Multimedia instruction refers to presentations involving words and pictures that are intended to foster learning. How can we design effective multimedia instruction? In this book I review twelve principles of instructional design that are based on experimental research studies carried out by my colleagues and me and that are grounded in a theory of how people learn from words and pictures, which I call the cognitive theory of multimedia learning. In short, the premise underlying this book is that the design of multimedia instruction should be based on research and grounded in theory. If you are interested in an evidenced-based and theory-grounded approach to multimedia design, then this book is for you.

For hundreds of years, verbal messages – such as lectures and printed lessons – have been the primary means of explaining ideas to learners. Although verbal learning offers a powerful tool for humans, this book explores ways of going beyond the purely verbal. An alternative to purely verbal presentations is to use multimedia presentations in which people learn from both words and pictures – a situation that I call multimedia learning. Recent advances in graphics technology have prompted new efforts to understand the potential of multimedia as a means of promoting human understanding – a potential that I call the promise of multimedia learning. In particular, my focus in this book is on whether people learn more deeply when ideas are expressed in words and pictures rather than in words alone.