Animated Demonstrations versus Written Instructions for Learning Procedural Tasks

摘要

Direct manipulation interfaces and the need for faster learning have led to the development of animated demonstrations so that users can learn interface procedures by watching. To compare animated demonstrations to written instructions we observed users learning and performing HyperCard tasks on an Apple Macintosh computer. Results showed that demonstrations provided faster and more accurate initial learning. However, when the instructions were removed, users of demonstrations took the same and sometimes more time to perform the tasks than did users of written instructions. This finding indicates that demonstrations alone may not provide the necessary knowledge to acquire interface procedures after initial instruction. Keywords: Computer applications, Computer programming, Computer aided design, Computer aided manufacturing, Verbal behavior.