Challenge B: Substantive Post 1

I chose the video “How to study 12 hours a day without burning out it’s easier than you think” because of the multitude of multimedia principles it not only utilised, but also excelled in. Some of the techniques included are strong organization and presentation of media, the dual-coding principle, and the contiguity principle. In this reflection, I will assess how these were utilized in this video and how this helps to improve a students learning ability. 

First, the most obvious aspect of this video is its simplicity. The creator clearly kept in mind extraneous load and how much additional load is added to the mind when there are unnecessary graphics or design features involved. For example, the main figure in the video is a stick figure. This stick figure never changes and is present in most all frames of the video. Decreasing extraneous load keeps a reader’s mind from having to continuously adapt to a new format or character in turn leaving more space for new information to be processed and effectively remembered (Granchelli, 2025). 

An idea that was prevalent throughout the video was the dual-coding theory. This is the idea that people learn better and retain more information when presented with verbal information as well as visual representations (Granchelli, 2025). This video includes images that accompany every statement, often including some key words; using them as representational images. This increases the amount of pathways that are being activated by the information in the video (Granchelli, 2025). The dual-coding theory is only effective when the images are not too distracting and are coherent with the verbal information, and as I mentioned before, this video did a great job of keeping the visuals basic. The contiguity principle is also important in the use of images; to present the words at the same time as their corresponding images (Granchelli, 2025). This allows readers to exercise minimal cognitive work in understanding which image is attached to which words and this allows for the positive effects of complimentary text and images as seen in the dual coding theory. 

There are even more principles at play in the video. Such as the personalization principle; having a relaxed and conversational tone allows people to relate and remember content better. Also the coherence principle; minimizing tangential information or excessive sounds and noise to allow for more brain space to process the information and reduces confusion over important information. Overall, this video encompassed many cognitive theory principles and design principles to create an effective and enjoyable educational video. 

Granchelli, Adrian. (2025). Theories of multimedia learning EDCI 337. Educational technology Uvic. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2025/09/05/theories-of-multimedia-learning/

Granchelli, Adrian. (2025). Text and image: the sum is greater than its parts. Educational technology UVic. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2025/09/11/text-and-image-the-sum-is-greater-than-its-parts/