Easily Read, Easily Forgotten: Reassessing the Effects of Visual Difficulties and Multi-Modality in Educational Text Design

The graphic design of a book affects the way the reader receives and processes information. However, design is often focused on aesthetic principles and traditional wisdom, not taking into account how design aspects affect cognitive processes and educational outcomes. This thesis examines the efficacy of page design elements on educational outcomes, specifically disfluent fonts, handwritten fonts and multi-modal design. The traditional wisdom of typography has maintained that the faster the human eye can read a text, the more suited it is for reading materials. However, recent research suggests that disfluent, or difficult-to-read fonts result in significantly improved reading comprehension and retention (Chih-Ming Chen & Yu-Ju Lin 553; Diemand-Yauman, et al. 114; Faber, et al. 914; French, M. M. J., et al. 301; Geller, Jason, et al.1109; Halin, et al. 31; Oppenheimer D.M & Frank M.D. 1178). This body of research suggests that certain visual disfluencies enhance educational outcomes, improving retention and comprehension by encouraging the reader to mentally process material in a slower and deeper way. What if texts that are easily read are easily forgotten? Medieval manuscript design encouraged a reading culture nurtured by deep, contemplative and slow reading methods, enhanced by semiotic images, text and design. The modern book designer, inspired by medieval manuscripts, and their modern incarnation, the graphic novel, can enhance educational outcomes through design that elicits a deep cognitive processing. The aim of this thesis is to present evidence that this inspiration combined with difficult-to-read fonts and multi-modal design can enhance educational outcomes, specifically in the American high school literature classroom

The page in print: designing better documents with desktop publishing: second edition

The ready availability and sheer power of desktop publishing has forced many users and producers of documents to look beyond the mere presentation of words on a page. Even the most rudimentary of word processors gives the user the power to produce professional documents that command the reader\u27s attention. This book was originally published in 1994 in response to the growing demand for guidance in producing documents in the face of an abundance of choice. This new edition has included extra material on electronic publishing, including a chapter on designing electronic documents for applications such as the World Wide Web. The book has been produced to offer an easy and painless introduction to desktop publishing and its principles, regardless of the medium. The Page in Print: Designing Better Documents with Desktop Publishing is supported by the smaller reference book A Thumbnail Guide to Desktop Publishing which provides a ready reference guide to terminology and concepts central to document production. Although designed to work together, both books can be used independently as a standalone resource. The package has been produced for anyone who regularly works with words and images on a page or screen: business people, students, lecturers, teachers, and writers

Would disfluency by any other name still be disfluent? Examining the boundary conditions of the disfluency effect

When exposed to words presented under perceptually disfluent conditions (e.g., words written in Haettenschweil font), participants have difficulty recognizing the words. Those same words, though, may be better remembered than words presented in standard type font. This counterintuitive finding is referred to as the disfluency effect. Evidence for this disfluency effect, however, has been mixed. Using a recognition memory task, I examined five variables that may contribute to the inconsistent findings: type of judgments of learning (JOLs), encoding instructions, type of disfluency manipulation, encoding duration, and retention interval between study and test. Experiment 1 employed a masking manipulation and examined the influence of type of JOLs (item-by-item JOLs vs. aggregate JOLs) along with encoding instructions (incidental vs. intentional). Experiments 2 and 3 explored the locus of the disfluency effect by examining perceptual disfluency manipulations that tap different loci during word recognition: low-level blurring (pre-lexical) and cursive handwriting (lexical). Experiment 4 examined the role of encoding duration on the disfluency effect. Experiment 5 examined whether list design (blocked vs. mixed) moderates the disfluency effect. Experiment 6 examined whether the benefits of disfluency extend over longer durations (24 hours). Results across the six experiments indicated that the disfluency effect is modulated by testing expectancy, type of disfluency manipulation, and encoding duration. A disfluency effect was observed only under incidental instructions with a sufficiently long encoding duration. Further, I found that a pre-lexical manipulation (i.e., blurring) did not produce a disfluency effect, but a lexical perceptual disfluency manipulation (i.e., cursive) did. This cursive disfluency effect was moderated by legibility: easy-to-read cursive words tended to be better remembered than hard-to-read cursive words. This finding was bolstered by a meta-analysis. Taken together, these results challenge extant accounts of the disfluency effect. The research comprising this dissertation furthers the theoretical understanding of the disfluency effect as well at its practical implications

