The influence of different media instructions on solving a procedural task

This study investigates the influence of different forms of media instructions on the process and outcomes of completing a specific procedural task. The experiment was conducted with four student groups having an education in the area of Information Design. In the experiment four media instructions – text only, text plus drawings, a series of pictures and video with narration – were considered. The findings show that the type of media has an influence on the ability to solve a procedural task and on group interaction and the way groups solve a task. Compared with the other instructions, video instruction triggered a different interaction and behavioural pattern during assembly. Participants considered both video and picture instructions as more usable in terms of facilitating the ability to understand, select and apply possible solutions to a given task. However, the video medium showed little influence on dialogue in the group during assembly. The instructions, such as text plus drawings, pictures and video had a similar influence on task performance times, whereas text instructions took three times longer to implement than other instructions.

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