Animation and prior knowledge in a multimedia application: A case study on undergraduate computer science students in learning

We conducted two experiments to examine the effects that prior knowledge and different types of animation have on student understanding. Students were identified as either low or high prior knowledge from a series of questions asked in a prior knowledge survey conducted on computer science undergraduate students. The subject domain chosen for this study is a topic taught to undergraduates in the field of Computer Sciences, in the subject of Operating Systems, i.e., Memory Management Concepts. This case study utilizes two different versions of multimedia application, each one differing from the other in the type of animation. A total of 73 students took part in this experiment. Across the two studies, we used two types of tests; recall and transfer of knowledge to evaluate student understanding on a particular topic. Early results indicate that multimedia application with 3-D animations do not have significant impact on student recall and transfer of knowledge as compared to 2-D version of animated learning.