Multimedia and Multiple Intelligences

Well, posting on this topic may put me on unsteady ground in my class as the professor has indicated that he is not a huge supporter of this theory, but if I am going to be honest I have to come out and say that I firmly believe in the "idea" of multiple intelligence.  I understand all the arguments about scientific basis, and I have read articles by folks like Fridley & Fridley (2010), who indicate that MI has origins in phrenology and that the idea is full of  holes.  I see where the criticism stems from and I am ok with it.  The thing for me is that the theory of multiple intelligences most closely describes what I have observed first hand and through my interactions with others.


The critics most often do what critics do and try to radicalize the theory as if Gardner was stating that each person is constructed of one intelligence and that is the only way they learn.  To the contrary, in his book, Frames of Mind:  The Theory of Multiple Intelligences (1993), he indicates that people are a mixed bag and typically have varying degrees of each intelligence within them, but that some tend to be more dominant.  What this means is that a person could have any combination of the nine identified intelligences with any number and combination as dominant.


With that out of the way, how does this relate to the use of multimedia?  Multimedia has the potential to bridge the gap between the varying intelligences, specifically in the distance learning or online environment.  Consider the typical fordist model with a high level of standardization and distribution.  Each course could be designed in such a way that each significant learning module would contain a variety of multimedia learning objects each of which contribute to the student's progress towards the established learning objective of that lesson.


There would be interactive models for kinesthetic learners, lectures for auditory learners, discussion boards for people who are interpersonal, and reflective blogs for those who are intrapersonal.  Each objective would have at least nine ways to interact with it.  Each type of learner may still be required to interact with all activities or, if the activities are equivalent in nature, each learner could interact with those objects that allow them to gain the best grasp of the subject matter.


While a traditional classroom may not allow for so many different learning activities, the industrialized model of online content delivery would enable educators to offer all of these different learning opportunities without greatly extending the time required by each student to comprehend the material.

References

Fridley, W., & Fridley, C. (2010). Some Problems & Peculiarities with the Learning Styles Rhetoric & Practice. Journal of Philosophy & History of Education, 6021-27. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.


Gardner, H. (1993). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences [Kindle Edition].   Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks.

Simonson, M., Sandino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S.  (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education.  (4th ed.)  New York City, NY: Allyn & Bacon.

Integrating technology into the curriculum

While reading the 6th chapter of Anthony Picciano's text my attention was drawn to a little section at the end of the chapter (pgs 108 & 109) where he discusses the issue of technology and curriculum integration.  Cost, training, and planning are all issues that Picciano regards as obstacles towards effective integration of the two.  Cost is associated with the costs of purchasing, maintaining, and updating whatever new technology a school may want to integrate.  Training relates mostly to the concept of teacher professional development and the time/costs associated with bringing people up to speed and gaining buy-in.  Additionally, planning is addressed due to the requirement to develop a plan that allows for continuous updating and flexibility.

I wonder if there need to be new approaches beyond simply trying to retrofit our already out of date educational process.  Perhaps the founders of schools like the Harlem Success Academy could lead us to imagine a new school founded upon an integrated approach.  No retrofit, just the best practices in educational technology brought to life by educators who were trained and on board with the approach.  This take on the problem negates a lot of the issues and allows for a ground up approach.  Negated are the issues of training and planning as these are dealt with from the onset.  Children enter an entirely new school system that has never known a world without technology.

On a smaller scale I wonder if the entire process is just not organic enough.  It's almost as if we are trying to reinvent the wheel.  How do people already use technology?  I think that may be as important a  question as how does a specific technology relate to learning theory.  The best new ideas are the ones that integrate seamlessly into people's lives.  The problem with new ideas in educational technology is that we seem to try and create new things based on research, but fitting those things into people's lives is difficult.  An example of a more organic technology for education would be something along the lines of Edmodo.  This system piggybacks off the idea of social networking, but is structured in such a way that best practices can still be utilized.

