Investigating the use of text positions on videos: An eye movement study

Videos have become an indispensable part of both online and blended learning environments. However, the design of such videos requires careful consideration of multimedia learning principles to reduce the cognitive load during the instruction. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of text-positions presented at two videos on eye-fixation duration and remembering. An experimental research with one-shot case study design was employed to meet this purpose. Two videos about financial issues were selected from a public TV channel archive: one of them included on-screen texts located at the bottom, and the other included informative texts located on the right side of the screen. A total of 61 students first watched these videos by interacting with an eye-tracking device in a human-computer interaction lab and then completed a retention test. The results indicated a significant positive correlation between total eye fixation duration and retention test scores. Additionally, the fixation duration of the participants was higher when the texts were presented on the right side of the videos than that when texts were presented at the bottom. The total fixation durations for longer text were higher than those for shorter text. © 2020 by the authors; licensee CEDTECH by Bastas.