Processing Fluency in Education: How Metacognitive Feelings Shape Learning, Belief Formation, and Affect

Processing fluency—the experienced ease with which a mental operation is performed has attracted little attention in educational psychology, despite its relevance. The present article reviews and integrates empirical evidence on processing fluency that is relevant to school education. Fluency is important, for instance, in learning, self-assessment of knowledge, testing, grading, teacher–student communication, social interaction in the multicultural classroom, and emergence of interest. After a brief overview of basic fluency research we review effects of processing fluency in three broad areas: metacognition in learning, belief formation, and affect. Within each area, we provide evidence-based implications for education. Along the way, we offer fluency-based insights into phenomena that were long known but not yet sufficiently explained (e.g., the effect of handwriting on grading). Bringing fluency (back) to education may contribute to research and school practice alike

Web design for effective online training and instruction.

The following is a research/experimental thesis that surveys and examines web-design for effective online training and instruction. The purpose of the thesis is to create -- from a variety of relevant learning theories and practical web-design strategies advocated in the research literature -- a Web-based instruction checklist that can be used to develop and assess online instructional materials. This checklist, referred to as WeBIC, is structured around the common ISD processes of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation, with a focus on ‘Web Usability’ and ‘the Five Ps’ of preparation, presentation, participation, practice and performance. To determine the usefulness of WeBIC as a design and evaluation tool, three studies have been generated: (1) an experimental comparison study of online instructional materials in two formats -- a web-study one that follows guidelines and strategies outlined by WeBIC, and the other that follows a text-only format based on a modified form of thesis writing guidelines; (2) an analysis study of server data related to website access and instructional activity at ESLenglish.com and during the comparison study; and (3) an evaluation study of the instructional materials used in the comparison study and the instructional materials available at ESLenglish.com. The comparison study showed 2.1% learning gains that under closer analysis were found to be non-significant. The server analysis study confirmed the importance of designing for ‘speed of access’ and ‘navigation ease.’ It also brought into question the reliability of web mining data and the need for proper operational definitions. The evaluation study produced WeBIC scores for ESLenglish.com and the comparison study learning materials that could be used as benchmarks for further research

Designing Effective Interfaces for Older Users

The thesis examines the factors that need to be considered in order to undertake successful design of user interfaces for older users. The literature on aging is surveyed for age related changes that are of relevance to interface design. The findings from the literature review are extended and placed in a human context using observational studies of older people and their supporters as these older people attempted to learn about and use computers. These findings are then applied in three case studies of interface design and product development for older users. These case studies are reported and examined in depth. For each case study results are presented on the acceptance of the final product by older people. These results show that, for each case study, the interfaces used led to products that the older people evaluating them rated as unusually suitable to their needs as older users. The relationship between the case studies and the overall research aims is then examined in a discussion of the research methodology. In the case studies there is an evolving approach used in developing the interface designs. This approach includes intensive contribution by older people to the shaping of the interface design. This approach is analyzed and is presented as an approach to designing user interfaces for older people. It was found that a number of non-standard techniques were useful in order to maximize the benefit from the involvement of the older contributors and to ensure their ethical treatment. These techniques and the rationale behind them are described. Finally the interface design approach that emerged has strong links to the approach used by the UTOPIA team based at the university of Dundee. The extent to which the thesis provides support for the UTOPIA approach is discussed

Comparing the impact of OpenDyslexic and Arial fonts on the reading performance of Key Stage 2 readers with dyslexia

