Using Mayer’s principles in web based learning

Using Mayer’s principles in web based learning

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

 The web module was designed with relevant illustrations wherever needed to further explain concepts in the module.

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.

 Graphics and text were presented in an integrated manner so as to provide proper combination of the information with both media types.

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

Textual information presented together with illustrations were presented simultaneously in order to provide students with strong visual support for the textual information on the screen.

 4. Coherence Principle: Students learn better when extraneous words, pictures and sounds are excluded rather than included. Images with conceptual relevance, and not merely topical relevance, were included.

Sound effects were not added to ALL buttons as they would distract students from the content and students could chose to have background music playing.

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

Wherever possible, content was presented visually (with still or moving images) or aurally (with narration), and not merely onscreen text.

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

Content was presented with narration and animation/visual images, instead of animation and text, so that students can listen to the narration while looking at the animation/visual images and not be distracted by identical textual information.

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

The students were undergraduates in their first trimester of classes in University. Therefore, they did not have much prior knowledge on the subject matter and the multimedia web environment. Therefore, this web module is considered a new way of learning to them.