Overall the question about how to integrate technology into the curriculum is one that needs to be addressed.  Is there one answer that we can create an institutional model from or gone is the day of an industrialized system where everyone does business the same way?

Picciano chapters 4 & 5

I first want to apologize for to everyone for falling behind.  The first few weeks of school create "perfect storm" if you will and I often find myself cheating myself out of my own studies in order to deal with my outside commitments.  Things appear to be much more under control now and I expect to keep pace moving forward.

For week three we were supposed to have read chapters 4 & 5 of the Picciano text.  These were not exciting chapters.  The focus was on basic software tolls that educational leaders in general could use to manage their schools and direct their decision making processes.  While the information was valid and useful it seemed like a "lipstick on a pig" description of basic leadership principles where someone uses data and statistics to inform their decision making process.  Mostly just another example of someone going on and on about a process that most people already perform, but ascribing genius to themselves for having given the process a name.

The point here is that one should maintain a central database with which they will track essential information about all aspects of their school or program.  The data tracked and properly utilized will allow a person to see trends of the past, make predictions about the future, and use these to inform the decisions that they make.

Of the entire two chapters, revolving almost entirely around the use of DBMS, the point that really caught y eye was that the successful implementation of a data-driven decision making process within a school system has the potential to change the culture of that entire school system.  When any person at any level has ready access and the training to extrapolate the data needed to make informed and intelligent decisions there is no doubt that confidence, community, and excellence have the potential to flourish.  However, the obstacles that exist in most school systems, such as lack of training or ability, lack of access or resources, and most importantly lack of desire, have the potential to bring an entire implementation to a grinding halt.

I am not currently in a K-12 setting, but the interactions I have had in such settings lead me to believe that data-driven programs like this would be difficult at best to implement.  I am not against the concept, but as a realist I see very real hurdles in making sweeping changes to the culture of an entire school system.

First Thoughts: EDUC 638

I have to be honest and say that as I read the Picciano text and the Hall text, nothing really stood out to me as a new or unique idea during the first few chapters.  Most of what was said was overview type information covered or read in previous educational technology courses.  If I have to grab on to an idea,  it's that the entire process of leadership as it relates to educational technology really goes back to the position a leader takes regarding his or her philosophy of education.  Until that is understood little else can be accomplished.  This idea dictates the types of technology a leader may be willing to implement and henceforth how they will be planned for.

 I suppose this does not mean that an instructor/technologist need only search for employment in a place that shares his or her philosophy of education, but it could reduce the friction involved in the planning process.  On page 11 of the Picciano text he states that allowing others to participate in the administrative process will increase buy in and investment by those who must implement the plan.  This process would be much more efficient if there was a shared educational philosophy amongst the administration and the instructors/technologists.  This can only be the case if each person's philosophy logically extends to his or her practices.  Too often this is not the case and a disruptive inconsistency is created.  This rift would make planing for technology exceptionally difficult and collaboration nearly impossible.

All of this is to say that in planning or leading one must look back to what they believe philosophically, even in the realm or technology.  It is a commonly agreed upon fact supported by Picciano that technology for technology's sake is ineffective.  The instructors/technologists must carefully examine how each implementation contributes to they way he or she believes knowledge and learning is constructed.

Cloud Computing and Me

I have to admit, I am fairly new to the cloud concept.  I have always been the person running around with disks and more recently thumb drives, or even emailing myself documents all over the place.  The idea of cloud computing is supposed to make all of that unnecessary and life a little more simple.

Recently I started my venture into cloud computing by signing up for Dropbox.  This handy little app allows me to place a folder on my home computer and anything I put in that folder is synced with my account online.  From there I am able to access my files from any other computer I can access the Internet with or even from my phone.  The days of running around with multiple media drives or emailing things back and forth between work and home are over!

The best part is that there is no need to keep track of which copy is the most up to date or what do I do now that I forgot to email that to myself.

