Learning with Animation

Improving the design and use of educational animations

More and more animations are used in educational resources. For example, animated explanations are included in educational and training websites to help learners understand dynamic content they may otherwise find difficult. Easy-to-use animation software that has appeared in recent years has driven this trend towards greater use of animated presentations.

An example:

Traditional textbooks used static graphics to explain how the human respiratory system works.

However, today's electronic learning materials typically use animated graphics instead because they can show the dynamics of lung action directly. Here's an alternative approach based on much the same diagram but using animation to build up the sequence of events that are involved in respiration.

Intuitively, it seems reasonable for animations to be more effective than text or static graphics , especially when it comes to explaining how things change over time. However, recent research indicates that animations vary considerably in their educational effectiveness. Although some animations undoubtedly improve learning, others are much less successful.

Most of the animations currently used in education and training are developed on the basis of the designers' intuitions about the "best ways" to present dynamic content. If the subject matter is familiar and the animations are reasonably simple, this intuitive approach to design may be satisfactory. However, in many cases teachers and trainers are trying to introduce content that is new to the learners and that involves some complexity.