Backgrounds, Animations, and Sound Effects
Discussion:
1. Both lecturers are talented and knowledgeable. They both use animations. What differences did you notice (if any) between their animations?
2. If you had to define the purpose of animations in an instructional video, what would it be?
The Research
What is the purpose of backgrounds, animations, and imagery with an instructional video? Swartz (2012) calls this the “physical design.” When some teachers first make a video, they may use a flashy, complex background and animated titles. The final product might bring them pride because of how good it looks but according to Sung & Mayer (2012) the good looks might be purposeless. The mere inclusion of imagery and animation is helpful only if it drives learning. Sung & Mayer sum up three types of imagery: instructive, imagery that directly applies to the instruction, seductive, imagery that looks good but does not directly relate to the instruction, and decorative, imagery that is neutral and not related to the instruction. The only type of imagery that should be included is instructive. Keep this principle in mind when choosing what clothes to wear, the animations you include. Additionally, design the background in a minimalist fashion. One solid color such as black or a simple texture is perfect. Avoid flourishes, logos, and powerpoint templates with random objects embedded in them.
Mayer (2009) summarizes fourteen of fourteen studies in which extraneous words, pictures and sounds were included in presentations for an experimental group and excluded from a control group. All fourteen studies revealed that students retained more information from multimedia that excluded extraneous information (effect size 0.97). This should be a lesson to those who design videos that purposeless animation, awkward patterns, bright colors, and extraneous sounds should be avoided. Bozeman Science lecturer Mr. Anderson creates instructional videos with solid black backgrounds (YouTube, 2015). In choosing black, photos, text, and any other visual elements are amplified for the learner. Any time he uses a slide animation, it is for the purpose of illustrating a concept.
Mayer (2009) summarizes fourteen of fourteen studies in which extraneous words, pictures and sounds were included in presentations for an experimental group and excluded from a control group. All fourteen studies revealed that students retained more information from multimedia that excluded extraneous information (effect size 0.97). This should be a lesson to those who design videos that purposeless animation, awkward patterns, bright colors, and extraneous sounds should be avoided. Bozeman Science lecturer Mr. Anderson creates instructional videos with solid black backgrounds (YouTube, 2015). In choosing black, photos, text, and any other visual elements are amplified for the learner. Any time he uses a slide animation, it is for the purpose of illustrating a concept.