Using commonly-available technologies to create online multimedia lessons through the application of the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning

• Published in: Educational technology research and development Vol. 71; no. 3; pp. 1033 - 1053
• Main Authors: Cavanagh, Thomas M., Kiersch, Christa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.06.2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult Learning; Andragogy; Animation; Authentic Learning; Cognitive Ability; Cognitive Psychology; Cognitive style; Course Content; Curriculum Development; Development; Development Article; Distance learning; Education; Educational objectives; Educational Practices; Educational Technology; Electronic Learning; Epistemology; File sharing; Influence of Technology; Instructional Effectiveness; Instructional Materials; Learner Engagement; Learning and Instruction; Learning Processes; Lesson plans; Long Term Memory; Memory; Multimedia; Multimedia Instruction; Nonverbal Learning; Online Courses; Online instruction; Short Term Memory; Technology Uses in Education; Online multimedia lessons; Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning; E-learning
• ISSN: 1042-1629; 1556-6501
• DOI: 10.1007/s11423-022-10181-1

Principles derived from the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML; Mayer in: Multimedia learning, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2021) provide valuable guidance for enlisting commonly-available technologies to create effective online multimedia lessons. Specifically, CTML can guide instructional designers on the use of slide-sharing programs to create concise, narrated animation segments; the use of survey programs to interpolate questions and prompts between these segments to facilitate generative learning activities; and the use of video-sharing sites to provide learners with control over relatively superficial aspects of instruction. The application of CTML to the design of online multimedia lessons raises a number of theoretical and practical questions, including the need to better understand the relationship between working memory capacity and working memory duration, the importance of retrieval as a learning process, and the relative impact of selection and organization processes on learning.