Didactic animations serve to eliminate a critical factor in learning. In the field of science and technology, understanding a phenomenon is often made more difficult by the fact that phenomena cannot be perceived by the senses. Didactic animations can help to present these phenomena as models.
Depending on the topic and pedagogical focus, there are other critical factors for which animations can provide support. The following incomplete list gives some examples.
- Visualization – transforming abstract relationships into something visible
- Analogy – making connections to foreign areas
- Exploration – learners can discover content themselves
- Simulation – Enabling phenomenological access through a high degree of realism
- Play – Entertainment, concentration and flow experience