Residental Solar Production

Challenge:

There are many learning settings where the learner needs to understand how the parts of a system relate to each other to make the entire system work. In this case, a solar company wanted a way to help customers understand the different parts of the system that they will install.

Solution:

A rollover is an interactive graphic that displays information when the user places their cursor over different portions of the graphic. Using a rollover allows learners to explore the different parts of a system while still seeing the connections of the entire system, using a whole-to-part instructional strategy. Because the learner choses which parts of the system to learn about and in which order, rollovers support the Need to Know and Self-concept aspects of Albert Knowles' Adult Learning Theory. Rollovers can reduce cognitive load by limiting the text on the screen, showing only what is relevant to the part of the image that the learner has selected. I also reduced cognitive load by keeping text position and formatting consistent. 

Credits:

Electric meter & power pole images by macrovector on Freepik

Content adapted from How Residential Solar Panels Work and What is Net Metering? Pros vs. Cons