Instructional Animations Research Articles

Revitalising a fading oral culture through innovative animation production: an experiment with Bodo oral narratives

PurposeThe paper aims to explore animation as a medium to revive the oral narrative of the Bodo community. The Bodo oral narratives are crucial for preserving the tribe's traditional values, but modernization is endangering their oral tradition. Transmitting folk culture to youth is crucial for its continuity and knowledge retention. The objective of the study was to examine the use of animation design approach for the transmission of oral narratives to the young generation.Design/methodology/approachThis design exploration involves a case study, field visit, user study, expert interaction for authentication and questionnaire-based survey. The approach integrates the animation design process with a popular myth of the Bodo tribe's musical instrument, Serja. This exploration seeks to visually present a reliable version of the story based on expert advice and published articles using instructional animation technique.FindingsThe positive response in the user survey suggests that the animation design exploration effectively represented the traditional and cultural aspects of the Bodo community. Feedback and comments from the participants have confirmed that animation can enhance the storytelling experience by effectively communicating oral stories.Research limitations/implicationsThe exploration in this research tries to establish a visual representation of the oral narratives of the Bodo community for the younger generation.Practical implicationsThe exploration in this research tries to establish a visual representation of the oral narratives of the Bodo community for the younger generation.Social implicationsBy using the digital medium, indigenous communities can sustain a long-lasting legacy of their oral stories.Originality/valueThe paper acknowledges the authentic essence of Bodo culture, rooted in their oral stories. Furthermore, it effectively captured and conveyed this essence using an animation design approach.

The effectiveness of instructional animation on dissection skills in pharmacy students: an innovation in educational method

The effectiveness of instructional animation on dissection skills in pharmacy students: an innovation in educational method

The effectiveness of Instructional Animation on dissection skills in Pharmacy Students: An innovation in educational method

The effectiveness of Instructional Animation on dissection skills in Pharmacy Students: An innovation in educational method

Investigating the impact of gender-differences and spatial ability on learning from instructional animations

Cette étude est consacrée à deux facteurs (genre ; habileté spatiale), dont la prise en compte pourrait expliquer les résultats mitigés souvent obtenus dans les recherches sur les animations pédagogiques. L’étude a comparé l’efficacité des animations pédagogiques sur les apprentissages en comparant trois conditions (animation ; animation + explication orale ; animation + gestuelle). 72 étudiants ont été assignés de manière aléatoire à l’une des trois conditions. L’animation montrait comment réaliser un pliage sur papier. Dans l’ensemble, la condition avec explication orale s’est avérée supérieure à la condition de gestuelle, qui était à elle-même supérieure à la condition d’animation toute seule. Cependant, ce résultat a été obtenu uniquement avec des femmes. Chez les hommes, aucune différence significative n’a été constatée entre les conditions. En outre, les femmes ont obtenu des scores plus élevés que les hommes, même s’il n’y avait pas de différences d’habileté spatiale. Une mesure appropriée de l’habileté spatiale, en tant que covariable, s’est avérée nécessaire pour identifier tous les effets. Si les données relatives au genre et à l’aptitude spatiale avaient été exclues des analyses, les résultats auraient été trompeurs et incomplets.

Using animation to teach breastfeeding physiology: a proof of concept study

BackgroundBreastfeeding provides the optimal nourishment for infant and child health and supporting mothers to breastfeed is a global health priority. Midwives are uniquely placed to provide breastfeeding education and support to the woman and it is imperative that they have a sound understanding of the physiological underpinnings of breastfeeding. However, midwifery students and some midwives continue to struggle with the complex physiology of lactation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate an instructional animation resource to teach breastfeeding physiology to student and practicing midwives. Further, this study also offers insights into how student and practicing midwives accept novel approaches to learning.MethodsA cross-sectional survey design using both quantitative and qualitative approaches was employed in this proof of concept study. The setting was online with midwifery students recruited from Deakin University and registered midwives recruited from the Australian College of Midwives membership. Snowball sampling was also employed to recruit midwives through professional networks of the research team. The quantitative part of this study included a structured online questionnaire for midwives and midwifery students and descriptive statistics were used to present the quantitative data. The qualitative data were collected from open-ended questions on the questionnaire and a deductive approach was used for analysing the data.ResultsThis proof of concept study collected data from 110 participants and provides evidence for the use of animation as an effective pedagogical tool to explain complex concepts. The animated instructional resource was viewed favourably by both the midwifery students and practicing midwives.ConclusionsThe findings from this study, support the pedagogical advantages of animated instructional resources for teaching complex physiology. Further, educators should be encouraged and feel confident to develop and use animation technology as both an engaging and effective teaching resource especially for complex concepts.

