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Information seeking (IS) has become a critical activity in video‐based environments. Up to now, the effects of support on information seeking (i.e., scaffolding) have seldom been assessed. The twofold aim of the current study was to (a) assess the effects of scaffolding on IS in videos and (b) determine the characteristics of the users' mental models after an IS activity with or without scaffolding. We divided 50 participants into two groups that either did or did not benefit from initial scaffolding during an IS task. Both groups then had to perform a localization task without any further access to scaffolding. Results showed that scaffolding the video by providing a table of contents and markers on a timeline helped students to engage in highly efficient IS, but they had less accurate mental representations of the video than those without scaffolding. The hypothesis that scaffolding provides a usable but external model was therefore supported. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Videos are increasingly used in learning.Searching for information in videos may be a complex activity.So far, very few studies have been conducted on the potential effect of scaffolding videos during an information‐seeking (IS) task. What this paper adds: In this study, we put in place the scaffolding of the video by adding a table of contents and markers on the timeline.Structuration and segmentation have positive effects on the performance in IS, in terms of response success, time spent on each search, relevance, and perceived difficulty.Scaffolding has a negative impact on the users' internal representations of the video. Implications for practice: Incorporating a table of contents and a structured timeline into a video facilitates the search activity.Without scaffolding, the search activity is longer and cognitively more costly.Paradoxically, users have a poorer representation of the video (i.e., poorer mental model) after the IS task when they were given scaffolding.Future studies should focus on the benefits of providing structuring and segmentation in learning tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University students often engage in multimedia (e.g., texting or social networks) and nonmultimedia (e.g., chatting with neighbors) off-task multitasking behaviors during courses. The aim of the present study was to describe these off-task multitasking behaviors and analyze their effects on learning performance in a real teaching session. More specifically, 187 students attended a cognitive psychology tutorial as usual, taking notes either on paper or on a laptop. In an effort to preserve the ecological setting, they were not informed of our research on multitasking. After 20 min, students had to report the number and duration of off-task multitasking behaviors they had engaged in and complete a learning questionnaire. Results showed that multimedia and nonmultimedia multitasking behaviors were frequent but also additive, especially among students who used a laptop. These behaviors had a negative impact on students' memorization of course content, although we found no significant effects on comprehension. Our study also showed that students who used a laptop had lower memory scores. A mediation analysis confirmed that this deleterious effect was partly attributable to multitasking. These results are discussed in terms of interference between off-task behaviors and the cognitive processes essential for learning. • We studied off-task multitasking effects on learning in a real-life teaching session. • Students engaged in numerous multimedia and nonmultimedia multitasking behaviors. • Multitasking behaviors had a negative impact on the memorization of lecture content. • Students who used a laptop engaged in more multitasking and had lower memory scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]