The future of cloud computing is bright and brands like Apple are ready to jump on board.  The next release of Apple's mobile os, OS 5, will be very much cloud based and I for one cannot wait.  My iPhone will wirelessly sync with my computer when I plug it into a charger in another room, my iPad and iPhone will seamlessly allow me to move from one device to the other because my documents are stored in a cloud and not on the device itself.  I will be able to start a text conversation on one and pick up the other as I walk out the door without missing a beat.

In the world of education the potential is for huge increases in academic collaboration as entire research projects could be cloud based and accessed real time from universities and students all around the world.  Grade school students can collaborate with children in other parts of the world.  Assignments will not be lost and the transfer from working at home to school and back again will be painless.

All in all the advent of cloud computing is a huge step in the right direction for the technology world and even more so for the Educational Technology world. 

Technology in my daily life

It is hard to think of almost any aspect of my daily life without contemplating the technology that is involved.  It starts with the wakeup from my iPhone, the several little red dots telling me about all the things I need to do for the day, places I need to be, and the games in which it is my turn.  Next I am into my weather.com app so that I can figure out how my kids and I should dress for the day.  Since the wife is already at work by this time our first communication of the day is always over the iphone as well.

Several text conversations occur between the wife and I between the time I get up and the time I get to work.  From there it is time to log into my workplace provided ball and chain.  I then stand in front of my computer for 8 hours evaluating student progress in various online courses, processing withdrawals, and answering chats from academic advisors who need me to look at one thing or another about a student file.

At lunch I either read a book on my Kindle app or watch a show streaming from Netflix on my phone.

Lunch is over and it's back to the cube for a little more one on one time with my desktop computer.  The 5 o'clock whistle blows and I'm out the door and the conversations with my wife and kids over Facetime or the phone begin as we talk about how much we have missed one another and I get my list of things I must get a the store before coming home.

At the store my list is all on the iphone so I check the items off as they enter my cart and then check myself out (something that always takes twice as long as using an actual checkout person since the register always has an issue and the clerk always has to come fix it).

Back in the car and headed home I get to finally see my family and we spend some quality time together before the kids are off to bed and I am chaining myself to my own desktop at home as I work towards my goal of a graduate degree. 

Before bed it's back tothe red circles with numbers in them just to make sure there are no tasks left undone and no crops left unharvested.  Set the alarm and it's a solid 6 hours until it all happens again.

Social Networking Technologies & Education

Man, I feel like someone just set me up here.  For anyone that has been reading my posts since the beginning of the class you will know where this is bound to end up, that's right, edmodo.com.  Before I get to into that let me address at least one other social networking tool and the possible contributions it may add to the classroom.

I think that one technology that is being overlooked for classroom use is Twitter.  Many associate it with mindless updates about mac & Cheese and how much kids hate their parents, but there is real value to be had in an application that kids are already so tied in to.  Twitter can be used to facilitate classroom discussion by allowing students to que topics during a love classroom discussion, it can be used to allow students who may not usually raise their hands to participate using a media that is more comfortable to them, and even better, Twitter can be used to extend the conversation outside of the classroom.  All of these concepts are very basic, but motivate students by allowing them to engage in class via a format they are passionate about.  The biggest struggle here is in keeping students focused and on task while still teaching.

Of course Twitter was my sidebar so now it's on to bigger and more "edmodo-ier" things. If you visit the site edmodo.com you will be greeted with a Facebook like atmosphere specifically designed to enhance the classroom and extend the classroom into kid's every day lives.  Here is a great example from Geek.com about a teacher who integrate edmodo into a field trip. 

http://tinyurl.com/edmodotrip

 This is just one great example of how edmodo can be integrated into the educational environment.  Edmodo is also accessible via regular desktop or laptop computers and kids can interact with school notes, archived professor lectures, and form study groups in an environment that is safe and controlled.

Collaboration in online asynchronous & synchronous environments

Over the past several years I have mainly been an asynchronous being when it came to my online interactions.  For classes I used email and discussion boards, for work I used email and "semi-synchronous" chats, and at home I was on Facebook and email.  This past semester my eyes were really opened as part of the ID course I was taking required two synchronous class sessions and at least two synchronous group meetings during the course of our ID project.

