Module 2 Reflection

     I spent the first week of this module at the Institute for Nuclear Power Operators receiving my certification as an instructor. As can be imagined, there was a classroom portion of the program offered in the morning and the afternoons were reserved for presentations. What I find fascinating is how closely my practices fit with my chosen educational philosophy.

     I chose for the topic of my paper the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. It is, I feel, the future of education. I gave a presentation on the atom. I had created the presentation two semesters ago in the EDTECH 513 class. There are very few words in the presentation. I specifically created infographics because, in general, I abhor words on a Power Point slide, and this gets to my point.

     I believe in the power of multimedia learning. Not only do I believe it, but I practice it. Therein lies the rub. Creating a good multimedia presentation for the class is hard work. Not only must the designer create substantial and appropriate info-graphics, but the presenter must work without a script. While this was fairly easy given the topic was the atom, when addressing a more complicated topic, this can be quite difficult and takes practice. Presenting in front of a classroom is, at the best of times, working without a net, and if sufficient rehearsal has not taken place, it can be quite embarrassing. The results obtained, however, are quite remarkable.

     Suffice to say, in the world of nuclear instructors, words on a slide is a standard practice. Each presenter, besides myself, gave a presentation with loads and loads of information written on each slide. Quite simply, the practice is ineffective. I could watch my peers reading the slide while the presentation was being made, or worse, tuning out altogether. However, when I made my presentation, they were engaged and focused on me. It truly demonstrated the power of Mayer’s multimedia principles. Rest assured that each individual in the class was perfectly conversant in atoms and sub-atomic particles. I was not teaching them anything they didn’t know, but still they paid complete attention.

     I would encourage my classmates to read some of the things that Richard Mayer has written. He absolutely has his finger on the pulse of the modern learner. I discovered while researching the paper that the term “Digital Natives” is used to describe present day students. I have always referred to them as the You Tube Generation. These are individuals who expect well packaged information. If they are presented with anything less, their minds wander. The goal of any learning environment should be knowledge transfer and knowledge retention, but what my INPO experience has taught me is that a little extra work yields exponential benefits.

Learning Theory Paper

     In a 1922, Thomas Edison declared that books would become obsolete in schools and that scholars would be taught through the use of motion pictures. (Cuban, 1986) While Edison’s assertion has not come to fruition in the ensuing hundred years, advancements in computer technology have allowed educators to combine effective graphics with the spoken word. This combination of words and images forms the cornerstone of the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, which takes a dual pronged approach into the mind of the learner.

Overview

     An offshoot of Cognitivism, Multimedia Learning purports that learners are more apt to retain information which is presented as words combined with appropriate pictures. By combining the

two methods of presentation, Multimedia Learning engages two different receptors for each learner. Each receptor triggers a separate pathway to the brain thereby doubling the chances of the learner making connections and filing the information away in long term memory. Like all cognitive theories of learning, Multimedia theorists believe the brain processes information much like a computer in that the receptors receive input and the brain makes various connections and files the information in the appropriate folder.  This folder type response of the brain is essential because, by categorizing the information before storage, retrieval then becomes of matter of recalling the category and extracting the information.

     Because of their belief in the brain’s filing system, Multimedia Learning theorists also believe that complicated information should be broken down into easily digestible subsets of the whole. This chunking of information allows the learner to absorb a single factoid and process it before moving on to next piece of the puzzle.  Upon completion of the lesson, the learner mentally synthesizes the individual bits of information to form a working knowledge of the entire concept.  The multimedia approach is particularly useful for novice learners who have not yet developed a mental model of the topic being presented. (Mayer & Gallini, 1990) The visual presentation jump starts the modeling process, which allows the learner to concentrate on the material rather than formulating a series of files in which to store that material.

Contributors

     Since the 1980s, Richard Mayer has been the major proponent of Multimedia Learning. Working out of the University of California, Mayer has written numerous papers and conducted a number of studies on Multimedia Learning Theory. His research and incites are indispensable for an Instructional Designer in the computer age.  Not content to simply study the generic theories of Multimedia Learning, Mayer has fine-tuned the topic, developing a number of helpful suggestions for anyone seeking to provide a multifaceted approach for their learners. Mayer was also the editor and a contributor to The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. As the world of e-learning continues to grow, the work that Professor Mayer has done will be turned to with increasing frequency.

