Evaluation of alternate multimedia for web-based asynchronous learning

Choosing the appropriate multimedia for the learning modules or systems is critical to designing an efficient web-based asynchronous learning systems or modules. In response to this need, a study was conducted to gauge the effectiveness of different multimedia combinations, namely: text; audio and synchronized text; audio, video and synchronized text, for procedural-based tasks to support web-based learning for a senior-level Production, Planning and Control Course. Data were collected on performance, process and subjective measures. Analyses of these learning systems throw new light on the effectiveness of the different multimedia combinations to improve web-based learning of procedural tasks. The most salient finding of the study is that user performance is dependent on the type of multimedia combination and the type of learning task in terms of complexity. Interestingly, for low difficulty procedural tasks, the choice of multimedia is not critical for either performance or process efficiency. However, when the procedural tasks are complex, a combination of audio, video and synchronized text yields the best results both in terms of learning performance and process efficiency measured in terms of amount of time spent viewing the modules and the module accessing frequency. Another important finding is that an easy-to-use system does not imply an efficient learning system. The study helps recommend design guidelines for the most appropriate type of multimedia to be used in designing web-based asynchronous learning systems for different levels of procedural tasks.