Evaluating Guidelines Concerning the Use of Text and Audio in Web-Based Training

Abstract

As distance learning becomes more popular, many guidelines on designing web-based courses are being generated. The primary purpose of this study was to examine guidelines concerning the use of audio and text in web-based material. Materials were developed which tested different combinations of text (full versus bullets) and audio. Participants who took these different lessons on interoperability, a modeling and simulation concept, were tested with either a recognition or recall test. Three main findings are reported. First, the results of this study indicate that audio only or audio in combination with bullets resulted in higher test scores than text only, bullets only, and audio with text. Second, the results of this research also indicate that participants who were given a recognition test scored significantly higher than those who took a recall test. Finally, the results of this study also suggest that the information learned does not decay within a few hours of training.