Antony Kontellis UTS Blog

A multimedia instructional message is a communication using words and pictures that is intended to promote learning.

For example, a multimedia instructional message in a book could include printed text and illustrations, whereas a multimedia instructional message on a computer could include narration and animation.

Examples of multimedia instructional messages include words and pictures intended to explain how lightning storms develop, how car braking systems works, and how a bicycle tyre pumps work.
Richard Mayer, p.21
Multimedia Learning

READ:
Mayer, Richard E. & Moreno, Roxana 2003, Nine Ways to Reduce Cognitive Load in Multimedia Learning in Educational Psychologist, 38 (1), pp43-52.
(PDF File in Subject Documents folder in UTSOnline)

7 Principles of Multimedia Design

1.    Multimedia principle: Students learn better from words and pictures than from words alone.

2.    Spatial Contiguity Principle: Students learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented near rather than far from each other on the page or screen.

3.    Temporal Contiguity Principle: Students learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented simultaneously rather than successively.

4.    Coherence Principle: Students learn better when extraneous words, pictures, and sounds are excluded rather than included.

5.    Modality Principle: Students learn better from animation and narration than from animation and on-screen text.

6.    Redundancy Principle: Students learn better from animation and narration than from animation, narration, and on-screen text.

7.    Individual Differences Principle: Design effects are stronger for low-knowledge learners than for high-knowledge learners and for high-spatial learners rather than low-spatial learners.

Now consider your course and make notes where multimedia may be of value:
Consider the media elements in your design – use the questions above as a guideline if you are using animation, video or sound.

Provided examples of multimedia elements you would recommend.

Out of the seven principles, my recommendations would include:

1.    Multimedia principle: integrating images (and video where possible) into the course to enrich the written components.

2.    Spatial Contiguity Principle: developing a combined text/image screen/page where images and text are placed correspondingly close to each other to highlight each other accordingly.

3.    Temporal Contiguity Principle: same as point 2.

4.    Coherence Principle: the course would be direct and simple, omitting complicated aspects that are not pivotal to learning.

5.    Modality Principle: utilisation of video and presentation would fit this point well.

6.    Redundancy Principle: same as point 5.

7.    Individual Differences Principle: Design effects are stronger for low-knowledge learners than for high-knowledge learners and for high-spatial learners rather than low-spatial learners.