15,468 research outputs found

    Quality criteria for multimedia

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    The meaning of the term quality as used by multimedia workers in the field has become devalued. Almost every package is promoted by its developers as being of the ‘highest quality’. This paper draws on practical experience from a number of major projects to argue, from a quality‐assurance position, that multimedia materials should meet pre‐defined criteria relating to their objectives, content and incidence of errors

    Building the Knowledge of Human Perception into E-Learning

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    Human perceptual systems—for sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell (and maybe even embodied proprioception)—may offer some guidelines for how to build multimedia e-learning: immersive 3D simulations, imagery for analysis, sight-and-sound distributions of information channels, and other applications. This will offer a brief overview of human perception (with a little human cognition thrown in) and some light applications to the design of e-learning

    The role of learning goals in the design of ILEs: some issues to consider

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    Part of the motivation behind the evolution of learning environments is the idea of providing students with individualized instructional strategies that allow them to learn as much as possible. It has been suggested that the goals an individual holds create a framework or orientation from which they react and respond to events. There is a large evidence-based literature which supports the notion of mastery and performance approaches to learning and which identifies distinct behavioural patterns associated with each. However, it remains unclear how these orientations manifest themselves within the individual: an important question to address when applying goal theory to the development of a goal-sensitive learner model. This paper exposes some of these issues by describing two empirical studies. They approach the subject from different perspectives, one from the implementation of an affective computing system and the other a classroom-based study, have both encountered the same empirical and theoretical problems: the dispositional/situational aspect and the dimensionality of goal orientation

    Evaluation of the development and application of multimedia computer assisted learning in Higher Education.

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    This thesis deals with approaches to the evaluation of multimedia computer assisted learning in higher education. The thesis is presented in two parts. The first part consists mainly of a literature based review of the rationale and methods employed in the development of multimedia CAL systems focusing on the ability of such systems to deliver a variety of pedagogic aims and objectives which the literature on the subject generally attributes to them. This was done in order to identify and examine the important features which should be incorporated in the effective evaluation of such systems. 1) the pedagogical basis of multimedia learning environments with particular reference to the mechanism by which they claim to encourage an approach to learning which facilitates 'deep' rather than 'shallow' learning' (Chapters 3 and 4); 2) the basis on which multimedia CAL systems claim to provide interactive learning environments which allow the teaching materials to be tailored by learners to accommodate their own individual preferences for adopting particular learning strategies. In particular this focused on the importance of individual learning styles and learners' degree of computer confidence (Chapter 5); 3) the institutional/delivery factors which must be understood to explain fully the context in which evaluations are carried out and which may have important effects on the outcomes of evaluation (Chapter 6). This literature review, together with a practical survey of a range of existing CAL courseware and an e-mail survey of CAL developers provides the basis for presenting an approach to evaluation which differentiates systems on the basis of the pedagogic approach they adopt and the context in which they are implemented. Finally, a critical review of existing evaluation methods was undertaken and important elements within these methods were incorporated into a new framework for evaluation. The framework provides a tool for determining an evaluation strategy that encompasses all stages of development, formative and summative evaluation of CAL courseware. Evaluation is based on the explicit aims and objectives of the courseware being provided and is moderated by contextual factors that define the pedagogical approach being taken, any individual learner differences that must be taken into account, and the institutional/delivery context within which the courseware is used. An analysis of the implications of the framework when formulating an evaluation strategy demonstrates weaknesses in the assessment instruments currently being used in evaluation studies - particularly for providing reliable measures of 'learning effect' as part of summative evaluation and also with respect to accurate quantification of costs associated with development and use of CAL courseware. The second part of the thesis tests the framework. The approach taken was to develop and formatively and summatively assess a multimedia CAL system used to teach parts of a course on bibliographic classification to students at the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. Qualitative and quantitative tests to accomplish this are described and the result of statistical analyses of learner performance when using the system are presented. This empirical study provides further insights into the practical problems involved in developing and evaluating a multimedia CAL system and in particular highlights: 1) the influence which individual learning style (as measured by the Gregorc Style Delineator) has on student performance in a context in which postgraduate students were required to use the CAL courseware rather than attend lectures - results indicate that CAL does not serve all learners equally; 2) the importance of the delivery context in a study in which undergraduate students were provided with CAL materials to supplement the delivery of their course. The evaluation framework was found to be a robust framework for developing and testing didactic teaching packages which were developed in the context of improving the quality of the teaching and learning of bibliographic classification to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Recommendations are provided for future research based on using the framework to explore other contexts in which courseware is developed and implemented

    The use of I.C.T. in the teaching of kinematics at post-secondary level – a case study

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    ΠΔρÎčέχΔÎč Ï„Îż Ï€Î»ÎźÏÎ”Ï‚ ÎșÎ”ÎŻÎŒÎ”ÎœÎżThis paper is meant to probe into the effectiveness of I.C.T. as a teaching resource. An experimental method was adopted as the research design of this study and two groups of students i.e. a test and a control group participated. The students were college students (16-18 year olds) who were studying Physics at Intermediate level. All students did a pre-test in order to establish equivalence of groups and to identify the different misconceptions that they have in the area under study - Kinematics. Two course layouts were designed for the test and control group. The test group was taught using simulations and video graphing as a teaching aid. The control group were taught using the lecture method and some simple demonstrations. Both courses ran parallel and addressed the misconceptions identified. A post-test was carried out to check for differences in achievements between the groups. Analysis of the results provided the raw material to identify how effective was the use of I.C.T. as a resource in the teaching of kinematics. The paper tries to identify the possible reasons for these results

