The Effects of Visual Cueing Opacity Level on Reducing Split Attention

Using cues (attention directing cues) to guide students through using multimedia learning environments is vital as it reduces visual search and thus reducing the cognitive load on students' working memory. In some cases these visual cues are used in the form of text box to guide students' attention and to provide critical information at the same time. These text cues may impose heavy cognitive load on learners, which cause working memory overload and, therefore, hinder learning. One of the reasons for this working memory overload is the split attention effect that occurs when learners need to mentally integrate two related sources of information at the same time in order for the learning materials to be understood. The current empirical study was performed to investigate the effects of different text cues that vary only in the opacity level of the text box (opaque, semi-transparent, transparent) on reducing split attention. A mental effort scale and a task performance test were administrated to 119 participants. A quantitative analysis was conducted and results from it showed that students from the semi-transparent group spent less cognitive effort learning the materials than students in both the transparent and the opaque groups. Moreover there was a positive significant correlation between the mental effort spent in learning the materials and the students' performance.