K. Dalacosta, E.A. Pavlatou, M. Kamariotaki-Paparrigopoulou, J. Palyvos
International Technology Education and Development Conference (INTED 2009) (2009), Valencia (Spain), March 9 – 11, p. 3497-3504 (CD-rom) (poster)
This study reports research findings on the use of animated cartoons in a multimedia application that meant to evaluate their effectiveness in supporting teaching and learning in chemistry. The research was carried out with 184 students of 5th grade in Greece. The animated cartoons in the multimedia application were designed from scratch using appropriate programs. The application that was created consists of two major parts. In the first part (the introduction story), the presentation and the analytic explanation of solubility and factors that influence it, was attempted via animated cartoons and hearing dialogues, thus aiming at both the comprehension and the assimilation of the above concepts. In the second part of the application (the questionnaire), a series of closed-type questions were presented. Two different instructional methods were used i.e. the classic instruction and the animated cartoons multimedia application. The present study reveals how students at the age of eleven can better understand specific scientific concepts which are difficult to comprehend and often can cause misconceptions to them, with the help of animated cartoons. Moreover, the principal findings of this study show that students' knowledge and understanding was upgraded through the differentiation of the concepts of dissolving, melting and disappearing in the solution chemistry with the use of animated cartoons.