Major Principles

     In his book Multimedia Learning (Cambridge Press, 2001), Mayer discusses twelve principles that should govern the design and organization of multimedia presentations. While these principles are directed toward educators, anyone who has endured a poorly constructed Power Point presentation knows that these principles are germane to corporate world as well. These principles ensure that a learner’s interest is captured and that their ability to absorb the material is unimpeded by distractions. While all of the principles are important, only a few will be included and discussed.

The Coherence Principle – Learning is more effective when distractions are eliminated from a presentation. Extraneous movement, unrelated graphics and superfluous sounds should be avoided.

The Redundancy Principle – Written words should be avoided when combined with graphics and narration. The learner will be distracted by attempting to read the words and thus the lesson suffers a loss of effectiveness.

The Temporal Contiguity Principle – The graphics and the narration should be timed such that the graphic being displayed corresponds directly to the narration taking place.

The Segmenting Principle – Multimedia information should be presented in small chunks rather than a contiguous whole.

The Modality Principle – Learners are more likely to absorb material which is presented as graphics and narration rather than as text and animation.

The Personalization Principle – For effective learning to take place, conversational rather than formal language and tones should be used in a lesson.

The Voice Principle – A human, rather than a synthesized, voice should be used when presenting narration. The human voice is less distracting than a machine voice which allows learners to concentrate on the material being presented.

     Finally, there is the Multimedia Principle, itself, which states that learners will learn better from a presentation of words and pictures rather than a presentation of words on their own. It is vital to heed these principles when developing a multimedia presentation. The goal in any learning environment should be knowledge transfer and knowledge retention. An effective multimedia presentation adhering to these principles facilitates this process.

Application

     While adhering to the principles of Multimedia Learning Theory seems fairly straight forward, Instructional Designers and presenters often have difficulties when constructing a lesson. To be sure, computer software offers endless graphical options, but the key to any multimedia graphic is less how it looks and more about what the graphic says. Creating info-graphics is challenging, but when constructed effectively and combined with informative narration, the results are positive and encouraging.

     When applying multimedia principles, it is important to remember that less is quite often more. Each chunk of information should be covered in one or two slides. When presenting, it is important to remember that each sub-topic should have an introduction followed by an explanation and end in a conclusion. Alluding back to the file analogy, the introduction provides the learner an opportunity to scan their internal filing system and choose a file in which to store the knowledge. The explanation presents the knowledge to the learner in a usable format, and the conclusion allows the learner to file the knowledge and attach a tag in order to facilitate retrieval. The words used in the narration should communicate to the learner when a new topic is beginning. These words, combined with a new slide, communicate in a non-direct way that a new topic has begun. Phrases such as, “Moving on to…” or “Now let’s look at…” are excellent ways to communicate to a learner that a new topic is beginning.

Conclusion

     In 2001, Marc Prensky coined the term, “Digital Natives.” These are individuals who have never lived without a personal computer, or for that matter, the internet. These Digital Natives are our present generation of learners and have forced a step change in the way information is presented and received. It is incumbent on educators to make this change. The principles put forward in Multimedia Learning Theory ensure that the current and future generations of students embrace learning and that the learning will be effective.

References

Cuban, L. (1986). Film and Radio: The Promise of Bringing the World into the Classroom. In Teachers and Machines. New York, New York: Teacher's College Press.

Mayer, R. (2005). Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. In The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

Mayer, R., & Gallini, J. (1990). When Is an Illustration Worth Ten Thousand Words? Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(4), 715-726.

Mayer, R. (2001). Principles of Multimedia Learning. In Multimedia learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.

