| Anxiety in college students is at an all-time high, and the online learning environment can
inadvertently add to that anxiety. Instructors and instructional designers play a vital role in
supporting these online learners. While online learner anxiety around belonging and technology
use have been studied, little research exists around course and course material design and its
effect on the anxiety of learners. Knowing what aspects of course and course material design
cause or relieve anxiety in these learners can inform instructors and instructional designers as
they build or create courses and learning materials. This study used a qualitative survey to
explore the effect of applying four multimedia principles to six scenarios in a digital textbook on
the anxiety levels of online college students. Participants shared which of the applications of the
four multimedia principles reduced their anxiety and explained why scenarios affected their
levels of anxiety. This feedback offered implications for which multimedia principles have the
greatest impact on the online learner’s anxiety and potential recommendations for applying the
four principles in instruction. Three overarching themes that cause anxiety emerged from the
body of participant feedback: anxiety around the time involved in completing instruction, anxiety
about if they would remember the content, and anxiety about whether or not the instruction
would keep their attention.
Keywords: online anxiety, cognitive load, multimedia principles, course material design,
instructional designers, integrated model of cognitive-affective learning with media (ICALM) |