Multimedia Learning

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Multimedia Learning

• Kathryn Summers
• Fall 2006

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Gestalt principles

• Proximity
• Good continuity
• Symmetry
• Similarity
• Common fate (objects that move together)
• Common region (Palmer 1992)
• Connectedness (connected by continuous contours)
  (Palmer and Rock, 1994)

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Patterns in motion

• Motion is perceived relative to its context/frame
• Perception of causality (launching, triggering,
  etc.)
• Predilection to interpret motion as biological

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Definitions of Multimedia

• Delivery media
• Two or more delivery devices
• Presentation modes
• Verbal and pictorial representations
• Sensory modalities
• Auditory and visual senses

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Common activities w/interface

• Instructing or learning
• Conversing
• Manipulating and navigating
• Exploring and browsing

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Learning

• Information acquisition vs. knowledge
  construction
• Adding information to memory
• Building a coherent mental structure/mental model
• Measuring learningretention and transfer
• Retentionability to reproduce or recognize
  presented material
• Transferability to use material in novel
  situations

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active learning

• Behavioral activitylearner is doing something
  physically
• Doesnt correlate very well with meaningful
  learning
• Cognitive activitylearner is doing integrative
  cognitive processing
• Does correlate strongly with meaningful learning

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Human cognitive processing

• Dual channel processing
• Visual/pictorial
• Auditory/verbal
• Limited capacityyou can only process so much
  info per channel
• Intrinsic cognitive load (how many elements, how
  they interact with each other)
• Extraneous cognitive load (how the material is
  presented)
• Active processinghumans identify relevant info,
  organize it into coherent mental representations,
  and integrate these representations with other
  knowledge

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Cognitive processing
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Types of memory

• Sensory memory
• Working memory (short-term memory)
• Long-term memory

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Memory strategies

• Mnemonics
• Distributed practice
• Encoding specificity
• Categorization
• Elaborative rehearsal
• (Eliminate/avoid interference)

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Active processing

• Select/identify relevant info, pay attention
  (select relevant words and images)
• Organize information into knowledge structures
  (organize words and images)
• Processcause and effect
• Comparison
• Generalization
• Enumeration
• Classification (hierarchies, sets and subsets)
• Integrate information with prior knowledge
  (create verbal and pictorial models, connect to
  prior models)

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Help learners build knowledge structures

• Processflow chart, flash animation
• Comparisonmatrix or table
• Generalizationbranching tree
• Enumerationlist
• Classificationhierarchy, Venn diagram

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Images text design principles

• Concentratedkey ideas highlighted in both
  illustrations and text
• Conciseminimal extraneous words or images
• Correspondentcorresponding images and text are
  located together
• Concretetext and illustrations allow for easy
  visualization
• Coherentmaterial has a clear structure, such as
  cause and effect
• Comprehensible/familiartext and images allow
  learners to apply relevant past experience
• Codablekey terms and features are consistent and
  memorable

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Multimedia design principles

• Use both words and images
• Put words and images together in space
• Put words and images together in time
• Minimize extraneous words and images
• Use images and narration rather than images and
  text if possible
• Use images and narration or images and text
  rather than images, narration, and text
• Poor design hurts low-knowledge learners more
  than high-knowledge learners
• Poor design hurts high spatial learners more than
  low-spatial learners

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Standard teaching sequence

• Motivate the learner
• Preview the lesson
• Have the learner recall prior knowledge
• Present new ideas
• Provide feedback
• Test understanding
• Enrich learning

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Motivating learnersobjectives

• No
• Understand
• List, be able to give examples of
• Explain
• Describe
• Recognize, remember
• Distinguish between
• Master

• Yes
• Create, make
• Install, set up, start
• Edit, revise, amend
• Customize
• Repair, replace
• Diagnose, troubleshoot
• Organize
• Write

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Begin by engaging interest

• Tell a story
• Ask a question
• Describe a problem that the material will solve
  (focus on real-world value)
• Show a picture
• Show results the learner will be able to achieve
  after the course (create real-world value)

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Online lesson structures

• Classic tutorials
• Activity-centered lessons
• Learner-customized tutorials
• Knowledge-paced tutorials
• Exploratory tutorials
• Generated lessons

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Layering versus sequencing

• Sequence
• Background
• Main idea
• details

• Layer
• main idea
• Background/details

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Common learning activities

• Lecture/webcast
• Presentation sequence
• Drill and practice activities
• Scavenger hunts
• Guided research
• Guided analysis
• Team design

• Brainstorming
• Case studies
• Role-playing scenarios
• Group critiques
• Virtual laboratories
• Hands-on activities
• Learning games

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Use learning games or simulations when

• The real activity takes too long
• The real activity is dangerous
• The real activity is too expensive
• Failures or mistakes would be expensive
• Failures or mistakes would be embarrassing
• The subject is too boring