I was pretty turned off at first, the idea of having to schedule out times in my busy days to meet with people I didn't know seemed like it may be a bit much for this introverted family guy.  It didn't take long for that impression to change.  We had our first class session on Illuminate and the professor was talking to us from a conference she was attending in Australia.  She went over varying course requirements, allowed us to ask any questions we might have about the fairly intense course and to just introduce ourselves in person (so to speak).  The second synchronous class session was much later, around week 6, and each group had to present work that they had collaborated on to the rest of the class.  It was really interesting and added a new dynamic to my typical online course experience.


Throughout the course my group met several times on Skype and while the planned meetings were usually scheduled for an hour we would find ourselves mixing in personal conversations with our work an developing connections that I had not made in any other of my online courses.  We mixed many of our Skype sessions with simultaneous Google Docs sessions as we collaborated on our project and as one of the new technologies we were experimenting with was edmodo we spent some time collaborating asynchronously on there as well.


Now that my ID course is over I do not find myself on Skype much any more, but I have still found many uses for newly discovered asynchronous technologies like Google Docs.  Right now I am collaborating with my wife's cousin as we work through the ceremony for her wedding in late July.

I really found that while I was reluctant to use the synchronous communications technologies I truly came to enjoy and appreciate them.  Skype and Illuminate allowed me to feel a connection to my instructor and to my classmates that I have never had before in an online course.  In addition to the relationship building they also facilitated  our group project in a far more expeditious manner than any experience I have previously had using discussion boards or email.  While I don't have a lot of people to talk to using synchronous technologies I can assure you that when the need arises I will be the first to suggest their use.

Web-based resources

Amazingly enough I never really give much thought to the site I visit on a regular basis, they just sort of integrate into my life.  For educational purposes I am a big fan of  http://www.editlib.org , this is a site I typically enter through the Liberty research portal and they have a nice selection of up to date articles on all things Ed Tech.  I am also an advocate of http://www.khanacademy.org/ , this is a great site for "learning just about anything".  Finally I do use http://www.luonline.com/ more than any other website out there as this is my place of business and most of the information I need can be found there.

For my own personal use I visit my local newspaper at http://www2.newsadvance.com/ daily in order to find out what's going on around me locally.  http://www.urbanfonts.com/free-fonts.htm is a great little site to visit for Photoshop fonts for all my amateur Photoshop projects.  Of course I visit my FB page a few times a day.

For overall living my wife and I couldn't get by without http://allrecipes.com/ and http://www.weather.com/.  I can't think of a day that we don't use those two.

presentations, what works for me

This week I was asked to think about my own learning style and what types of presentation work for me as a learner.  Most assuredly I am a kinesthetic learner.  I was always the kid that just dumped the toy onto the floor looked at the diagrams and had my thing together on Christmas morning while all my friends waited a week for their dads to assemble theirs.  In the Marines I was a radio communications specialist and I learned far more form glancing at the basics then playing with new equipment than I ever got from a lecture or manual.  In fact, when I am able to physically interact with the material I am also able to exercise the imagination effect as described by Sweller (2008).  This only increases my understanding of the material as more information is internalized and stored in long term memory.

Though Kinesthetic is my most prominent learning style I have always been able to learn through other means, which comes in handy in a world of lecture and rote memorization.  A good presentation for me would allow a lot of interaction and opportunity for me to practice the concepts being taught.  The biggest issue I see with most current presentation models is that they are simply professor-less lectures.  While all the capability exists to construct multiple paths through the knowledge and to the learning objective these paths are rarely constructed or even acknowledged.  

