INSTRUCTIONAL CONDITIONS FOR USING DYNAMIC VISUAL-DISPLAYS - A REVIEW

A review of research related to the learning effect of dynamic versus static visual displays in media-based instruction is presented. The analysis reveals that the dynamic visual display (DVD) is generally more effective than the static visual display (SVD). However, the research findings do not consistently support the superior effect of DVDs. These conflicting findings seem to be related to the different theoretical rationales and methodological approaches used in various studies and suggest that the use of DVDs should be determined selectively. From the literature review and theoretical discussions about instructional functions of DVDs, we propose six instructional conditions under which DVDs can be effectively used. The conditions are for: (a) demonstrating sequential actions in a procedural task; (b) simulating causal models of complex system behaviors; (c) explicitly representing invisible system functions and behaviors; (d) illustrating a task which is difficult to describe verbally; (e) providing a visual analogy for an abstract and symbolic concept, and (f) obtaining attention focused on specific tasks or presentation displays. Finally, several important considerations for the design and presentation of DVDs are discussed.