Multimedia, motivation and online learning: The effects of visual text, narrated text, and talking heads

INTRODUCTION: We want to know what to teach teachers so that they will present content knowledge in the best possible light. And by light we mean the light, sound, and images that computer text, narrated text, and a “talking head” can provide and for whom. For those students who begin an online class with a relatively external locus of control, can we empower them to take charge of their own learning? For those students who begin with limited multimedia design and content knowledge, can we bring them up to speed? Does narrated text lead to transfer learning? What do teachers need to know and do to answer these questions? Our research will provide support for the answers. PURPOSE: The purpose of this research is to develop a model of the strongest possible online teachers as learners. METHODOLOGY: Participants: The 109 participants were graduate students in Health Science who are training for a doctorate and plan to teach and serve as professional leaders in a wide range of health care settings. Materials: During the first and only physical meeting of the class, at the beginning of the term, consenting participants were asked to complete three information-controlled content modules online, half rote, half transfer (application) type questions about statistics and about conflict resolution. RESULTS: The results support the static-media hypothesis and indicate that controlling for media type, rote memory skill, pretest knowledge, and age, students are better able to answer transfer learning questions when they are presented with text with narration (TN) then with a talking head (TH) or with computer text alone (CT). CONCLUSIONS: As in previous research by Mayer et al., (2005), when student read information via TN, they are better able to transfer their learning from what is presented to what they need the information to do for them in the learning environment