Effects of using cueing in instructional animations on learning and cognitive load level of elementary students in science education

ABSTRACT In this study, the effects of using cueing with a narrator in animations on science learning and cognitive load level of elementary students have been revealed. For this purpose, a quantitative research design is used in the study. 223 third grade students, 124 of them are girls and 99 of them are boys, have formed the sample. The results show that there is a significant difference between students’ pre-test and post-test scores in both experimental (cueing) and control (non-cueing) groups. Post-test scores of the students in the experimental group are higher than the control group. In addition, there is a meaningful difference in students’ learning, cognitive load levels and mental efforts in favor of the experimental group. On the other hand, there is no significant difference in terms of difficulty perceptions between groups. Lastly, negative and medium correlation is found between their learning and cognitive load levels in the experimental group. Consequently, using cueing in animations is important in order to increase students’ learning and reduce their cognitive load level.

A review of learning demands in instructional animations: The educational effectiveness of animations unfolds if the features of change need to be learned

AbstractIn a systematic review, 194 studies on learning from animation were analysed. The analysis covers the learning domains, the representational characteristics of the animations, the assessed perceptual and cognitive achievements, and the assessment formats. Research on learning from animation focuses on assessing conceptual at the neglect of kinematic mental models. This is in contrast to an important rationale for making use of animations: that it needs to be learned what animations can specifically display, namely, how change in space and time occurs. This might explain why meta‐analyses which compared the effectiveness of animations and static pictures found merely small overall effect sizes in favour of animations. To confirm this hypothesis, one meta‐analysis was re‐analysed with a new moderator. It encodes whether the features of the displayed changes were relevant to learning. Learning from animations was significantly more successful than learning from static pictures, if the features of the displayed changes had to be learned.

Segmentation’s failure to improve software video tutorials

AbstractSegmentation reduces learners’ cognitive load by inserting system‐controlled pauses into instructional animations and video. However, many previous studies focus on conceptual knowledge, and do not allow users control over the pacing of instruction. This two‐part experiment attempted to validate segmentation in the context of procedural software instruction by applying it to an Excel conditional formatting tutorial. Learners assigned to segmented video failed to show either improved knowledge transfer or decreased cognitive load. Instead, learners using the videos were able to successfully use the pause and rewind features to manage their own cognitive load. This study shows the importance of providing users with control over the pacing of instruction, and with testing educational theories when applying them in a new context.

How Much Cueing Is Needed in Instructional Animations? The Role of Prior Knowledge

This study explored the effects of prior knowledge and cueing on the learning (retention, transfer, and matching) and mental effort of learners who studied an instructional animation with accompanying narration about photosynthesis. A 4 × 2 between-subjects factorial design with four levels of cueing (no cueing, label cueing, picture cueing, and label and picture cueing) and two levels of prior knowledge (low vs. high) was used. A total of 216 undergraduate students from various majors in a large Southwestern university volunteered to participate in this study. The results revealed no significant effect of cueing on learning or mental effort. However, high prior knowledge learners outperformed low prior knowledge learners on a retention test and reported investing more mental effort than low prior knowledge learners. Although it was not significant, high prior knowledge learners had higher transfer and matching scores when no cues were provided.

Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words? Evaluating the Design of Instructional Animations in Veterinary Education.

Empirical evidence demonstrates that student learning outcomes improve when animations are developed in alignment with the design principles of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML). The extent to which these principles are used in the design of veterinary instructional animations is unknown. In this study, we reviewed the veterinary education literature for articles that discussed specific veterinary medical animations as learning resources. The 30 referenced animations accessed through this search were analyzed to determine whether they used the CTML's 11 major design principles. Analysis revealed that the animations most commonly adhered to only 4 principles: coherence, redundancy, modality, and spatial contiguity. The majority of the 11 CTML principles were used in fewer than 40% of the animations. We also examined the alignment between raters' perceptions of the effectiveness and enjoyment of the animations and adherence to the design principles. Analyses revealed that the animations deemed by raters as most enjoyable and effective did not utilize more design principles than animations they viewed as least enjoyable and effective. The results of this study indicate many missed opportunities to increase learning by developing animated learning resources according to empirically based design principles. Decisions to include specific animations in instruction should be based on whether the resources include elements that have been shown to increase learning rather than subjective perceptions of effectiveness and enjoyment.

