Sequential display of multimedia instructions: effect on users' understanding

As computerized documents proliferate in every activity area, the instructional domain has been overwhelmed with multimedia learning tools that make an extensive use of fancy graphics and animations. However, their design is usually based on intuition rather than on empirical evidence, and little, if nothing, is known about their actual effect on users. Our research investigates how dynamic options in multimedia documents affect users' understanding and memorization processes. We focused on a device called "sequential display", where clusters of information in a single document are displayed gradually in a meaningful sequence. The results of a preliminary experiment showed that the users memorized the organisation used to display the document. Moreover, this organization affects their performance in further problem solving situations. Thus, these findings suggest that dynamic features may be effective instructional devices, providing that their use is based on actual results from the cognitive and educational research.