Multimedia Learning Theories and Comics (Substantive post)

While exploring resources on educational comics and going through our assigned readings, I discovered how well Mayer’s principles connect to the design of comics as learning tools.
Comics naturally combine visuals, text, and sequencing, which makes them a strong fit for principles like Segmenting, Dual Coding, and Personalization.

One key insight was the Personalization Principle. Educational materials often feel formal and distant, but comics can use characters, conversational language, and even humor to make complex ideas more approachable. By presenting concepts as if they are speaking directly to the reader, the material feels less intimidating and more relatable. This is something I plan to incorporate in my own project, as it establishes a stronger emotional connection with the subject matter rather than just passively absorb facts.

The Segmenting Principle is something I plan to use in my comic. Each panel will focus on only one step in the process so readers can take in the idea gradually instead of being overloaded with too much at once. By pacing the story this way, the comic will feel like a clear journey the reader can follow step by step, which will make the science behind my topic easier to understand and remember.

Finally, I found our reading on Dual Coding Theory by Allan Paivio very useful. The research suggests the idea that learning is stronger when we use both pictures and words together (as our brain uses two separate channels to process these). Comics are especially well-suited for this because they mix narration, dialogue, and drawings in the same panel. I plan to use this in my project by making sure the text matches the images and the images support the text, so the idea is clearer and easier to remember.

Alongside these theories, I also explored using Canva to build my final comic. Its templates and graphics will help me design clear panels, refine visuals, and keep the comic both engaging and easy to follow.