Multimedia learning

Author: (American) Mayer
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: "Multimedia Learning will be an influential book. Richard E. Mayer has introduced highly scientific and applied research into the field of multimedia education. It is one of the most engaging books I have seen in this period." — Walter Kintsch, author of Understanding the Mind Richard E. Mayer is a renowned contemporary educational psychologist, cognitive psychologist, and experimental psychologist, currently serving as a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has previously served as the chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, editor-in-chief of the prestigious Journal of Educational Psychology, and president of the Educational Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association. He has published nearly 300 experimental research papers and close to 20 books, and is a pioneer and leader in the cognitive psychology research of multimedia learning. In 2000, he was awarded the prestigious Thorndike Award for Lifetime Achievement in Educational Psychology, following in the footsteps of psychologists such as Skinner, Piaget, and Bruner. The Multimedia Encyclopedia has become a new member of the many reference tools available to students, and information combining words and images is ubiquitous on the web. Do these presentation forms help learners? How do people learn from the presentation of words and images? What is the best way to design multimedia information? These are questions raised in the development of image technology. In this book, my basic principle is to answer these questions through a comprehensive and systematic body of research. Understanding how people learn from words and images is beneficial for mastering how to design multimedia information. Throughout the 1990s and beyond, my colleagues and I conducted numerous studies on multimedia learning at Santa Barbara. This book systematically summarizes our findings, which include seven principles of multimedia information design and a cognitive theory of multimedia learning. In short, this book summarizes research aimed at realizing the potential of multimedia learning—the potential of using words and images together to enhance human understanding. This book is written for those interested in the scientific principles of multimedia learning. It can be used in university courses such as psychology, education, and computer science, as well as in certain disciplines like educational technology, instructional design, applied cognitive psychology, technical writing, graphic design, and human-computer interaction. I do not require readers to have any prior knowledge or experience in psychology, education, or technology. All that is needed is an interest in the potential of multimedia learning—specifically, an interest in how to develop and utilize the potential of multimedia information to enhance human understanding. This book is both theoretically and practically oriented. On one hand, it is aimed at those interested in the fundamental cognitive psychology theories and research on how people learn from words and images. On the other hand, it is aimed at those interested in the practical aspects of designing effective multimedia presentations. If you are interested in the theoretical or applied foundations of multimedia learning (or both), then this book is for you.