We’ve all heard the expression, “A picture is worth a thousand words”. This can be very true in many cases. However, what most people don’t mention is that it depends if you pick the right picture.
Humans are naturally wired for visuals. They capture our attention. Instill emotions. They can make us smile or angry. Advertisers spend millions of dollars on making sure they have the right images in hopes of increasing product consumption. As eLearning developers and instructional designers, we too must sell our “product”. But in the learning and development industry, are we really using images to their maximum potential?
Make Your Images Part of the Content
You never want to insert an image just for the sake of having some visuals. Your visuals should be related to the content and be a part of the learning process. Make the learner gain something by examining your pictures. Force the learner to analyze visuals. Obviously photos help to provide a visual to the content. But maps, charts, graphs, and diagrams should be incorporated into courses and used as teaching tools. The majority of people are visual learners.
Use Images that Connect on an Emotional Level
As mentioned earlier, pictures can evoke powerful emotions to their viewers. They are an ideal tool to get your learners more excited and engaged into the content. Make them laugh. Shock them! A vibrant, beautiful, or unique image can spark the interest of a learner and get them more engaged in the content.
Finding an emotionally elevated image can be challenging though. You need to rely on conducting a quality frontend analysis of your audience. Knowing your learners is key to picking pictures that will connect to them.
Images Can Lighten the Cognitive Load
Large amounts of text are not easy to digest for most learners. Adding pictures can help break up the text and provide additional benefits. The Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning expressed by Mayer suggests, that individuals learn better when both text and forms of media (such as images and videos) are combined. This combo helps a learner’s working memory and thus has a higher chance of being stored into long-term memory.
For example, if a student is reading about the Battle of Normandy during WWII, photos of the battle itself may make a more lasting impact than just the text by itself.
Take More Chances with Your Pictures
There’s no reason not to add pictures to your courses. There’s little to lose and so much more to gain. Find the right balance between using visuals within your content and provide your learners with something more than just a reading experience. Take a chance and don’t be afraid. Remember that the majority of learners are visual. They may not say it out loud, but your learners will thank you.
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