The Impact of Asynchronous Multimedia Communications on Understanding and Recall

Abstract

This research focused on the design of software environments to support rich asynchronous communication and to understand the impact of such communications on understanding and recall in a military context. The goal was to explore how the design of a multimedia asynchronous communication tool influenced the understanding and recall of information. 46 ROTC cadets each received a company Operations Order, and based on that were required to write a platoon OPORD followed by two recall questions. Half of the cadets received the company OPORD in a conventional text format that included a static map overlay. The other half received the OPORD with 4 subsections presented with a multimedia presentation tool that included synchronized animation and voice narration. Overall, our findings show that the group that viewed the multimedia presentation recalled mission critical information 26-47% more often.

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