Month: September 2022

What did you notice about your learning when you listened to the SoundCloud by Howat? How was it different from reading an article?

When I was going through this weeks learning resources I was immediately confused when I came upon Howat’s Multimedia Design for Learning Soundcloud audio file. Considering the content that we are learning regarding visual cues for learning, coming across this audio file took me by surprise. When I was listening to the soundcloud file, I noticed that my attention span was starting to diminish as my visual senses were not being used and there was nothing for me to visually recall what I had been taught. To be able to effectively retain what I was being told in the soundcloud audio, I had to constantly pause and skip backwards to write out the important notes Howat was saying. For me, this style of learning was not very helpful and did not effectively teach me the lesson at hand.

In comparison to an article, I personally find audio learning files to be less effective. I think that articles are much easier to follow because you are able to look back at the information you have already read and be able to recall that information much faster. With an audio file, you may have to search for the certain time stamp that the information you are trying to find was being said, which may be harder to find.

My favourite type of multimedia resource for learning is through videos. I like to have my visual and auditory senses being used at the same time as it helps me to retain the information that is being taught and keep me engaged. It is also helpful if I want to solely focus on the visual aspects of a video because I would be able to pause the narraration.

Which principles did you have in mind when you were creating your screencast this week?

I created a screencast for this week’s lesson and found that the principles of multimedia learning had really improved the structure of learning the content. The screencast I made was of me showing how to read a specific graph for one of my economics classes. I used an app on my Ipad called Goodnotes that allowed me to write and highlight any important information that I wanted to discuss or point at. Reading and understanding certain graphs can be very challenging, so I wanted to use the signaling principle to make the lesson more comprehensible to a viewer. I would highlight any point on the graph that I was referring to and highlight the correlating header on the screen to address the visual and verbal information. I found that this principle was very helpful in distinguishing what is being discussed as it attracts the reader to only focus on one point at a time and not be confused with the other elements on the screen.

To avoid extraneous load I wanted to also apply the redundancy principle to simplify what is being learned and not distract the viewer from being overwhelmed by the information being presented. In doing so, I avoided adding any extra written information, aside from the headers, as I would be narrating the screencast as well. I believe that the redundancy principle was very beneficial in simplifying the lesson being taught and making the presentation more visually appealing to a learner. As for the signalling principle, I think that this helps to break down the information into smaller sections that allow the learner to focus on one point at a time and follow a more structured path of understanding the given content. Overall I think that incorporating these principles truly improved how a viewer would gather and retain the information being shown.

What made you decide to take this course? What are your learning goals this term?

I decided to take this course because I have previously taken other EDCI courses and have really enjoyed the content. I enjoyed these courses because I found the subject matter to be very relevant to how the world is advancing with technology. While I may not be in an educational program, as I am an economics major, the EDCI courses have taught me much about digital media and online learning. For this course specifically, I am interested in the design aspects of creating an effective learning platform that can incorporate interactive multimedia technologies for learning. I think that it is essential to learn the skills to be able to effectively teach and learn as we continue to move more towards online structures for learning not only in educational environments but in everyday life. I believe that being able to engage in whatever it is that is taught can enhance learning and improve the way instruction is designed, which is why I am interested in discovering more about interactive and multimedia as a tool for learning. 

Some of the personal learning goals I have set for myself in this course include, being open to new technologies. I have previously used WordPress in my EDCI 338 class, but I still feel that there is room for improvement in my technical skills and I need to practice using it as I have found myself getting confused and frustrated with some of the elements of the site. I however have not used Mattermost, which is something that I would like to get more comfortable with. Another one of my learning goals this term would be to strengthen my collaborative skills with my other classmates and learning pod. I want to improve how I work with others and focus on building projects more collaboratively, as in previous terms when there was group work, we would normally just assign a certain part of a project to everyone and that be it, rather than working more collaboratively and having everyone pitch in their thoughts and contribute more to the overall success of the team.