Chapter 15
Learning from Multimedia and Hypermedia
Peter Gerjets and Paul Kirschner
Abstract Computer-based multimedia and hypermedia resources (e.g., the world
wide web) have become one of the primary sources of academic information for a
majority of pupils and students. In line with this expansion in the field of education,
the scientific study of learning from multimedia and hypermedia has become a very
active field of research. In this chapter we provide a short overview with regard
to research on learning with multimedia and hypermedia. In two review sections,
we describe the educational benefits of multiple representations and of learner
control, as these are the two defining characteristics of hypermedia. In a third review
section we describe recent scientific trends in the field of multimedia/hypermedia
learning. In all three review sections we will point to relevant European work on
multimedia/hypermedia carried out within the last 5 years, and often carried out
within the Kaleidoscope Network of Excellence. According to the interdisciplinary
nature of the field this work might come not only from psychology, but also from
technology or pedagogy. Comparing the different research activities on multimedia
and hypermedia that have dominated the international scientific discourse in the
last decade reveals some important differences. Most important, a gap seems to
exist between researchers mainly interested in a “serious” educational use of multi-
media/hypermedia and researchers mainly interested in “serious” experimental re-
search on learning with multimedia/hypermedia. Recent discussions about the pros
and cons of “design-based research” or “use-inspired basic research” can be seen
as a direct consequence of an increasing awareness of the tensions within these two
different cultures of research on education.
Keywords Multimedia · Hypermedia · Learner control · Use-inspired basic
research · Design research
P. Ge r j e t s (B)
Knowledge Media Research Center, University of Tu¨bingen, Tu¨bingen, Germany
e-mail: pgerjet@gwdg.de
N. Balacheff et al. (eds.), Technology-Enhanced Learning,
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4020-9827-7 15, C
©
Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009
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252 P. Gerjets and P. Kirschner
15.1 Introduction
Multimedia, both as “thing” and as “term”, is not really new. The Velvet Under-
ground, an avant-garde group formed by Andy Warhol, first used the term in 1965
to describe a combination of live music, cinema, experimental lighting, and perfor-
mance art. Multimedia is generally defined as a set of external representations using
multiple forms of coding (e.g., text and pictures) and/or modality (e.g., visual and
auditory) to inform (e.g., in education and/or training), and/or to entertain (e.g., in
art and theater) an audience (cf. Mayer, 2005). In the context of this chapter, multi-
media will refer to the use of electronic tools and media to store, present, transmit,
and experience multimedia content such as when a computer is used to represent
and present information through audio, graphics, image, video, and animation in
addition to traditional media (printed text and graphics).
Hypermedia can be considered to be a specific multimedia application. This term,
too, finds its origin in 1965 when Nelson used it as an extension of the term hypertext
to denote a situation where
graphics, audio, video, plain text and hyperlinks intertwine to create a generally non-linear
medium of information. This contrasts with the broader term multimedia, used to describe
non-interactive linear presentations as well as hypermedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Hypermedia).
Thus, the term hypermedia refers to the idea that multimedia materials are
organized as network-like information structures, where fragments of information
are stored in nodes that are interconnected and can be accessed by electronic hy-
perlinks (Conklin, 1987; Rouet, Levonen, Dillon, & Spiro, 1996). According to the
definitions used in this chapter, control over the order and selection of information
in multimedia learning environments is mainly established by the system, whereas
hypermedia environments are capable of being explored (and thus controlled) by
learners in multiple ways.
At the time of this writing, multimedia and hypermedia have permeated our
culture. Many websites, especially those sites making use of Web 2.0 applications
such as the blogsite MySpace R© and the video sharing site YouTube R©, allow their
users to upload, view, share and use graphics, audio, video, plain text, and hyper-
links to other sites and contents to create enormous communities of users. Most
websites for commercial enterprises use multimedia and hypermedia to advertise
their products and services. Education, too, is making increasing use of multimedia.
Today, computer-based multimedia resources, and particularly the world wide web
(WWW), are one of the primary sources of academic information for a majority
of pupils and students (Lenhart, Simon, & Graziano, 2001). In line with this ex-
pansion in the field of education, the scientific study of learning from multimedia
and hypermedia has become a very active field of research for scholars interested in
cognition and instruction (for overviews see Mayer, 2005; Rouet, 2006; Scheiter &
Gerjets, 2007).
The aim of this chapter is to discuss recent developments and trends in research
on multimedia and hypermedia learning. Here we distinguish between work that