Text-and-Image Materials Versus an AI-Avatar Video for Introductory Adobe Illustrator Learning: A Randomized Two-Group Study

AI-generated instructional videos are increasingly used in higher education, yet their effectiveness relative to carefully designed conventional instructional materials remains unclear, particularly for introductory procedural learning. This randomized two-group study compared two complete instructional formats, static text-and-image instruction and AI-avatar video instruction. Both covered the same learning objectives and worked procedure, but differed in verbal presentation, temporal pacing, navigation, visual signaling and avatar presence. Eighty-one first-year university students with no prior formal university instruction in Adobe Illustrator provided pre-test, post-test, practical-task, questionnaire and seven-day retention data. The text-and-image group achieved higher immediate post-test scores than the video group. No statistically significant group differences were detected in practical task or delayed-test scores, and the exploratory comparison of post-to-retention change was also not significant. Holm correction for three perception comparisons indicated that only perceived clarity remained significantly higher in the text-and-image group. For the materials tested, the text-and-image material provided a stronger basis for immediate learning, although this advantage was not detected in practical performance or delayed outcomes. Because the formats differed in several instructional features, the observed pattern cannot be attributed specifically to avatar presence. The results highlight the importance of pacing, segmentation, visual signaling and learner control when designing AI-supported instructional videos for novice procedural learning.