Reference

Sweller, J. (2008). Human Cognitive Architecture. In Driscoll, M. P., Merrill, M. D., Merrienboer, J. V., & Spector, J. M. (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology [Kindle Version]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Educational-Communications-Technology-ebook/dp/B000SJZO90/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1

My Personal Participation in Online Communities

     I am not heavily involved in many online communities.  I am a member of a few, and active in probably one, but I am more on the receptive end of things than anything.  I Tried My Space back when, but it was little too much for the kids in my opinion.  From there I got connected in Facebook, which really serves as my primary online community.
     I keep a minimal amount of friends and it is typically restricted to people I know in real life.  I do also maintain a Facebook page for professional purposes, and I have made that page much easier to find.  One serves for my personal connections with friends and family and allows me to post pictures privately with them.  The other is where I friend my coworkers, Bosses, and professional associates.  I don't really post much there, but it satisfies the need.  I am on Twitter, but my use of that is in its infancy, and I am mostly a consumer at this point.  As I have said many times, I am also on edmodo.com, which is a FB like site designed for educational use.  So far I am only really connected to four people, they were all on my ISD team in EDUC 633, but who knows where that will go as I research it further.
     I am also a member of some professional groups online, but much like Twitter these memberships are mostly new and mostly as a consumer of information.  I would like for my role in these to change at some point, but I honestly find it difficult to devote the time to be overly active in these communities with all the things I have going on in my analog life.
     My family is a mixed bag when it comes to communities.  My wife has no interest.  I made her a FB page and it sat dormant for a year before I finally took it down.  My youngest is, well, too young to really be communicating with others on the Internet, but we have allowed some monitored usage of restrictive social games where characters can interact, but only in the context of a game.  Such sites do not have chat or ways for others to identify her or communicate with her, and I emphasize that she is always monitored if she is using such things.  My oldest uses message boards to talk with others kids about games she is playing, but doesn't have a web presence so to speak.
     Overall I am really the online person in the house, but I assume this will change once my daughters get a little older.

My thoughts on the adoption of technology in schools

     This week I was asked to reflect upon the nature of technology adoption in schools. The initial ideas that came to mind were thoughts about being able to authentically integrate technology so that it was part of the curriculum and not just an addition to it, or the level of faculty support and training that is provided, or the level of buy-in from the school leadership, but that isn’t where I ended up. Don’t get me wrong, those are all great points, but they leave one stark reality in the dust. In a world where school budgets are determined at the last possible second and monies are reduced by millions every year the big issue is the ability to plan for the long term.

    Our schools as a whole are a great example. We know that the majority of schools systems in existence are physically and pedagogically designed around an industrialized teacher centered model. While some educators have tried to implement alternate models, the old inefficient model still remains. The integration of technology on a large scale will suffer much the same fate if long term commitments are not made up front.

     These commitments need to allocate long term money to technology programs within the school systems that will not face cuts or compromises. Leadership must buy into the programs; teachers must be educated on the technology and how to integrate it into the curriculum without creating an extraneous load on the students. Students need to be supplied with new and relevant information that does not come from antiquated text books containing facts that are already out of date, and parents need to be brought into the loop as well.

     The problem that exists is that we live in a world that revolves around immediate results. If we can’t test it with a bubble sheet then we probably won’t spend our money on it when it comes to education. The educational needs of our children have evolved and society, though quick to adapt technology on a personal or business level, is unwilling or unable to revolutionize the educational system in much the same way. Until we as a society are ready to recognize the need for change and drastically alter our philosophical perspective of knowledge and education, and make a long term commitment to funding and supporting the integration of technology as the medium, I fear that all of our efforts in the field will only serve as window dressing.

Transition time

     Just an administrative note to mark the end of my postings for EDUC 633 and the beginning point for my postings for EDUC 630.

     I have some final work to hand in for EDUC 633, but it has been a phenominal experience.  I truly feel like I have gained some insights on instructional design that I did not previously have.  I am not a classroom teacher so EDUC 630 is actually a bit more intimidating to me.  The idea of integrating technology into the classroom is a good one, I simply do not have a venue in which to incorporate the ideas yet.  I am sure it will all work out.  I hope you enjoy this next 8 weeks of postings for EDUC 630.

