SOME CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH INTEGRATED COMPUTER-BASED TRAINING SOFTWARE CAN FACILITATE LEARNING

When students are required to learn a new computer application program , frequently they need to split their attention between material in a manual and material on the screen because neither is self-contained. P revious work has indicated that split-attention can interfere with lea rning because the need to mentally integrate material imposes an extra neous cognitive load. Alternatively, even if the screen-based material is self-contained the material of a redundant manual, if processed by learners, can also impose an extraneous cognitive load. Under these c ircumstances, learning may be facilitated by the use of self-contained , screen-based material alone. In Experiment 1, the first author devel oped a windows spreadsheet, computer-based training package with an in tegrated format, to test these hypotheses. The split-attention effect was investigated by comparing the performance of a group of students u sing the integrated computer-based training software with that of a gr oup using a conventional manual plus the computer software to be learn ed. The redundancy effect was investigated by comparing a group using the computer-based training software with a group using the same compu ter-based training software plus a hard-copy of this training software . Results from Experiment 1 supported the above cognitive load hypothe ses. Specifically, in areas of high information complexity, the integr ated computer-based training software group clearly outperformed both the conventional manual plus computer software group, and the computer -based training software plus hard-copy group, thus demonstrating both split-attention and redundancy effects. Experiment 2 partially replic ated this result, as well as providing support for a cognitive load ex planation of results by measuring mental load. In the light of these f indings and previous research, it is suggested that cognitive load is a major factor in all aspects of instructional design. Computer traini ng software that reduces extraneous cognitive load by adopting integra ted computer-based training formats can considerably facilitate learni ng.