Analysis of the link between e-learning effectiveness and choice of media for contents

In the increasingly interesting topic of e-learning, there is a tendency among practitioners to use “richer” media (such as fullmotion video) that cost significantly higher than other media choices (such as sound only) without any clear and justifiable estimates of incremental learning effectiveness. This paper presents the current results of a research in progress to link the choice of media (not choice of delivery technology) with learning effectiveness. Our research model hypothesizes that the link between choice of media for contents and learning effectiveness is moderated by the characteristics of the subject matter, learning styles of the learners and the learning objectives. The research, operationalized as a series of quasi-experiments based on the Solomon’s four group design method, is also described. The results from the initial quasi-experiment will be presented at the conference.