Best practices for Online Faculty

     While the world of distance education is booming and coming into its own there is no lack of research being done in the major areas regarding learners and courses, but there seems to be a significantly smaller amount of research being conducted regarding the faculty who deliver online courses.  Specifically I wanted to read a variety of articles that related to different aspects of online faculty, but one concept in particular caught my attention.

     

     Zappala (2007) discussed the transformation of distance education and how it has evolved from a very behaviorist teacher centered concept to a more social constructivist learner centered model.  This evolution is good and has done much to advance the educational experience of adult learners in distance education programs.  How have these changes affected the faculty who facilitate these courses?

       

     In the article Zappala (2007) applies the same concepts of andragogy being applied to distance learners and turns it around on distance faculty.  Why would the faculty, who learn the same way adult learners do, not need to apply the same principles of social constructivism and transformative learning?  He argues that distance faculty are often isolated from their peers and their students while in need of the same levels of interaction and authentic experience.  There does not appear to be enough research to declare a best practice in dealing with the circumstances, but most researchers believe that faculty must be afforded a collaborative experience with their peers and a transformative interaction with their students if they are going to be satisfied and successful as online faculty members.

    

     As I read through the article I was struck by the lack of any solid answers to the issue and the lack of research being done in the area.  It would seem that all the best practices in the world will not mean anything for the rest of distance education if the faculty who are called to teach are not in a position to do so.  Too often the mistake is made of over emphasizing one particular component of a problem and I am afraid that this is the case in modern day distance education.  While many of the issues for learners and course delivery are being solved, the faculty are being left in the dust.

   

References

Land, T. (2004). Distant Learning Leaders: What You Don't Know Could Hurt    You!. In J. Nall & R. Robson (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2004 (pp. 107-112). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from  

http://www.editlib.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/p/11325.

Miller, G., Stokes, D. & Williamson, L. (2009). Reconstructing Distance Education Training in the State of Utah: Connecting the Literature on Best Methods to the Development. In I. Gibson et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2009 (pp. 466-474). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/p/30639.

Zappala, A. (2007). Social Constructivism and Transformative Learning Theories in the development of Online Instructors: Best Andragogical Practices. In C. Montgomerie & J. Seale (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2007 (pp.2487-2493). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/p/25721.

Authentic Assessment

     According to Drummond (2005) the primary challenge regarding online education is that the assessments we are using were based on an older learning goals.  His recommendation is that in the new learning paradigm we must integrate learning and assessment if we are to be effective in our goals.  The concept of reading a passage, hearing a lecture, and then taking a multiple choice test are mostly things of the past.  Drummond champions the concept that learning must be real to the learner.  The learner must see value in the lesson that can be used towards their everyday lives.  This in turn requires that assessment have the same goals, that is, to authentically assess the student’s learning in a manner that is relevant and at the same time informative.   Integrated assessment not only allows the learner to see value in the applicability of the material, but it allows for more immediate corrective feedback, which the learner can then turn around and use to improve in the very course they are in.

     Isreal, Moshirina, and Anderson (2008) believe that one answer to the solution can be found in the use of wikis in online learning environments.  They claim that wikis offer authentic assessment possibilities through their flexibility of application.  The specific example given is for case based assessments for pre-service teachers, but could be applied to any complex assessment issue.  The use of wiki allows the user to enter different aspects of a case from interviews, to evaluations, past records, to conversations or meetings that have been recorded.  The learner is allowed to use higher order thinking to directly apply their learning to a situation that has bearing on what they wanted to use the information for in the first place.  This method also allows for errors to be corrected before they are exacted upon real students and parents.

     Based on the information I have read and my own experiences with education both face to face and in an online environment there exists a legitimate need to incorporate authentic assessment methods into online learning programs.  I cannot count the number of times I have heard classmates complain about getting graded assignments back two weeks after they were submitted.  In a 16 week face to face environment where you are receiving at least weekly feedback based on your interaction in the class, this may be acceptable, but in an online environment where classes average five to eight weeks it is too long.  Learners are not able to incorporate the feedback into their future learning and the point of assessment is lost as anything other than a tool to know where the learner was.  There is much to be done, but research done by people like McLoughlin & Luca (2006) is making great strides in pinpointing a best practices approach to assessment in an online environment. 

