Investigating the Influence of Special Effects in Educational Films on Learning

Introduction: According to Piaget children and adolescents pay more attention to films presenting novel and eccentric pictures different from those of their normal daily life. This research aims at studying the influence of special effects in educational films on learning amount. Methods: In this study using random cluster sampling method from among 1777 fourth-graders in state elementary schools in Shahroud eight classes (250 pupils) and from the practical sciences textbook four chapters were selected. Eight content-relevant films with and without special effects were also produced. Having displayed the films the researchers administered a post test including g20 questions (five items for each chapter). The results were analyzed using an independent t-test procedure in boy and girl groups. Results: The results indicated that the mean score of the boys who had seen the films with special effects was 3.64 and that of the boys having seen films with no special effect was 3.65 which do not show any significant difference. However the mean score of the girls who had seen the films with special effects was 3.52 and that of the girls having seen films with no special effect was 3.29 which shows a significant difference. Conclusion: Creating attractive spaces in films is possible with the aid of special effect techniques the simplest of which are picture effects such as dissolve fade and superimpose. These techniques are even simply available on personal computers. Nowadays computer has changed the society and the learning processes for ever. This study confirms the role of gender in the effectiveness of films with special effects. This fact indicates higher level of excitation in boys due to their more exposure to computer games and action films.