Web-Based Animation or Static Graphics: Is the Extra Cost of Animation Worth It?

This quantitative study compared the instructional effects of two web-based animation strategies against static graphics by high and low prior knowledge participants. One strategy used animation to gain attention; the second to gain attention and provide elaboration. Participants were 111 college student volunteers. Two-way multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used to analyze the data. Important findings included equivalent, nonsignificant differences in performance between high and low prior knowledge participants. No main effects were found among the three treatment groups. The effects of the web-based animation strategies on the achievement of participants with low prior knowledge are discussed in detail. ********** Technological advances make it possible to present computer- and web-based multimedia instruction that includes motion, voice, data, text, graphics, and still images (Moore, Burton, & Myers, 2003). One important advancement is animation, in which images are exhibited in motion (Dwyer & Dwyer, 2003). Animation has been the focus of recent attention and interest and has become more popular in computer and web-based instruction (CBI/WBI). Although animation appears to attract learners' attention and increase their motivation to learn, it is still unclear whether animation strategies can facilitate learning. Reiber (1990) suggested that animation can have one of three functions in instruction: (a) attention-gaining, (b) presentation, and (c) practice. However, he pointed out that not enough research had been conducted to ascertain its instructional effectiveness. This lack of empirical research was especially true for animated attention-gaining and practice strategies. This study sought to add to this literature by investigating the instructional effects of two specific web-based animation strategies in facilitating participants' academic achievement: animated attention-gaining and animated elaboration strategies and compare them against static graphics. Animated arrows that directed learners' attention to specific image parts were used as an attention-gaining strategy to arouse participants' interest and aid them in attending to relevant cues and details. Animated text prompts were used as an elaboration strategy to provide additional information and emphasize the most important information in a corresponding instructional text passage. RELATED LITERATURE Information Processing Many early information-processing theories (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968; Klatzky, 1980) described the human brain as similar to a computer, while human learning has been likened to a computer's information processing function. The memory system has three main storage structures: (a) sensory register, which gathers stimuli in the memory system; (b) short-term memory (STM), which serves as temporary storage; and (c) long-term memory (LTM), which permanently stores information. In the sensory register, only a portion of the information is attended to and transferred into STM. Information is selected through a process known as selective perception (Gagne & Driscoll, 1988). Short-term memory can only hold five to nine chunks of information (Miller, 1956). Information in STM may be encoded and stored into LTM. However, not all information stored in LTM may be retrieved. Retrieval is more likely when appropriate cues are provided in the encoding process (Driscoll, 2005). Animation as an Aid in Information Processing Reiber, Boyce, and Assad (1990) maintained that "... although animation did not affect learning, it helped decrease the time necessary to retrieve information from long-term memory and then subsequently reconstruct it in short-term memory" (p. 50). Reiber (1990) further explained that animation facilitates the reconstruction process during retrieval by encouraging organization. One animation strategy used in this study was animated arrows used to gain attention. …