[ExI] Bandwidth of Information Gleaning

[Anne Corwin]

Lee said:
"Did anyone else experience my frustration?  On the other hand, are
there testimonials as to the effectiveness of said presentation?"

I've taken similar courses, and yes, I also find the animations and "multimedia" features to be a hindrance rather than a help to knowledge acquisition.  Generally I turn off the sound on those things (if possible) and just read the text and look at the diagrams. 

There are, though, good and bad ways to use multimedia, and there are contexts in which animation can be used to further understanding (e.g., if I were learning about fluid dynamics, it would be helpful to watch an animation of fluids flowing through a system).  I think that the main problem is that people are tending toward improper and gratuitous use of that sort of multimedia, under the erroneous assumption that bright colors and moving objects are more "high tech" than text and therefore "better".  But the fact of the matter is that some forms of information ARE better transmitted via text -- just because bright colors and moving objects tend to attract attention doesn't mean they are better at getting informational content into a person's brain.  I doubt I would read this mailing list if its communications consisted of lively Flash animations popping into my inbox every day, featuring little talking penguins arguing in cartoon voices about free will and uploading.

- Anne



"Like and equal are not the same thing at all!"
- Meg Murry, "A Wrinkle In Time"
 
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