Week 3: Project: Create Effective Multimedia
At this point in the course, we apply what we have learned about effective multimedia to an instructional multimedia project of your own, using tools that you use in your classrooms. When creating or significantly revising your multimedia, be mindful of the criteria below:
Evaluation: Your multimedia project should reduce extraneous processing, manage essential, foster generative processing (deeper learning), and make effective use of graphics. Some or all of the principles in each category may apply to your multimedia project.
Download the checklist as a text file here.
▼ ❑ Reduces Extraneous Processing
The multimedia reduces the cognitive load on the learner by avoiding elements that foster extraneous processing that does not further the learning goals. The multimedia artifact shows awareness of several of the following principles:
• ❑ Coherence Principle
Extraneous material is excluded from the multimedia. Interesting but irrelevant text, graphics, and sounds are excluded.
• ❑ Signaling Principle
Cues that show the organization of the lesson are included. