Multimedia Design Guide

Implementing or creating multimedia – videos, slideshows, diagrams, infographics, podcasts etc. – requires careful consideration of how the content will support learning.

When designing or incorporating multimedia content, the goal is to reduce extraneous cognitive load in the working memory in order to optimize deeper learning. Cognitive Load Theory describes three types of cognitive load:

• Extraneous Load: refers to unnecessary and distracting information
• Intrinsic Load: refers to the inherent complexity of new material
• Germane Load: refers to linking new information with current information

De Jong (2010) highlights three main recommendations when considering each type of cognitive load:

• avoid non-essential and confusing information (extraneous load),
• present material that aligns with the prior knowledge of the learner (intrinsic load),
• stimulate processes that lead to conceptually rich and deep knowledge (germane load)

Cognitive Load Strategy	Principles	Description
Reduce Extraneous Processing (Keep it Simple)	Coherence Principle	People learn better when extraneous words, pictures and sounds are excluded rather than included. Example: Avoid adding additional content that is not directly relevant to the topic.
	Signalling Principle	People learn better when cues that highlight the organization of the essential material are added. Example: Use cues such as highlighting, bolding, or icons to help focus learners’ attention.
	Redundancy Principle	People learn better from graphics and narration than from graphics, narration and on-screen text. Example: If graphics and narration are present, adding words may increase cognitive load.
	Spatial Contiguity Principle	People learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented near rather than far from each other on the page or screen. Example: Ensure that images and relevant text such as captions or descriptions are located physically close together on the screen.
	Temporal Contiguity Principle	People learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented simultaneously rather than successively. Example: Ensure that visuals and audio occur at the same time.
Manage Essential Processing (Keep it Short)	Segmenting Principle	People learn better from a multimedia lesson when it is presented in user-paced segments rather than as a continuous unit. Example: Break multimedia lessons into small chunks and provide opportunities for users to stop, reflect, address questions and resume when ready. Research supports that videos are most effective when kept to 5-6 minutes in length.
	Pre-Training Principle	People learn better from a multimedia lesson when they know the names and characteristics of the main concepts. Example: Introduce key terms and definitions to learners before introducing the main theory or concept
	Modality Principle	People learn better from graphics and narrations than from animation and on-screen text. Example: Narration is preferable to written text when graphics or graphic animations are used.
	Multimedia Principle	People learn better from words and pictures than from words alone. Example: Use images in combination with text when visuals can be used to enhance or clarify information.
Foster Generative Processing (Keep it Real)	Personalization Principle	People learn better from multimedia lessons when words are in conversational style rather than formal style. Example: Use the first person when narrating video. Avoid sounding overly academic when possible and reading too closely from a script.
	Voice Principle	People learn better when the narration in multimedia lessons is spoken in a friendly human voice rather than a machine voice. Example: Use your own voice whenever possible to create a connection with your learners.
	Image Principle	People do not necessarily learn better from a multimedia lesson when the speaker’s image is added to the screen. Example: “Talking head” videos may not necessarily increase learning, but can add a personal touch.

References

De Jong, T. (2010). Cognitive load theory, educational research, and instructional design: Some food for thought. Instructional Science, 38, 105-134.

Heick, Terry. Cognitive load theory: A definition. teachthought. https://www.teachthought.com/learning/cognitive-load-theory/.

Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). New York, NY, US: Cambridge University Press.

University of British Columbia. Documentation: Design Principles for Multimedia. https://wiki.ubc.ca/Documentation:Design_Principles_for_Multimedia