Does applying screenshot annotations enhance learning effectiveness? The moderating role of course difficulty

Abstract

The rapid growth of information technologies has given rise to a variety of e-learning platforms. However, simply providing multimedia instructional materials does not necessarily improve users' understanding of the instructional content. The study makes use of Flickr annotations, including stickers, drawings, and texts, to improve users' learning performance while learning computer software. All users are able to upload screenshots to Flickr to demonstrate computer software problems and troubleshooting software. To clarify what their screenshots mean, they can describe their problems or provide their opinions by attaching annotations to a specific screenshot. Through the use of annotations, Flickr provides the users with an easier way to describe or understand problems. This study comprised a three-course investigation. In addition to understand users' learning effectiveness, two context-related factors, peer opinion and personal innovativeness, were chosen as the basis for the research model. Based on data collected from 281 students, the results indicated that peer opinion had a positive effect on intention, whereas the effect of personal innovativeness, surprisingly, was negative rather than positive. Besides, the results based on the three computer software courses with different levels of difficulty confirmed the moderating effect of course difficulty.