References

Drummond, C. (2005). Using Instructional Design Techniques to Create an Authentic Online Assessment Model for an Introductory Computer Science Course. Journal of Interactive Instruction Development, 17(3), 20-32. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Israel, M., Moshirnia, A. & Anderson, S. (2008). Case-Based Authentic Assessment Applications within Wikis. In J. Luca & E. Weippl (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2008 (pp. 2608-2617). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/p/28727.

McLoughlin, C. & Luca, J. (2006). Best Practice in Online Assessment: Principles, Processes and Outcomes. In E. Pearson & P. Bohman (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2006 (pp. 2375-2382). Chesapeake, VA: AACE. Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/p/23341.

Webibliography for Chpt 15 regarding the use of games and simulations in elearning

Webibliography:  Simulations and Games in e-Learning

Summary

    
     The mental process or today’s generation functions differently than any other generation to exist previously.  Most learners today have been inundated with various electronic stimuli since near birth age.  According to Clark and Mayer (2008) this has caused a legitimate neurological difference in the way that this generation learns.  It is believed that due to overstimulation and an acceptance of multitasking today’s learners are bored with traditional directed learning methods.  One new approach to reaching these learners is through the use of games and simulations.

     

     Simulations and games offer much to the “digital native”, but the article is concerned more with a best practices approach.  According to the authors there is far more that is not known about the integration of games and simulations than there is known.  This situation exists because there has been a plethora of research into the area from which to draw some basic principles, but that research has lacked the sound empirical practices to establish a solid taxonomy regarding these new advances.   

     Though the research is shaky at best Clark and Mayer (2008) have managed to construct five general principles to use towards the development of effective educational games and simulations.  The principles are as follows:

1.       Match Game Types to Learning Goals.

a.       Different types of games such as arcade style or jeopardy style promote particular types of learning and response. 

b.      One example of a failed match is the use of Oregon Trail game to teach students about frontier life and economics.  Most students were more caught up with shooting animals and racing to the end point.

c.       It is important to evaluate what you want students to learn and choose a game or simulation that will encourage those behaviors.

2.       Make Learning Essential to Progress.

a.       Many times designers try to build objectives into the background of the game or bring irrelevant information to the forefront. 

b.      One example was taken from the game America’s Army where learners where able to answer 75% of questions related to relevant information, but only able to answer 60% of questions related to irrelevant information.

c.       It is important that the objectives themselves are built into the game’s plot and that  some identifiable means of meeting those objectives be required prior to advancing in the game

3.       Build in Guidance.

a.       Without guidance learners can teach themselves the software and perform well on the game, but may not meet the learning objectives.

b.      One of the major ways to build in guidance is by incorporating explanations as feedback and between segments of the game.

c.       Optimizing the visuals is another way of providing guidance.  By keeping the detail for non-relevant aspects low and going higher on the relative details learners can be kept on track.

4.       Promote Reflection on Correct Answers.

a.       One of the largest issues with games is that the high levels of interactivity do not allow for reflection on what has been learned.

b.      When time for reflection is allowed learners may be reflecting on bad information if corrective feedback has not been given.

c.       The key is to provide feedback and time for reflection so that learners can reflect on the correct answers to problems.

5.       Manage Complexity.

a.       Complexity can be managed several ways.  One of the primary means is through goal progression.

b.      Training wheels and faded design are fairly similar concepts that also allow for managing complexity by providing higher levels of support at first and then allowing more user control as they progress.

c.       In an attempt to reduce cognitive overload fast paced games should be avoided, learner paced interaction is most desirable.

