Evaluation of presentation modalities in a hypermedia system

This paper is a description of a pilot study that compared the relative effectiveness of three versions of a hypermedia system (Text, Sound/Text, Sound) designed to permit inservice teachers to learn instructional design from a computer. Analysis of the test data of twenty-seven participants showed that learning was greatest in the Sound version. Results of the interviews indicated that those working with sound could focus their attention on the critical information needed to make successful interpretations. Participants working in the Text and Sound/Text versions of the system, however did not learn as much and stated their displeasure with reading so much text from the screen, despite the presence of three graphical browsers. Recommendations for revisions to the materials and test items arc suggested. 0 I997 Elsevier Science Ltd BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE Hypermedia is a relatively recent philosophy of representative and information access [l]. ‘l$e information stored by a hypermedia system can be made to encompass one or more conventional media including text, graphics and sound. Evaluations of hyper(visual)media augmented with auditory prompting has become common in the literature. Austin [2] for example recently compared thiee interactive media formats in an RTV/DVI computer-mediated lesson with twelve military personael. Davidson [3] evaluated versions of a reading program in primary-school classrooms. Schmidt 141 compared two versions of an interactive hypermedia system. Torgesen [5] evaluated three versions of a computer program to improve sight-word recognition in seventeen learning disabled children. Mann [6] evaluated three versions of a structured tutorial that used temporal sound, and Bridgman [7] evaluated versions of interactive voice in a Computer-Based Training unit. Despite this capability and researbh, inappropriate presentation methods can still exacerbate or compound the problem of forgetting or ignoring critical information from a computer interface. This pilot study compared three versions of a hypermedia system to determine the effects of the presentation modality (Text, Sound/Text, Sound) on attention to critical information, and to make recommendations for revisions to the hypermedia system. This system embodied the integration of elements from both structural and functional learning models [8-121. The structural model emphasiged the storage and retrieval of information from human memory, and the functional model required the participant’s personal involvement in knowledge creation.