Week 3 Blog Post

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.