, rather than read them – retention goes up an average of 30 percent.” (Simon, 2006)
Multimedia is said to have two key functions in enhancing information retention. Firstly information retention is enhanced by the affective function of multimedia that is the ability to sustain the learner’s interest, improve motivation and stimulate the learner’s senses. Secondly multimedia has a cognitive function which improves learner retention by assisting knowledge transfer and developing internal networks of knowledge
The contradiction in much of Mayer’s (Simon, 2006) research is that he explicitly states that too much multimedia enhancement can actually be detrimental to learning. He suggests that if too many senses are engaged all at once it impedes learning rather than assists it. This however does not limit the usefulness of multimedia but cautions instructional designers to not over use this technology.
When Multimedia can be Inappropriate
Mayer (Simon, 2006) suggested that a little multimedia is a good thing but overdoing it can be detrimental, Thomas Toth agrees that [multimedia] should be considered in terms of ‘just enough, never too much’.
Toth cautions that cosmetic graphics should be used sparingly as they distract learners from actual content. The eyes will be attracted to the movement and colour of graphics so should be used in appropriate situations when it is the intention of the designer to draw the eye away from some parts of the screen or to focus on particular areas.
For organisations considering shifting the focus of their learning and development programme out of the classroom and into an e-learning format Lori Mortimer explains that it is no simple case of copying classroom content into an electronic format. “No matter how instructionally sound your classroom materials are, they’ll need instructional redesign for the e-learning format(s) you’ve chosen” (Mortimer)
While multimedia can be beneficial to the comprehension and retention of some information, if not used as a supporting resource and with this cause in mind can prove to be detrimental to learning. Multimedia such as graphics, animation and audio can be inappropriate in an e-learning format if they add no meaning to the content of the course. Multimedia which is not related or ineffective at relaying the underlying meaning of the content is none other than distracting and will have negative impacts on learner retention and comprehension of the course materials.
