Multimedia Learning

This book was necessary for a class I'm taking. It arrived in plenty of time and in good shape. Thanks! The content is easy to read and very helpful when creating multimedia instruction.

If you present, it's imperative that you understand the physiology behind how people retain information. This book is of particular help when it comes to using media tools -- like PowerPoint.

This is one of the best books I have read on how students learn. Mayer's cognitive model, while limited to visual and auditory channels, provides a wealth of possibilities for maximizing the retention and understanding of information by students. Mayer practices what he preaches and writes a compelling, easy-to-understanding, summary of his ten years of research on the subject. The most important part of the book is that Mayer backs up his statements with data from the classroom. I can think of no other book that can make that claim. Like another reviewer said, if it doesn't change the way you teach or think about teaching, it should!

This is a fantastic book! It has a very nice discussion and a summary of the relevant research documenting that students learn best with multimedia presentations (pictures and words). The research results and guidelines for designing figures and computer-based materials will change the way you teach forever, or at least should! As a University Geology Professor, this book has truely been an inspiration to my teaching and writing. The only drawback is that it is a little repetitive, but not enough to detract from the great message contained within.

This is a very well presented description of Mayer's research on whether people learn better using multimedia (as opposed to just reading text). He describes the tests he and colleagues have performed to see how much learners are able to remember (retention) and how much learned information they can apply to new situations (transfer), and presents the results in manner that is relatively easy to understand (you have to know a little something about statistics, but not too much). The number of subjects tested is small, and Mayer is sure to point that out - but the basic research should lay groundwork for others to conduct similar tests on larger groups. The design principles Mayer puts forth (e.g. "contiguity") are very much in keeping with the general principles of good visual design (esposed by design notables such as Robin Williams (not the actor)). It's both a good read and good research.