The results of three meta-analyses show that the effectiveness of learning from animations, when compared to learning from static pictures, is rather limited. A recent re-analysis of one of these meta-analyses, however, supports that learning from animations is considerably more effective than learning from static pictures if the specifics of the displayed changes need to be learned. In order to further validate this finding as well as to clarify the educational strengths and weaknesses of animations and static pictures, an experimental study with three groups was conducted. Overall, 88 university students participated in the study. One group of learners (n = 30) watched a single picture of a gear mechanism, one group of learners (n = 28) watched four pictures, and one group of learners (n = 30) watched an animation. All groups had to identify specific motions and spatial arrangements covered by the gear mechanism. While learners who watched the animation exhibited the best performance with respect to the identification of motions, learners who watched the pictures showed the best performance with respect to the identification of spatial arrangements. The effect sizes are large. The results of the study help to clarify when animations and when static pictures are most suitable for learning.

三种荟萃分析的结果表明，与从静态图片中学习相比，从动画中学习的效果相当有限。但是，最近对这些荟萃分析之一进行的重新分析支持，如果需要学习显示的更改的细节，那么从动画中学习比从静态图片中学习要有效得多。为了进一步验证这一发现，并弄清动画和静态图片的教育优势和劣势，进行了三组实验研究。总体上，有88位大学生参加了这项研究。一组学习者（n  = 30）观看了一幅齿轮机构的图片，一组学习者（n = 28）观看了四幅图片，一组学习者（n  = 30）观看了动画。所有小组都必须确定齿轮机构所涵盖的具体运动和空间布置。观看动画的学习者在识别运动方面表现出最佳表现，而观看图片的学习者在识别空间布置方面表现出最好表现。效果尺寸很大。研究结果有助于弄清什么时候动画和静态图片最适合学习。