The effects of visual cues and spatial skill on incidental learning in a hypermedia information search task

This study explores the impact of different external and internal factors on incidental learning in a hypermedia search task. Students were asked to search out the answers to specific questions within a hypermedia document but were not instructed to remember or learn the material. External factors in the hypermedia environment were manipulated by altering the characteristics of the navigation tools students were given to perform the search task. Students were given tools that were two-dimensional or three-dimensional and that contained visual links or no visual links. The impact of internal factors was addressed by testing students on two different types of spatial skill. Results show that providing visual links that highlight the relationships between the pages in a hypermedia document facilitate incidental learning of factual material that has been attended to in the search task. The results also show that spatial scanning ability predicts some of the learning outcomes.