Using Eye-Tracking Technology to Investigate the Impact of Different Types of Advance Organizers on Viewers' Reading of Web-Based Content: A Pilot Study

This study utilized eye-tracking technology to investigate how question and summary forms of advance organizers affected 9 college students' information processing of web-based reading content. The results showed that students' eyes fixated more on the question form than on the summary form organizer. However, viewers were found to spend more time reading the main reading content when summary form organizer was utilized. Trying to answer advance questions might have reinforced student memory of the to-be-learned content and further achieve effective retrieval of information from the web-based reading content. Further studies with large sample size and measures on achievement and cognitive load are needed to realize in-depth how the type of advance organizer affects viewers' information processing.