Redundancy Principle
Ruth Clark is a science undergraduate who has also served as a former president of the International Society of Performance Improvement. She was also a member of the American Educational Research Association. She now works as a teacher, a speaker and a writer. She has dedicated her time to research in instructional technology and has written on effective e-learning, with the aim of developing it professionally.
She came up with six principles of effective e-learning with regard to the use of the various multi-media in teaching and learning. These principles are redundancy, contiguity, modality, coherence, and personalization and multimedia principles. A multimedia presentation passes through two major phases which are the sensory memory and the working memory. The sensory memory comprises of ears and eyes whereas the working memory consists of phonetic and visual processing. The multimedia presentation is made up of an audio narration, printed words or text and pictures or animation.
Contrary to common belief and practice, the redundancy principle illustrates how learning is compromised when complex on-screen graphics are incorporated with audio back-up and presented at the same time. It shows that the use of audio narrations with text to explain images can compromise learning. Research has portrayed that optimum comprehension levels are achieved when audio output alone is used to expound on graphics instead of a combination of both audio and text as indicated by (Ruth, 2005, p.6). The principle discourages the addition of texts to narrated graphics since the simultaneous use of both audio and text content in visual presentation overwhelms the visual channel of one’s memory. After entering the learner’s intellectual system through the eyes, the animation is processed in the visual channel.
At the same time, audio content gets processed in the auditory channel after entering the learner’s cognitive system through the ears. The text content on the screen also enters through the eyes and undergoes processing in the visual channel. This causes the cognitive resource in the visual channel to get overwhelmed as it has to process both the printed text and animation. The cognitive load is affected by three major factors namely the complexity of the learning material, materials being used for instructions and the expertise or the capability of the learner. The complexity of the learning material affects the cognitive load in that its ability to be understood may vary as stated in the cognitive load theory which illustrates that it’s harder to memorize a sixteen-digit credit card number than an eight-digit phone number.
In the absence of on-screen visual, the auditory and visual elements of the learner’s memory do not get overloaded which consequently increases learning as dual codes are availed. As a result of cognitive overload, some crucial details of the animation fail to be “coded” into a mental presentation in the visual channel. According to (Ruth, 2005, p.6) the principle recommends the exemption of narrations when text and pictorial graphics are simultaneously incorporated in a fast presentation. It also recommends the use of narration when pictorial graphics have not been used in a presentation; there is sufficient time for comprehension of the pictures and words or the presentation has made use of key words alongside the pictures.
There are two YouTube illustrations depicting instances in which the redundancy principle has either been violated or obeyed. The first video solely delves into the redundancy principle and teaches on how multimedia presentations are affected by the inclusion or the omission of audio narration and text explanation. (https://youtu.be/rxGeoOM8k_A). The second video covers a wider range of the principles of multimedia learning and slightly touches on the redundancy principle (https://youtu.be/WsI8h7qErc0). The first instance depicts the process through which clouds are formed. It shows the incorporation of both text and audio narration alongside a pictorial image on a screen.
This violates the redundancy principle. The inclusion of the pictures in the presentation diverts the attention of the learner whereby he or she has his or her concentration divided between looking at the image and perusing through the text. The movements in the animated image are also distractive as the eye keeps following the movement of the elements. This renders the narration of the onscreen text insignificant as the information being relayed is already on the screen. (https://youtu.be/rxGeoOM8k_A?t=211). The second instance shows a scenario where an individual attempts to state the redundancy principle on a screen with the use of audio and on-screen text with the exemption of pictorial graphics. (https://youtu.be/rxGeoOM8k_A?t=235). The omission of images in the presentation enables the learner to focus their attention on the on-screen text and listen to the audio narration. The presentation is clear, simple and easy to comprehend. It does not contain any distractions that may divert the learner’s attention. In this instance, the principle has been abided by.
The redundancy principle however has exceptions. Scientific research on presentations involving narration and use of text has shown that the inclusion of both improves learning massively. When no visual material is applied concurrently, the utilization of audio and visual modes for presentation is an effective way of upholding learning. In rare cases when learners do not have excellent reading skills, narration of on-screen text could be significant in learning. The principle is very fundamental for the growth of e-learning as its benefits can increase the level of educational learning. The principle is important in the gauging of the principles that aid visuals in the passing of information.
References.
Redundancy Principle for Effective e-learning. (2016). YouTube. Retrieved 9 April 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxGeoOM8k_A
Nguyen, F., & Clark, R. C. (2005). Efficiency in e-learning: Proven instructional methods for faster, better, online learning. Learning Solutions.
