Why Animate? A Review of Instructional Design Features in Medical Animations

• In Event: Instructional and Technological Innovations in Education

Abstract

Purpose: We reviewed medical animations for identifying design features that are applied in animation design.

Theoretical Framework: Guidelines for animation design are grounded in: (1) the theory of mental modeling and (2) multimedia learning theory.

Methods/Data Sources: Through Google keyword searches, we sampled 5% of initially identified 4,400 animations for review. Five evaluators reviewed 92 animations in the final sample pool.

Results: Three major gaps were identified: (1) lack of teaching context; (2) low degree of optimizing dynamic interactive features; and (3) low availability of user interactivity features.

Conclusion: Many unrealized opportunities exist for optimizing graphics power to deliver user-driven, interactive medical animations.

Scholarly Significance: This is the first reported review of animations based on the existing instructional design guidelines.

Authors

• Sara Kim, University of California - Los Angeles

• Rikke Ogawa, University of California - Los Angeles

• Jessie Kim, University of California - Los Angeles

• Jade March, University of California - Los Angeles

• Elena Stark, University of California - Los Angeles