Several fonts have been designed with the aim of ameliorating some of the reading difficulties experienced by those with dyslexia. Anecdotal reports assert that the use of the dyslexia-friendly font OpenDyslexic mitigates reading difficulties by enhancing legibility through unique letterforms but there are few methodologically rigorous, peer-reviewed studies to substantiate or refute these claims. Without empirical evidence it may not be prudent for educational professionals to recommend that readers with dyslexia use a specific font. To investigate the impact of font on reading performance this mixed methods study compared the test scores in reading accuracy, reading rate and reading comprehension of 40 Key Stage 2 (KS2) participants with dyslexia and a control group of 38 typically progressing KS2 readers when texts were presented in the fonts OpenDyslexic and Arial. The spacing effect of the default designs of the two fonts was considered by including an expanded version of Arial. A semi-structured interview enabled all participants to voice their preferences and opinions of the two fonts. Findings showed that participants in both the groups achieved significantly higher test scores in reading accuracy and reading rate when passages were presented in OpenDyslexic font. No significant effect of font was found on reading comprehension scores for either group. The variable of spacing did not demonstrate a significant impact on test scores recorded. Readers’ preferences for font design were influenced by a number of subjective factors and did not align consistently with reading test scores. The findings of this study suggest that there may be a benefit to offering all reading matter in OpenDyslexic font to young readers with and without reading difficulties

Exploring Public Speaking: 4th Edition

Instructors: The Fourth Edition includes a set of test banks which are not available to the public. For access to these resources, please contact Dr. Barbara Tucker at [email protected]. This Open Textbook for Public Speaking was first created under a Round Three ALG Textbook Transformation Grant. Since then, the book has undergone three new editions. Authors\u27 Description: 4th Edition: Changes to be added here soon. 3rd Edition: Exploring Public Speaking: The Free College Public Speaking Textbook began as the brainchild of Dr. Kris Barton, Chair of the Department of Communication at Dalton State College. It also was made possible through a generous Textbook Transformation Grant in 2015 from Affordable Learning Georgia, a highly successful program of the University System of Georgia. Dr. Barton asked me to help him author/compile the text. The goal was to provide a high-quality, usable, accessible, and low-cost textbook for the hundreds of students who take COMM 1110 at Dalton State College every year. This course is required of all degree-seeking students. We have been able to save students hundreds of thousands of dollars already with this text. Unexpectedly and happily, the text has also been downloaded close to 14,000 times (as of August 2018) all over the world and has been adopted at many other institutions. Dr. Barton and I worked on creating the textbook from July 2015 until May 2016, with the goal of going live with the text in Summer of 2016. Tragically Dr. Barton passed away in early May, a reality that still does not seem real. He has been greatly missed as a friend, colleague, father, scholar, teacher, and mentor. The launch of the book proceeded; however, due to the loss of Dr. Barton, the ancillaries were not finished. In Summer 2017 I took on a significant revision and updating which I named the Second Edition. I included in that edition information on college student success in the appendices. In January 2018, a colleague, Matthew LeHew, and I won a grant from the University System to create the ancillaries and improve the format for more accessibility. I decided to remove the “Dalton State” from the title and most examples for wider appeal. An appendix on library research retains the information for specific use of Roberts Library on our campus. Over 90% of the book is original with Dr. Barton, me, or other colleagues at Dalton State College. Some parts, specifically from Chapters 9, 10, and 15, are adapted from another open resource public speaking text whose author prefers not to be cited. This Third Edition, along with including necessary updates and being formatted with different software, includes four more appendices: one on online speaking, one on APA, one on humor and storytelling in public speaking, and one on Dalton State’s Library. I have also tried to clarify concepts, to provide “case studies” to show the rhetorical process, and include more outlines and examples. We think this book is especially useful in coverage of PowerPoint, audience responsiveness, ethics in public speaking, special occasion speeches, and structure of speeches. Three ancillaries are available: electronic “flash cards” for study, Powerpoints on the 15 main chapters, and test banks for the 15 main chapters. Thank you for downloading Exploring Public Speaking, and the co-authors and I truly wish you happy teaching and learning with it. We welcome input. If you choose to use it, let us know at [email protected]. Accessible files with optical character recognition (OCR) and auto-tagging provided by the Center for Inclusive Design and Innovation.https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/communication-textbooks/1000/thumbnail.jp

Resilient Pedagogy: Practical Teaching Strategies to Overcome Distance, Disruption, and Distraction

Resilient Pedagogy offers a comprehensive collection on the topics and issues surrounding resilient pedagogy framed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the social justice movements that have swept the globe. As a collection, Resilient Pedagogy is a multi-disciplinary and multi-perspective response to actions taken in different classrooms, across different institution types, and from individuals in different institutional roles with the purpose of allowing readers to explore the topics to improve their own teaching practice and support their own students through distance, disruption, and distraction