Reflection

      

     While Clark and Mayer (2008) propose some great concepts that I can see as extremely useful the most pertinent fact that sticks in my mind is that all of these principles are still based on weak research.  Many practices seem obvious, but when sound research principles are applied we find that they are not nearly as effective or obvious as we had once thought.  This is my concern with much of this chapter until additional empirical evidence is produced.

     

     Aside from the lack of research the concept of matching the type of learning to a particular style of game or simulation is something I could see as a very useful.  Specifically in our ISD project where we are attempting to teach a learner a specific principle I would think that most games would not be appropriate.  Considering that the lesson will also be provided free of charge I would not think that the cost-benefit would be in our favor.  However, a simple simulation where a learner is provided with situations and then asked to select the best response from a bank of choices might be inexpensive, effective, and appropriate.

References

Clark, R., Mayer, R. (2008) e-learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven guidelines for    

          consumers and designers of multimedia learning. San Francisco, CA. Pfeiffer.

Cognitive Load Theory

     The extent to which any instruction is effective depends heavily on whether it takes the characteristics of human cognition into account (Sweller, 2008).  This is the main premise behind Cognitive Load Theory. 

     Cognitive load theory suggests that there are three major types of load that are imposed upon a learners mind when they are trying to learn something.  These different loads are the Extraneous, the Germane, and the Intrinsic.  Sweller (2008) indicates that intrinsic load is the amount of difficulty imposed on the learning process that is inherent in the information to be learned.  Intrinsic is the one load that cannot be affected by ISD principles, but at the same time must be taken into account when designing instruction.  Extraneous load is the extra load placed on the learning process by disorganized, clunky, and poor instructional design as well as outside factors.  The goal of instructional design would be to reduce this type of load.  Germane load is where the learning is really able to occur.  With higher amounts of germane load the mind is able to organize and process information while at the same time accessing and storing data in long term memory.  This is positively affected by quality instructional design.

      

     One major weakness of cognitive load theory is its lack of a specific form of measure (Jong, 2010).  There have been many attempts at measuring the different levels of cognitive load, but most are relative and seek answers from the subjects.  Until there is some third party scientific way to measure levels of cognitive load the theory will struggle for full acceptance. 

      

      Additionally, Schnotz & Kürschner (2007) indicate that Cognitive load theory is too general in that it does not specify the types of affect that some of the secondary loads have upon one another, and in turn the major forms of cognitive load.

     

      Cognitive load theory does have much to offer in the way of strengths, and is widely accepted and integrated into instructional design theory.  Two of the major effects that I would integrate into my own design toolbox would be the “split-attention effect” and the “modality effect”.  These two are just a small sampling of the many effects proposed by cognitive load theory, but are highly relevant to the development of distance learning. 

     

      Split-attention effect refers to the load that is placed on learners by trying to reconcile two items in isolation and how the load is reduced when those same two items are combined (Sweller, 2008).  For example, a PowerPoint presentation can be combined with an audio lecture into a Captivate presentation.  This combines the two different items into one and reduces extraneous load.

      

     The modality effect takes the split-attention effect simply to another level.  Modality recognizes that each receptive method could be viewed as an individual channel.  Instead of integrating two different types of items, say visual and auditory, this takes into account that a learner may need to view two items on the same channel.  One example would be if a student needed to look at a diagram and a text.  If the visual channel can only handle one at a time then the text could be converted to audio.  From there the audio and the diagram are combined as in the split-attention effect. 

      

References

Jong, T. (2010). Cognitive load theory, educational research, and instructional design: some food for thought. Instructional Science, 38(2), 105-134. doi:10.1007/s11251-009-9110-0

Schnotz, W., & Kürschner, C. (2007). A Reconsideration of Cognitive Load Theory. Educational Psychology Review, 19(4), 469-508. doi:10.1007/s10648-007-9053-4

Sweller, J. (2008). Human Cognitive Architecture. In Driscoll, M. P., Merrill, M. D., Merrienboer, J. V.,  & Spector, J. M. (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology, [Kindle Version]. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Educational-Communications-Technology-ebook/dp/B000SJZO90/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1