EDTECH 504 Definition of Educational Technology

      When defining educational technology, it is important to remember that the word, technology, has evolved in the industrial and computer age. Most all of the definitions of technology include the word, “science,” in their definition. It cannot be denied that science has played its role, in my mind, technology extends far beyond the scientific. Consider the lever as an example. Plutarch relates, in his Life of Marcellus, that Archimedes once said that given a lever strong enough and a place to stand that he could move the world. There are a great number of equations which will prove that a lever can lift great weights and these equations have been permutated and manipulated by freshman physics student and Nobel Laureate alike, but the fact remains that a lever, while it is technology, or was in the days of Ancient Greece, had very little to do with science. Undoubtedly the lever was discovered by a field worker trying to move a heavy rock from a field. It was, there can be no doubt, a great gift to mankind and the scientific community (what else are you going to teach freshman physics students) but it was not a scientific discovery. This fact leads to the first half of my definition of educational technology. Technology is anything which makes a task easier.
     Having defined technology, it must now be extended into the educational domain. Education is as old as civilization. Each generation wants to pass its knowledge on to those who come after. Any parent or educator  in the world knows how difficult this can be at times and thus to make this task easier, they employ educational technology; that is to say they employ tools which will make the task of educating easier.  Applying this definition to educational technology expands the concept greatly. All of a sudden all the tools employed in the classroom become educational technology, from the glitziest iPad to the slate primers from yesteryear.
     Some may blanch at this definition of educational technology. After all, we have all embarked on a journey to obtain a Master’s Degree in this subject, and not a one of us has picked up a piece of slate or a piece of chalk. To those of us enrolled in this program, educational technology is all about the tablets, phablets and laptops. The very phrase, educational technology, evokes thoughts of interactive exercises and personalized educational experiences, but while the methodology and delivery has changed, the art of educating the future has not. In the end, without the patience and creativity of an educator, a tablet computer is no more than a device on which a student can play Angry Birds.
     Consider a recent study by Pam Mueller and Daniel Oppenheimer. Their research has found that students who eschew the technological advances of the laptop computer and take long hand notes have better retention than their peers using the modern technology.  (Mueller, Oppenheimer 2014) In this case educational technology is a notebook and a ballpoint pen. While it lacks the bells and whistles of its trendier Apple counterpart. These tools make education easier and are, in fact, technology. This concept dovetails nicely with Skinner’s concept of the teaching machine. Such tools are used today in the form of interactive exercises on computers, but are the results as effective as those of the teaching machine where the student is forced to concentrate on a single question and write the answer?
     Technology in any form makes lives easier, but in order for technology to succeed, it needs to be used properly. Educational technology, be it chalk or silicon, in the hands of the skilled educator is a powerful tool. That being said, even the most powerful tool in the hands of unskilled craftsman is ineffective, while a simple tree branch and fulcrum in the hands of genius, can move the world.

Mueller, P. A. & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2014). The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking, Psychological Science, 25 (6), 1159-1168. http://pss.sagepub.com/content/25/6/1159

EDTECH 504 Module 1 Reflection

     I had something of a revelation over the last two weeks with this module. I am taking this course concurrently with EDTECHJ 536, Digital Games for K-12 and thus am in the process of designing a game using the program GameSalad. Like any course, we’re required to make a proposal for the game we’re going to design. Like any techno-geek, my mind ran the gamut from World of Warcraft to Halo seeking to convert each of them into a teaching tool. I didn’t have a great deal of success, but then I thought about my own learning experiences and what had served me well over my entire academic career and decided to create a game based on flash cards.
     In my younger years, my mother spent hours drilling me on my multiplication tables. (I eventually go up to 20 x 20) While she thought it a waste of money to actually go out and buy the cards, she would invest the time asking me things like “nine times eight” and then would give me only a short amount of time to respond.  As a result, to this day, I barely think when doing arithmetic. While others will look for a calculator, I simply look for a bit of scrap paper and pen.
     As I was designing my game, it struck me that, although the delivery methods are changing, the basic teaching methods have not changed for centuries.  We, as educators, can dress it up any way we choose, but in the end, it still comes down to a student memorizing and then committing to long term memory that 3x5 equals 15.
     Enter the Mueller/Oppenheimer study that indicates that students learn better when they take notes by hand rather than using a laptop. This concept was introduced to me during a training workshop last month, and I must admit that I was not surprised. As a touch typist, I can easily transcribe anything a teacher is relating, but there is absolutely no absorption. I’m no more than a “Dragon” program, typing what I hear. However, when I physically take notes, I am forced to synthesize the information, processing it to a form that is convenient to take down. I am allowed to add emphasis on the fly with underlines and asterisks. In short, I am thinking about that which I am writing.

     At times in this program, I think we get too wrapped around the technology portion of educational technology. I know, for myself, I enrolled in the program because I had the tech portion of it mastered and thought that it would be a great and easy way to earn a degree.  What I am taking away from these courses is so much more. I am learning to think like an educator. I am learning to use all the wonderful things I can do with a computer to teach the future. Honestly, that is such a wonderful thing, and those of you involved with the education of children are incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to try and shape them.  Oh, and for those of you who are interested in the game, it’s going to be called, “Flash Kaard & the Chalice of Algor. I’m going to be publishing it in Android and iPad formats. Please email me and I’ll send you a link to the game when it’s finished.