Final Knowledge Dig

The final knowledge dig has been posted. It's a reflective question so it doesn't ask you to respond to any new readings or materials. Hopefully we can have a very productive final e-discussion over the next ten days! You'll find a direct link at the top of the sidebar area as well as below.

knowledge dig 9 link

Banner Image Survey

I've created a super short survey about banner images. Remember this website used to have a banner image? I removed it about two weeks ago so you could have the experience (pre/post) of seeing a website with banner image and without. Now let me know which is the better version for you! In turn this will help me tremendously as I design course websites for next semester. The survey needs to be completed before you leave class tonight.

banner image survey link

Examples of Multimedia Slideshows

Awhile ago I showed all of you the product named Soundslides. It's a great cross-platform software program that creates web-embedded slideshows (essentially run by Adobe Flash). For some of you this may be a great product to get.

More importantly, however, is that the Soundslides website has a forums section where people post examples of some of their work. Many (though not all) of these examples are slideshows that are embedded in newspaper websites. The shows are typically between 2 and 6 minutes in length. I encourage all of you to peruse some of these example slideshows. They typically aren't "educational," but they almost all are "journalistic" and thus serve the purpose of educating their respective newspaper audiences. Few of the examples are for entertainment only.

soundslides example page

Staying on Top of Research

I've just posted a new blog entry over at my personal website about various software tools to help you keep on top of organizing research articles. I've included DevonThink Professional for Mac-users, but also present three options for Windows-users. If interested, check out this overview article:

staying-on-top-of-research article

Visualizing Cognitive Load

Indexed_example, originally uploaded by Mathew Mitchell.

I thought some of you might appreciate the comic strip named Indexed. These comics are developed by Jessica Hagy. Above is an example of her work. Each day a new index card chart is posted. This one card seems to unintentionally explain some aspects of cognitive pretty well. Jessica's site is a great example of how somebody has developed a very simple-to-draw comic strip based on an ingenious ideas. Even lowly index cards can make great visuals!

Session 7 Live Materials

I'm posting the audio from our class last night mainly for Rebekka. If you were at class and you want to download, then you're also welcome. I'm posting the audio at the Session 7 Slideshows page, but also just below:

session 7 live audio download

Banner Image Removal

As mentioned in class, I'm trying an experiment. For some of you it may be easier to navigate the website if the banner image or header image is removed. I'd like to hear feedback about whether you prefer the banner image, or prefer the website as it is now (without banner image). After our next class I'll change back to a banner image showing if that's the preference of the class.

Friday Experiment

Tonight's class will employ a little experiment. Most of the class I'll have an etherPad screen in front of us. This allows those in the class (and perhaps one or two who are sick at home) to engage in live comments and questions. I don't know how it will really work in practice but this is an easy tool to implement. I'll describe more in class.

One of tonight's activities will involve using your last knowledge dig e-conversation. I converted this dig into a PDF. We'll be reading the PDF in class tonight. I'll bring hard copies, but some may prefer an electronic copy. Download if you'd like.

knowledge dig 7 discussion download

For the time being you may want to check out tonight's interactive whiteboard brought to you by etherPad (below). To keep our conversation private, you'll need to provide a password. The "word" is: usfmml. Please let me know if you have any problems accessing this page link.

session 7 whiteboard link

Submitting Multimedia Descriptions

I know all of you are working hard on your three multimedia products (audiobook, slideshow, and Flip video). Even if your products are not done, this is the time of the semester when it would be very useful for me to gather your written descriptions of each product.

Thus, before November 20 (midnight) please send me descriptions for each of your three products. Each product should have a title (e.g. "Scientific Method Audiobook") and at least a one paragraph. Navdeep provides a very nice model of how to write up such a description—see Navdeep's creation page.

You can send the descriptions within the body of an email—I don't need a standalone Word or PDF document. Putting the description within an email message is easier for me as I can then more quickly copy/paste into the relevant course website page.

If you absolutely don't know what you want to create yet for one of your products, then just let me know in the body of the same email.

Journal of Ed Psych Goodies

The new issue of APA's Journal of Educational Psychology was published today (Volume 101, Issue 4). This new issue may have several articles of interest to each of you, but specifically it has 3 articles that impact our discussions in Multimedia Learning. Since the articles were just released today, I'm providing these as an optional download instead of required reading.

three article download

Below are the abstracts for each of the three relevant multimedia learning articles:

Stull et al. study on 3D graphics & spatial ability

In 2 experiments, participants learned bone anatomy by using a handheld controller to rotate an on-screen 3-dimensional bone model. The on-screen bone either included orientation references, which consisted of visible lines marking its axes (orientation reference condition), or did not include such references (no–orientation reference condition). The learning task involved rotating the on-screen bone to match target orientations. Learning outcomes were assessed by asking participants to identify anatomical features from different orientations. On the learning task, the orientation reference group performed more accurately, directly, and quickly than did the control group, and high-spatial-ability individuals outperformed low-spatial-ability individuals. Assessments of anatomy learning indicated that under more challenging conditions, orientation references elevated learning by low-spatial-ability individuals to a level near that of high-spatial-ability individuals. The authors propose that orientation references assist this learning process by defining the object’s main axes or providing distinguishable features.

Craig et al. study on multimedia tutoring

Collaboratively observing tutoring is a promising method for observational learning (also referred to as vicarious learning). This method was tested in the Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center’s Physics LearnLab, where students were introduced to physics topics by observing videos while problem solving in Andes, a physics tutoring system. Students were randomly assigned to three groups: (a) pairs collaboratively observing videos of an expert human tutoring session, (b) pairs observing videos of expert problem solving, or (c) individuals observing expert problem solving. Immediate learning measures did not display group differences; however, long-term retention and transfer measures showed consistent differences favoring collaboratively observing tutoring.

Rittle-Johnson et al. study on prior knowledge

Comparing multiple examples typically supports learning and transfer in laboratory studies and is considered a key feature of high-quality mathematics instruction. This experimental study investigated the importance of prior knowledge in learning from comparison. Seventh- and 8th-grade students (N = 236) learned to solve equations by comparing different solution methods to the same problem, comparing different problem types solved with the same solution method, or studying the examples sequentially. Unlike in past studies, many students did not begin the study with equation-solving skills, and prior knowledge of algebraic methods was an important predictor of learning. Students who did not attempt algebraic methods at pretest benefited most from studying examples sequentially or comparing problem types, rather than from comparing solution methods. Students who attempted algebraic methods at pretest learned more from comparing solution methods. Students may need sufficient prior knowledge in a domain before they benefit from comparing alternative solution methods. These findings are in line with findings on the expertise-reversal effect.

Links Section Completed

I've completed a first draft of the Links section. After this course is done I'll switch the links page to be on my personal website. Over time I'll add more information and options to it. Currently I have short descriptions and links regarding suggested audio software, visual software, multimedia creation software, websites, and hardware.

If any of you have additional recommendations, then please send me a link with a short description. (I'll give you credit for authorship of the added item.) Although several Windows software programs are represented in this area, I know I must be missing some key wonderful products on that platform. If you see something missing please help contribute to this developing list of links.

Session 8 Materials Ready

The learning materials for Session 8 on Video are ready to download. Make sure you can download these items before this upcoming Friday class. If you experience any downloading problems, then let me know.

session 8 page link