The effects of transient information and element interactivity on learning from instructional animations

One potential advantage and special feature of animations is the capability of depicting change. However, from a learning perspective this advantage is often lost due to the negative effects of transient information. This chapter discusses some of the issues associated with learning from animations, but also explores how problem complexity (element interactivity) impacts on learning from animations. We conclude that both transient information and problem complexity need to be addressed when designing instructional animations. However, there are some significant interactions between these two factors, which are seldom examined together, that require further research.