An animated concept map is a presentation of a network diagram in which nodes and links are sequentially added or modified. An experiment compared learning from animated concept maps and text by randomly assigning 133 undergraduates to study 1 of 4 narrated animations presenting semantically equivalent information accompanied by identical audio narration. Two of the animations presented text; one with concurrent audio and another with delayed audio. Two of the animations presented concept maps; one in black and white and the other with nodes colored to represent semantic relatedness. The concept map groups outperformed the text groups on free recall (p less than 0.05). The black-and-white concept map group outperformed the text groups on a multiple-choice knowledge test (p less than 0.05). No advantages were statistically detected for color enhancements of the animated map. The results indicate that verbal information can be effectively communicated by learner-paced animated concept maps accompanied by audio narrations. (Contains 2 figures, 3 tables, and 1 footnote.)