See what I mean?
Guest editorial
for eLearning Magazine, November 2002
by Jay Cross, Internet Time Group
“...the illiterate of the future will be ignorant of pen and camera alike.” Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, the Bauhaus |
In the 20th century, we confused reading words with learning, and that has held us back. Learning is a multi-sensory, both-sides-of-the-brain experience. Pictures unlock the imagination. And yet, most books do not contain a single illustration.
Cognitive research abounds on the value of visuals in learning, but this is mostly talk. One highly-regarded but seriously misguided guru maintains a large website on usability (of all things) that contains not one graphic. eLearning lessons abound with garish, meaningless clip-art. Schools devote years to teaching students to read compared to only hours on developing their visual intelligence.
Consider this: You can “get” a picture in a glance, but a block of text takes time to analyze. Why, in a world that is increasingly concerned with speed, do we force learners to read words that they must repeat in their heads in order to decode and process them associatively? We’re running out of time for that.
1. Help customers
learn.
Problem: Your increasingly complex products bristle with new features. Customers become frustrated if they can’t easily learn to use them, but they refuse to read the manual. Call centers are clogged with requests for help. The sales force ends up teaching customers how to set up and use the products.
Solution: Enable customers to learn for themselves. Replace the manual with visually compelling explanations.
2. Improve instructional effectiveness.
Problem: Modern books use the same format, page numbering, margins, and oceans of unbroken text first produced by Italian publishers five hundred years ago. Antiquated formatting doubles the time it takes most of us to understand printed material.
Solution: Supplement the words with appropriate pictures to accelerate understanding. Adding relevant graphics to text improves comprehension 80%. Give me lessons I can scan. Straight text is medieval; there’s no emphasis. Why not print important paragraphs in a larger font? Or in color? Type is linear; people think associatively; the medium retards the message.
3. Accelerate Decision-making
Problem:
A county board of supervisors has appointed a task to improve the mental health
services provided by numerous distinct agencies. Six weeks later they are
stymied by the complexity of the situation. Each member of the task force
knew a piece of the puzzle but no one had the “the big picture.” They were
blind to what was causing the problems
Solution: A conceptual map captured all of the relevant data and literally put everyone on the same page. Bottlenecks and missed connections were immediately apparent. Instead of the usual sixty-page report, the task force submitted the map, which enabled the board to see the problem immediately.
4. Leverage the Value of Meetings
Problem: People go to TechLearn to gather information on best practices
in eLearning, but when they get back to the office, they find it nearly impossible
to transfer what they learned to their colleagues. The words on the page are
linear but TechLearn was dynamic, with many forces interacting at once.
Solution: TechLearn recruits a visual journalist who interprets each major session graphically as it unfolds. The images are projected onto a video screen for all to see. This highlights the connections between topics and focuses attention on the flow of the presentation. Once back home, participants walk their colleagues through the graphics to explain both the flow and the content of the TechLearn sessions.
Seeing is believing
Graphics show relationships and unravel complex situations. They speak the universal language of symbols and icons to promote understanding among people of different cultures and professions. Combining text and graphics accelerates learning.
Jay Cross is the founder of Internet Time Group (www.internettime.com) and CEO of eLearning Forum (www.elearningforum.com).