Multimedia Principles and Iconography Tips for Creating Instructional Media

Using a Theory of Multimedia Learning in the Design of Instructional Media

All of the instructional media I create is informed by Richard Mayer’s Multimedia Learning Principles. These 12 principles for creating instructional media have all been found to better encode presented information, decrease the extraneous cognitive load of the learner, direct necessary attention to relevant details within a presentation, and encourage the formation of schemata (concept clusters, networks, and mental models) in the learner’s mind.

These principles do not apply solely to instructional videos and animations. They also apply to the creation of job aids, infographics, and slide decks.?

Mayer’s Multimedia Learning Principles ensures 3 critical effects result from the design & delivery of instructional materials— Encoding is Enhanced, Schema is Formed, and Cognitive Load is Decreased.?

From the inside-out, the wheel shown matches each result to its respective principles, and then provides how to apply those principles to the design and delivery of a multimedia learning asset.?

(Figure 1.1 Wheel of multimedia learning. Image created by Dave McAlinden)

Mayer’s principles are listed and explained below for your reference.

Coherence - Leave out unnecessary words, sounds, and pictures.

Redundancy - Don't read your slides to students. It causes split attention.

Spatial Contiguity - Present related images and text close in space (simultaneously).

Temporal Contiguity - Present related images and text close in time (even overlap if not too messy).

Segmenting - Present ideas in meaningful chunks to reduce overload.

Signaling - Use arrows, highlighting, and other indicators to focus attention to important information.

Pre-Training - Introduce names and characteristics of main concepts first for better processing of info.

Voice - Speak in a friendly voice to humanize experience.

Image - The instructor's image (talking head) is distracting unless used to address learners directly without visual aids.

Personalization - Use plain, conversational language to aid comprehension.

Modality - Graphics + narration work better than text + animation.

Multimedia - Words and pictures work better than words alone.

The Effective and Fruitful Use of Simple Icons

In addition to authentic visual examples of content being discussed, I elect to use iconography as a primary type of image in my instructional media. The reason for this is that icons improve our ability to scan, contextualize, and retain presented information.?

However, we can’t just use any icon. Several factors and functions should be considered in our selection process to ensure the icons have the effect we intend.?

Here are 5 things considered in the selection, creation, and application of icons:

1. Icons must clearly and quickly represent the concept presented.

For example, the simple scissors icon for the ‘cut’ function of a word processor clearly conveys the function. Simplicity is the overriding quality. The simpler the icon the more efficient the association and encoding is for the learner.?

2. Icons must help further emphasize and illustrate the intended verbal component.

Icons don’t just work well as an accelerant for encoding information. They also work as an organizational tool. For example, simple icons as headers can clearly communicate the subject and context of a section of media. This can also reduce the amount of text that appears in the presentation allowing for verbal information and visual information to be dual-coded into a more coherent signal rather than present the learner with extraneous information of which they are forced to split their attention. Furthermore, icons can be combined to better demonstrate a process or relationship that verbal information may struggle to capture.

3. Icons must presumably act as an easy memory trigger.?

Since they are simple representations of larger concepts, icons can be very efficient prior-knowledge activators. They typically can have the same effect as a meme, but instead of units of cultural meaning they act as units of conceptual meaning. Thus, they activate associations in memory to which new information can attach itself. This process helps assimilate or accommodate new knowledge into existing mental models.?

4. Icons must be universally recognizable.

Icons work best when they are easily understood across audiences with as little inequity as possible. If an icon has to be tentatively deciphered, then we should avoid using it to give better clarity to ideas. It isn’t always easy to do this due to cultural imperatives. However, just being conscious of this will inform decisions around what icons to use and improve their efficacy.

5. Icons must have a consistent size, style, and frequency.

The icon can be realistic or minimalistic just so long as it is simple enough to convey topical gist. I tend to use the most minimalistic icons available given that they are usually of high contrast, have simple and clean lines, and tend to be easier to see for those with visual impairments. Consistency is an important factor. If icons are consistent in their size, style, and frequency, they are easier and quicker to process in the learner's mind. That consistency automatizes their identification. As a result, working memory is freed up to process and associate ideas in a more efficient and contextualized fashion.

Here is an example of multimedia principles and iconography in action:

(Video made with Camtasia. Created by Dave McAlinden for Columbia Universities School of Professional Studies.)

References

Mayer, R. E. (2009).?Multimedia learning?(2nd ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Malamed, C. Visual Language for Designers. Rockport Publishers, 2011.

Saraschandra, K., et al. (2010). Impact of placing icons next to hyperlinks on information-retrieval tasks on the web. Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 32(32).

Young, SL., (1990). Comprehension and Memory of Instruction Manual Warnings: Conspicuous Print and Pictorial Icons.?Human Factors. 1990;32(6):637-649.