Gender Interest Differences with Multimedia Learning Interfaces

In this study we examined whether there are gender differences in leaming interest from different designs of multimedia interfaces. In the study we assumed that design characteristics add to the interest in learning and we developed taxonomy of design of efficient user interfaces both for boys and girls. The research included ninety children from three indergarten class, who were exposed to interactive multimedia stories. The researchsubjects, with the help of a Polymeter (Lampert 1981), answered to questionnaires, which examined their previous experience with a computer, their level of time on task and their level of satisfaction with the various interfaces. The research findings indicate that there is a significant difference between boys and girls in the influence of the design of the learning interfaces on their level of time on task as well as on their level of satisfaction with the different interfaces. Boys on the one hand had a higher level of time on task, and were more familiar with computer games and looked for assistance through navigational buttons. Girls on the other hand tended to ask for help with the game. Girls preferred to include writing into the game and preferred colorful screens full of drawings, which changed slowly. We also found that boys preferred green and blue colon, whilst the girls preferred red and yellow. Generally speaking we found that girls preferred the components of the Mise-en-scene interface, and boys preferred the components of the Montage interface.