When novice users try to learn to use a software application that includes a variety of high element interactivity tools, the complex structure of the software can increase cognitive load and render the tools incomprehensible. Accordingly, there is a need for an efficient teaching approach that can provide practical knowledge to users while decreasing their cognitive load. In this study, the use and choice of narrative were selected as procedures that can provide practical knowledge to software learners in addition to impacting cognitive load through providing a familiar theme to worked-examples. We compared the effects of familiar and unfamiliar narratives versus a no-narrative condition on cognitive load of users while learning software applications with both low and high interactivity tools through e-learning platforms. The results showed that an e-learning system with a familiar narrative could decrease cognitive load in comparison to the no-narrative and unfamiliar narrative systems for both low and high interactivity materials. It was concluded that people can learn new software applications more easily when familiar context worked-examples are used to integrate novel material with their existing knowledge.

当新手用户尝试学习使用包含各种高元素交互工具的软件应用程序时，软件的复杂结构会增加认知负担并使工具变得难以理解。因此，需要一种有效的教学方法，可以为用户提供实践知识，同时减少他们的认知负担。在这项研究中，叙述的使用和选择被选为程序，除了通过为工作示例提供熟悉的主题来影响认知负荷之外，还可以为软件学习者提供实践知识。我们比较了熟悉和不熟悉的叙述与非叙述条件对用户认知负荷的影响，同时通过电子学习平台学习具有低交互性和高交互性工具的软件应用程序。结果表明，与低交互性和高交互性材料的非叙事和陌生叙事系统相比，具有熟悉叙事的电子学习系统可以降低认知负荷。得出的结论是，当使用熟悉的上下文工作示例将新材料与他们现有的知识相结合时，人们可以更容易地学习新的软件应用程序。