Capture Learners’ Attention with Multimodal eLearning

We’re bombarded with headlines and statistics about thegrowth of online and mobile video viewing; daily viewing of video—social mediacontent, news, and advertising—continues to increase. Yet a recent Pew Research Center study found that younger adults are more likely to read news,albeit online, than to watch it, compared to those over age 50. How can weexplain the apparent discrepancy?

Preferences. Some people might still argue that they“learn better” using a specific modality: visual, auditory, kinesthetic—eventhough research has pretty thoroughly demolished the idea of hard-wiredlearning “styles.” But the myth persists. Why? Because learners do havedifferent abilities and interests—and they do have preferred modes of learning;it’s simply not a requirement that eLearning be tailored to meet eachindividual’s preferences.

On the other hand, it is important to acknowledgethat individual learners are, well, unique individuals. Some of us cannot sitthrough more than five minutes of video without becoming antsy. Others eagerlybinge-watch movies, TV series, social media videos, even ads, for hours on end.Some began voraciously reading anything and everything while still inpreschool; others get through college without cracking a book.

Preferences may vary by age, experience, ability, andopportunity. A busy person who finds herself spending a lot of time in the carmight discover a “preference” for audio learning, listening to lectures,podcasts, or books while driving. A person whose dyslexia has always madereading a struggle might prefer to learn via video. A person whose eyesight isfading due to age or illness might get less enjoyment out of reading and videosthan he used to and find himself turning to audio books.

The smart eLearning designer accommodates any and all ofthese preferences; offering information in multiple modalities can lead togreater engagement by larger numbers of learners. And, according to research published by Cisco, “Students engaged in learning that incorporatesmultimodal designs, on average, outperform students who learn using traditionalapproaches with single modes.”

Many learners who use varied modalities or take advantage offeatures that are generally regarded as accommodations for people withdisabilities, such as captioning, do so not because of a disability but rather forreasons of convenience and personal preference. A studyconducted by Oregon State University that surveyed 2,800 students at 15American universities and colleges found that a third of respondents usedcaptioning of audio learning materials, when available, to help them stayfocused and to improve their comprehension and retention of the material. Thatnumber represents a significant proportion of students, particularly in lightof an additional finding: More than half of the respondents said that they didnot know whether captions were available or that captions were not available.In fact, most people who use captioning are not hard of hearing; a 2006 study by the UK’s Office of Communications found that only 20 percent ofthe people who used captions were hard of hearing.

The students who use captioning are on to something: Consuminginformation in multiple modalities can help retention. A 2007 study by thePoynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, analyzed how people read news—andhow much they retained—and found that multiple modalities led to greaterretention (see References). Study participants who saw news stories that were a“graphics-laden” mix of charts, Q&A, photos, maps, and other content rememberedmore information than readers exposed to text-heavy versions.

eLearning can easily combine modalities

Principles of user-centered and universal design emphasizeflexibility and meeting the needs of learners; accommodating a wide range ofindividual preferences and abilities is one of the seven basic principles of universal design. Creating eLearning to encompass multiple modalitiessupports the goal of improving the learner experience.

Designers of eLearning are not limited to audio, video, ortext; additional modalities abound, and more are on the way. Interactiveformats such as games, animations, and simulations use audio, video, andaudio sensory inputs, true. But learners experience an interactive simulationfar differently from how they perceive text on a screen or a passive video-viewingexperience. If the goal is to capture their attention and entice learners tospend more time with an eLearning module, expanding beyond the basics isessential. As AI, virtual reality, and augmented reality gain traction,learners will look for even more options in their eLearning.

References

Adam, Pegie Stark, Sara Quinn, and Rick Edmonds. Eyetrackingthe News: A Study of Print and Online Reading. St. Petersburg, FL: ThePoynter Institute, 2007.

Institute for Human Centered Design. “Principles ofUniversal Design.”
https://www.humancentereddesign.org/universal-design/principles-universal-design

Linder, Katie. Studentuses and perceptions of closed captions and transcripts: Results from anational study. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Ecampus ResearchUnit, 2016.

Metiri Group, for Cisco. Multimodal Learning Through Media:What the Research Says. 2008.
https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/solutions/industries/docs/education/Multimodal-Learning-Through-Media.pdf

Mitchell, Amy. “Younger adults more likely than their eldersto prefer reading news.” Pew Research Center. 6 October 2016.
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/06/younger-adults-more-likely-than-their-elders-to-prefer-reading-news/

Pipps, Val, Heather Walter, Kathleen Endres, and PatrickTabatcher. “Information Recall of Internet News: Does Design Make a Difference?A Pilot Study.” Journal of Magazine & New Media Research, Vol. 11, No.1. October 2009.
https://aejmcmagazine.arizona.edu/Journal/Fall2009/Pipps.pdf