Table 4.

Load reducing methods as defined by Mayer and Moreno¹⁹ and applied during content development.

Load reducing method	Definition	VHA affordances	Translation to website*
1. Off-loading	Moving some essential processing from visual channel to auditory channel. Better transfer when words are presented as narration rather than as on-screen text	The use of a VHA provides the opportunity to diversify modalities and use visual and auditory channels to deliver information	Video clips with audio and visuals, with bulleted text
2. Segmenting	Allow time between successive bite-sized segments. Better transfer when info is presented in learner-controlled segments rather than as a continuous unit	Users have the option to access the website after talking to the VHA, allowing for learner-controlled segmenting	Segmenting of information on the website into topic-specific sections
3. Pretraining	Provide pretraining in names and characteristics of components	The VHA introduces users to key concepts related to colorectal cancer nutrition risk factors and prevention	The website expands on the same key terms from VHA.
4. Weeding	Eliminate interesting but extraneous material to reduce processing load	VHA only presents “need to know” content to eliminate extraneous info as determined by user feedback	Pilot data may be used to test algorithms that filter content based on user input
5. Signaling	Provide cues for how to process, select, and organize the material. Signaling is most useful when extra information is in a presentation, as it helps learners focus on the most important content	Plans to use signaling in VHA include adding pop-up images and text to emphasize keywords and facts. Participant suggestions include pop-up text when the VHA discusses nutrition risk factors, a pop-up image of a colon, pop-up number when the statistics are presented	Visible headers signal the reading path to readers. Keywords are bolded and defined in sidebar boxes
6. Aligning	Place printed words near corresponding parts of graphics to reduce the need for visual scanning	N/A	Placed key terms next to corresponding graphics to prevent excessive scanning
7. Eliminating redundancy	Avoid presenting identical streams of printed and spoken words. Better transfer when words are presented as narration rather than narration and on-screen text	Did not have subtitles in the VHA prototype however, based on previous work in this area and in accordance with ADA guidelines, we plan to build and test a final version with subtitles to enhance accessibility	Website text will be run through text Lexile calculator with a target Lexile range of 740-875
8. Synchronizing	Present narration with animation simultaneously to minimize the need to hold representation in mind	The current VHA does not include added animations. Plans to include animations in updated prototypes will follow best practices related to synchronizing	The website will house a VHA narrated, animation of the correct stool collection method
9. Individualizing	Typically used when synchronization is not possible to ensure users can hold mental representations	This would entail matching high-quality media design with the users' spatial learning ability if synchronizing could not be implemented	N/A