8+-+Twelve+Multimedia+Principles+and+ELLs

Reduce Extraneous Processing
1. Coherence Principle - exclude irrelevant words, sounds, graphics 2. Signaling Principle - highlight essential material 3. Redundancy Principle - Graphics + Narration (NOT graphics, narration & on-screen text) ELLs - allowing students to CHOOSE pictures or narration to help them understand text beneficial Redundant text may be helpful with non-native speakers or for all learners when the vocabulary used is highly technical or unfamiliar. Eliminate negative effects of redundancy by making presentation slow-paced or under learners' control. Redundancy principle reduced by SHORT CAPTIONS placed next to the graphics they refer to. Narration BEFORE the printed text, NOT simultaneous If NO graphics at all (Mayer, 2009, p.130-134) 4. Spatial Contiguity Principle - Corresponding words & graphics near one another 5. Temporal Contiguity Principle - Corresponding words & graphics presented simultaneously

Manage Essential Processing
6. Segmenting Principle - Present lesson in user-paced segments 7. Pre-training Principle - Teach terms & basic concepts before main lesson 8. Modality Principle - Graphics & Narration (NOT Animation and Text) Printed words may be beneficial for non-native speakers or hearing impaired (p.200) -- best when highlighted, flashing, etc.(p. 215) Printed text LASTS LONGER than narration -- more time to process. Stronger for system paced vs. learner-paced lesson Printed words may be beneficial if words are hard to pronounce, include symbols (p.219)

Fostering Generative Processing
9. Multimedia Principle - Words + Pictures better than just words 10. Personalization Principle - Conversation style (NOT formal) p. 253 Mayer (2009) discusses the personalization effect, stating that more informal, conversational language is more effective. With non-native English speakers, he attributed less personalization effects to them "not able to appreciate the subtle differences in conversational style" (p. 253). -- I believe he also fails to take into consideration cultural norms that can be very strong. For example, Spanish speakers place a lot of importance on social status, age, and authority. They may reject narration or instruction of any kind that is conversational and friendly because it contradicts their culturally accepted perceptions of teachers' and students' roles. Most native Spanish-speakers expect teacher-student relationships to be formal and may not be receptive to an informal instructional style--could be have a very detrimental effect on extraneous processing. Not a seductive detail, but a repellent detail. Another cultural consideration regarding voice-- gender and accent issues. Some cultures may not respect and be receptive to voices of certain genders or accents. With my native-Spanish speakers, would someone with a light Spanish accent in multimedia presentations be better, more personal, than native-English speakers? p. 257 - "People may be more influenced by online spoken messages when they perceive the speaker's voice to be coming from someone like them in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, or emotional state" (Mayer, 2009, p. 257-258). 11. Voice Principle - Narration in friendly human voice (NOT robot) 12. Image Principle - (Not Substantiated) - Speaker's image on screen helpful? Could be extraneous, but could be helpful if pointing (signaling).

Mayer, R. E. (2009). //Multimedia learning// (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.