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The present article examines how suitable expository films are for learning. This question was motivated by the assumption that films are processed in a superficial manner. However, previous research has been dominated by the analyses of outcome measures and has never taken a look at online measures so that no clear conclusions have been drawn. Experiment 1 analyzed online local causal bridging inferences that are crucial for the understanding of complex scientific matters. Using a naming paradigm, it could be demonstrated that local causal bridging inferences are generated during film reception. This holds true for film viewers and audiotape listeners. Experiment 2 analyzed whether participants were able to integrate the inferred information into a coherent mental model. We found that for at least one item set, both film viewers and audiotape listeners integrated implicit information into a mental model. To further clarify the role of the pictorial information in films for the comprehension process, Experiment 3 analyzed the extent to which pictorial information can compensate for coherence breaks due to missing verbal information in the auditory channel. We found that, on a local level, pictorial information can compensate for missing verbal information, but not on a global level.

Two complementary studies, one in the laboratory and one in the field, compared the usage patterns and the effectiveness of interactive videos and illustrated textbooks when German secondary school students learned complex content. For this purpose, two videos affording different degrees of interactivity and a content-equivalent illustrated textbook were used. Both studies showed that in contrast to previous studies working with non-interactive videos, the effectiveness of interactive videos was at least comparable to that of print, probably due to the possibilities provided for self-regulated information processing. It was shown that the interactive features of the videos were used spontaneously. However, features enabling micro-level activities, such as stopping the video or browsing, seemed to be more beneficial for learning than features enabling macro-level activities, such as referring to a table of contents or an index. This finding is explained by students’ misconceptions about the use of features enabling macro-level activities.