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The popularity of using animations to help learners
understand and remember information has greatly increased
since the advent of powerful graphics-oriented computers.
This technology allows animations to be produced much more
easily and cheaply than in former years. Previously,
traditional animation required specialized labor-intensive
techniques that were both time-consuming and expensive. In
contrast, software is now available that makes it possible
for individual educators to author their own animations
without the need for specialist expertise. Teachers are no
longer limited to relying on static graphics but can readily
convert them into educational animations.
Educators are enthusiastically taking up the
opportunities that computer animation offers for depicting
dynamic content. For example, PowerPoint now has an
easy-to-use animation facility that, in the right hands, can
produce very effective educational animations. Because
animations can explicitly depict changes over time (temporal
changes), they seem ideally suited to the teaching of
processes and procedures. When used to present dynamic
content, animations can mirror both the changes in position
(translation), and the changes in form (transformation) that
are fundamental to learning this type of subject matter.
In contrast with static pictures, animations can show
temporal change directly (rather than having to indicate it
indirectly using auxiliary markings such as arrows and
motion lines). Using animations instead of static graphics
removes the need for these added markings so that displays
can be not only simpler and less cluttered, but also more
vivid, engaging, and more intuitively comprehended. In
addition, the learner does not have to interpret the
auxiliary markings and try to infer the changes that they
summaries. Such interpretation and inference may demand a
level of graphicacy skills that the learner does not
possess. With animated depictions, information about the
changes involved is available to be read straight from the
display without the learner needing to perform mental
animation. It's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's more like
being kissed instead of reading about a kiss.
On the surface, it seems that animations should be ideal for presenting dynamic content. However, research evidence about the educational effectiveness of animations is mixed. Various investigations have compared the educational effectiveness of static and animated displays across a number of content domains. While there have been some findings that show positive effects of animations on learning, other studies have found no effects or even negative effects. In general, it can be concluded that animations are not intrinsically more effective than static graphics. Rather, the particular characteristics of individual animations and how they are used play a key role in the effects that they have on learning.
Well-designed animations may help students learn faster
and easier. They are also excellent aid to teachers when it
comes to explaining difficult subjects. The difficulty of
subjects may arise due to the involvement of mathematics or
imagination. For instance, the flow of electric current is
invisible. The operation of electric circuits is difficult
for students to understand at the beginning. With the aid of
computer animations, learning and teaching may become
easier, faster and amusing!
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