Graphics for Learning: Proven Guidelines for Planning, Designing, and Evaluating Visuals in Training Materials

FOREWORD

PEOPLE learn better from graphics and words than from words alone. This idea—the multimedia principle—is the premise of this book. This book's theme is that you can help people learn better if you include appropriately designed graphics in instructional presentations.

For example, consider how you would teach someone a simple fact, such as, "The alveoli are tiny air sacs in the lungs." Although these words give a correct definition, you might have some difficulty understanding what they mean. Figure F.1 shows a map of the lungs, including the alveoli, and thus helps you make sense of the verbal definition.

As another example, consider how you would teach someone a process such as how a car's braking system works. Using words, you could ...