Investigating the redundancy effect in multimedia learning on a computer science domain

This paper looks at Mayer´s theory on the redundancy principle and applies this theory on a computer science domain. This principle states that students learn better from animation and narration than from animation, narration, and text. The topic is on memory management in the subject of operating system concepts. In a series of two experimental studies, a total of 36 students took part in this experiment where these students were divided into two groups. The first group learned the module containing materials with only animation and narration. The second group of students viewed materials with animation, narration and text. The students who had no prior knowledge on the subject where given a test on recall and transfer knowledge after viewing the treatments. This paper reports the results of the experiment which may provide useful guidance for instructional designers specifically in the area of computer science.