Exploring the effect of realism at the cognitive stage of complex motor skill learning

Animation can be used for various purposes such as for procedural and motor skill learning (i.e., dance, sports, and motor rehabilitation). In the context of visual design, this study explores the possible influence of realism (levels of visual detail) in animation at the cognitive stage of motor skill acquisition. Students (N = 64) with low-prior knowledge about tennis were randomly assigned into three groups to view either 2D schematic, 3D stylised, or live-action instructional video. Their performance on the knowledge test, learning time, efficiency score, confidence level, preference, and open-ended responses were captured for analyses. Based on the findings, despite most preference towards live-action video, there was no statistically significant difference regarding cognitive learning performance among learners from different treatment groups. Hence, animated digital characters of various levels of realism can still be incorporated for motor skill acquisition especially in instructional animations, simulations, video games and virtual reality.

3D learning spaces and activities fostering users’ learning, acceptance, and creativity

As an instructional material, 3D instructions afford people to learn procedural-manipulative tasks. Observing and emulating motions presented in 3D animations is important in learning contexts. This study examined the effects of visual cueing in an effort to identify the optimal way to present information in a 3D virtual environment. While previous studies have found that animations are more effective than static images for learning procedural-manipulative tasks, the transient nature of dynamic visualizations might create an unnecessary cognitive load on learners. To compensate strategically for the lack of permanency, this study suggests combining dynamic and static visualizations into one medium by adding transparent static images (visual cueing) to an animation. A between-subjects experiment was conducted to examine the effects of visual cueing on cognitive load and learning outcomes. The study found that the hybrid of dynamic and static visualizations was beneficial for reducing cognitive load, although it did not improve learning outcomes. The results suggest a design strategy for improving the effectiveness of 3D instructional animations. The findings are broadly applicable to numerous learning contexts, such as virtual reality storytelling, augmented reality games, and diverse gamification services.

Evaluation of an innovative approach to enhancing midwives’ understanding of breastfeeding physiology through the use of animation

Background: Supporting women to breastfeed requires knowledge of the physiology, including the complex interplay of both endocrine and autocrine systems. The use of e-learning provides an alternative platform for customising and diversifying content to appeal to a variety of learning styles. While the evidence addressing the effectiveness of instructional animation is equivocal, an innovative approach utilising the application of animation in enhancing midwives' knowledge regarding lactation is warranted. Drawing on expertise in lactation, midwifery education and video design and production, a seven-minute animated video was produced. In this presentation we will showcase the video and present the results of the evaluation. Methods: The aim of this study was to evaluate registered midwives' understanding of breastfeeding physiology and the acceptability and usability of the animated resource. In February/March 2018, registered midwives across Australia were offered the opportunity to review and evaluate the video by completing a cross-sectional anonymous online survey consisting of 29 items containing 4-point Likert scales and free-text responses. Invitation was via the Australian College of Midwives national newsletter. Ethics approval from Deakin University was obtained. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse quantitative data and free-text was coded. Results: Results of the registered midwife evaluation will be presented that will demonstrate midwives' opinions of the animation as a teaching modality. The presentation will include midwives' views on how the resource impacted on their breastfeeding knowledge and understanding and their views of the animation as a learning resource. Comparison will be made to the students' evaluation where 85-95% of respondents reported that the resource enhanced their learning. Discussion and Conclusion: Evidence to inform the use of innovative approaches to support traditional teaching methods will be provided. These results will provide valuable data to inform further innovation in the area of professional development education in breastfeeding and other complex midwifery concepts.

Text-to-Speech Software and Learning: Investigating the Relevancy of the Voice Effect

Technology advances quickly in today’s society. This is particularly true in regard to instructional multimedia. One increasingly important aspect of instructional multimedia design is determining the type of voice that will provide the narration; however, research in the area is dated and limited in scope. Using a randomized pretest–posttest design, we examined the efficacy of learning from an instructional animation where narration was provided by an older text-to-speech engine, a modern text-to-speech engine, or a recorded human voice. In most respects, those who learned from the modern text-to-speech engine were not statistically different in regard to their perceptions, learning outcomes, or cognitive efficiency measures compared with those who learned from the recorded human voice. Our results imply that software technologies may have reached a point where they can credibly and effectively deliver the narration for multimedia learning environments.

Investigating gender and spatial measurements in instructional animation research

Instructional animation research has been extensive but the results are inconsistent. Amongst a number of possible factors to explain these inconclusive results (e.g., the negative influence of transient information), the influence of spatial ability and gender are less explored. This paper reports three experiments that compared the effectiveness of learning a hand-manipulative task (Lego construction) under various conditions with direct examination of the relationship between gender, spatial ability and instructional visualisation. Regression analyses revealed that only one objective measure related to spatial ability (Corsi test) predicted overall test performance, whereas the Card Rotations Test and the Mental Rotations Test did not. However, there was a number of significant gender–spatial ability interactions showing that the spatial ability predictors of male performance were different from those of females. Furthermore a number of subjective measures of spatial ability and experience with instructional animations and static pictures were found to be significant predictors. The results suggest that gender and the type of spatial ability measures used both have a significant impact on gauging the effectiveness of instructional animations. Spatial ability measures should be tailored to gender and the specific nature of the learning domains to yield more consistent research results.

