Use of animated text to improve the learning of basic mathematics

A small detail can have large consequences. Current technological systems have opened up a huge world of possibilities for teachers at all levels and in every field. This research study concerns the role that can be played by technological resources to improve or promote the cognitive processes that make understanding and learning possible. More specifically it is meant to examine, within the framework of the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning and of the Cognitive Load Theory, put forward by Mayer and Sweller respectively, the benefits that the introduction of slight changes in multimedia materials – in this case, the application of an animation effect to a handwritten text of a mathematical nature – can have over learning quantity and quality. The study involved 255 students in the 2nd and 3rd years of the Spanish secondary education (Educación Secundaria Obligatoria, ESO), who received a computer-based lesson in video podcast format about elementary event probability. Results suggest that suitable inclusion of an animation effect in the materials can facilitate the cognitive processes that specialise in selecting information, building representation models, and making sense, thus promoting students' learning ability.