    Mining for Culture: Reaching Out of Range

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    The goal of this paper is to present a tool that will sustain the development of culturally relevant computing artifacts by providing an effective means of detecting culture identities and cultures of participation. Culturally relevant designs rely heavily on how culture impacts design and though the guidelines for producing culturally relevant objects provide a mechanism for incorporating culture in the design, there still requires an effective method for garnering and identifying said cultures that reflects a holistic view of the target audience. This tool presents culturally relevant designs as a process of communicating with key audiences and thus bridging people and technology in a way that once seemed out of range

    An investigation into the use of a blended model of learning

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    The weaknesses of ‗traditional‘ modes of instruction in accounting education have been widely discussed. Many contend that the traditional approach limits the ability to provide opportunities for students to raise their competency level and allow them to apply knowledge and skills in professional problem solving situations. However, the recent body of literature suggests that accounting educators are indeed actively experimenting with ‗non-traditional‘ and ‗innovative‘ instructional approaches, where some authors clearly favour one approach over another. But can one instructional approach alone meet the necessary conditions for different learning objectives? Taking into account the ever changing landscape of not only business environments, but also the higher education sector, the premise guiding the collaborators in this research is that it is perhaps counter productive to promote competing dichotomous views of ‗traditional‘ and ‗non-traditional‘ instructional approaches to accounting education, and that the notion of ‗blended learning‘ might provide a useful framework to enhance the learning and teaching of accounting. This paper reports on the first cycle of a longitudinal study, which explores the possibility of using blended learning in first year accounting at one campus of a large regional university. The critical elements of blended learning which emerged in the study are discussed and, consistent with the design-based research framework, the paper also identifies key design modifications for successive cycles of the research

    The particulate nature of polyatomic ions: an exploratory study using molecular drawing software

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    The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of molecular drawing software would improve student understanding of polyatomic ions. Using software designed for producing drawings of molecules, students developed drawings of polyatomic ions during a regular activity of the state mandated core curriculum on ions. The sample consisted of students enrolled in chemistry at a rural south Louisiana high school-both Honors and Regular. Pretest and posttest scores were analyzed with a number of covariants. The statistical analysis of test scores indicated that there was no significant difference in the improved test scores between the treatment and control groups. The lack of a significant improvement in test scores fails to mirror the results of other documented studies such as that performed by Wu, Krajcik, and Soloway (2001), which made use of similar representations and produced positive gains in the understanding of formulas. However, interviews that were conducted seemed to indicate that the treatment students did obtain a greater understanding of polyatomic ions than did the control group students. More sensitive test items may be needed to detect changes in understanding caused by the intervention. Despite learning this new computer visualization skill in addition to mastering the traditional content, statistical analysis showed the intervention did not have a detrimental effect on test performance. Through personal observation of student performance in later lessons, some transfer appears to have been achieved amongst the students in the treatment group. The possibility of transfer follows some of the findings of Haskell (2001). It was also observed that students that had the opportunity to utilize the computer software had improved inquiry skills. The average test scores for all groups increased with the greatest increases in the treatment group scores. Despite these gains, there was no significant increase in test scores for the treatment group. Analysis of the Birnie-Abraham-Renner Quick Attitude Differential (Williamson, 1992) scores indicated no correlation between student attitudes and the intervention. From the analysis of the interviews, there is an indication that an improved understanding of polyatomic ion structure resulted from the intervention

    Does instructional format really matter? Cognitive load theory, multimedia and teaching English Literature

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    This article reports a quasi-experimental study on the effects of multimedia teaching and learning in English Literature--a subject which places high cognitive load on students. A large-scale study was conducted in 4 high-achieving secondary schools to examine the differences made to students' learning and performance by the use of multimedia and to relate this to different kinds of multimedia. Statistical significance and effect size calculations indicated that the equivalent of one grade level in General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) was associated with the use of advanced and integrated multimedia, and that this was stronger than the effects of schools and sex of the students. It was found that advanced multimedia software eased cognitive overload, particularly in the area of intrinsic cognitive load. Limitations of the study are drawn, including the needs to examine process variables and learner-related variables. Conclusions and implications for further research and for enhancing teaching and learning with multimedia are made

    Designing Serious Games for Education: From Pedagogical Principles to Game Mechanisms

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    International audienceSGs represent an important opportunity for improving education thanks to their ability to compel players and to present realistic simulations of real-life situations. The scientific community is aware that we are just at the beginning of a proper use of gaming technologies for education and training and, in particular, there is a need for scientific and engineering methods for building games not only as more realistic simulations of the physical world, but as means that provide effective learning experiences. This requires an ever closer cooperation among the various actors involved in the overall SG life- chain, putting pedagogy in a central role, given the educational target of the SGs. This paper addresses the till-now inadequate integration of educational and game design principles and proposes techniques, methods and mechanisms that allow designers with different background to dialogue among each other and to define games that are able to integrate - by design - entertainment and educational features. In particular, the paper follows a design path that starts from the definition of reference frameworks and then analyses the typical categories of design patterns, before focusing on the user-interaction modalities - seen from a pedagogical point of view - given their relevance for the end-users. In the end, we discuss the sandbox serious game model, that looks suited to implement - by design - joint pedagogical and entertainment features. We believe that the indications provided in this paper can be useful for researchers and stakeholders to understand the typical issues in SG design and to get inspiration about possible solutions that take into account the need to implement tools that are effective both as an entertainment medium and as an education tool
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