Visual cues enhance user performance in virtual environments

We examined the effects of visual cueing in an effort to identify the optimal way to present information in a 3-dimensional (3D) virtual environment. To strategically compensate for the lack of permanency, we combined dynamic and static visualizations into 1 medium by adding transparent static images (visual cueing) to an animation. A between-subjects experiment (N = 100) was conducted to examine the effects of visual cueing on cognitive load and learning outcomes. Results showed that combining dynamic and static visualizations was beneficial for reducing cognitive load, although it did not improve learning outcomes. On the basis of our findings, we suggest a design strategy for improving the effectiveness of 3D instructional animations that is broadly applicable to numerous learning contexts, such as virtual or augmented reality.

Learning from instructional animations: How does prior knowledge mediate the effect of visual cues?

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cueing and prior knowledge on learning and mental effort of students studying an animation with narration. This study employed a 2 (no cueing vs. visual cueing) × 2 (low vs. high prior knowledge) between‐subjects factorial design. The results revealed a significant interaction effect between prior knowledge and cueing on learning. Low prior knowledge learners had higher scores after studying an instructional animation with visual cues, compared to those who studied the same instructional animation without visual cues. Conversely, when cues were not provided, high prior knowledge learners outperformed those high prior knowledge learners who studied with the cued version of an instructional animation. These results indicated that the effects of cueing in an instructional animation change depending on the learners' level of prior knowledge. Specifically, low prior knowledge learners benefited more when visual cues were provided, whereas cues did not facilitate learning for high prior knowledge learners.

Can mimicking gestures facilitate learning from instructional animations and static graphics?

The main aim of the study was to investigate the effects of mimicking gestures on learning from animations and static graphics. In Experiment 1, 48 university students learned to write Mandarin characters, and in Experiment 2, 44 young children learned to write Persian characters. In both experiments, participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions – animations without gestures, animations with gestures, statics without gestures, or statics with gestures. All groups viewed instructional content showing how to write the foreign characters, and then were tested. In the gesturing conditions, participants were required to mimic the character writing at the same time as watching the instructional presentation, and in the non-gesturing conditions, mimicking was prevented. Results from both experiments indicated a presentation-gesturing interaction, where gesturing was an advantage for static graphics but not animations. Experiment 2 found an advantage for animations over static graphics, and gesturing compared to not gesturing.

The Similarities and Nuances of Explicit Design Characteristics of Well-Received Online Instructional Animations

Online learning is becoming more prevalent throughout the years and there are various methods available to learn via the internet, one of which is by watching educational videos from online streaming sites such as YouTube. With the increasing availability of instructional animations on the internet, it can be beneficial to know how well-received instructional animations are designed. Hence, this explorative article focuses on a hybrid of directed and interpretive content analysis study of explicit design characteristics and visual representations of these animations. Animation samples for the study were selected from established educational animation content creators on YouTube using several criteria. Aspects such as design characteristics and visual representations were analysed and discussed in relation to the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning principles and a characterization system of expository animation. Based on this approach, common characteristics and unique approaches to creating well-received instructional animations for online viewing are found. Thus, by being able to identify and being aware of these salient design characteristics (i.e. visual representations, sound and visual cues), educators and animation designers can incorporate them in their own instructional animations.

Augmenting Instructional Animations with a Body Analogy to Help Children Learn about Physical Systems.

We investigated whether augmenting instructional animations with a body analogy (BA) would improve 10- to 13-year-old children’s learning about class-1 levers. Children with a lower level of general math skill who learned with an instructional animation that provided a BA of the physical system, showed higher accuracy on a lever problem-solving reaction time task than children studying the instructional animation without this BA. Additionally, learning with a BA led to a higher speed–accuracy trade-off during the transfer task for children with a lower math skill, which provided additional evidence that especially this group is likely to be affected by learning with a BA. However, overall accuracy and solving speed on the transfer task was not affected by learning with or without this BA. These results suggest that providing children with a BA during animation study provides a stepping-stone for understanding mechanical principles of a physical system, which may prove useful for instructional designers. Yet, because the BA does not seem effective for all children, nor for all tasks, the degree of effectiveness of body analogies should be studied further. Future research, we conclude, should be more sensitive to the necessary degree of analogous mapping between the body and physical systems, and whether this mapping is effective for reasoning about more complex instantiations of such physical systems.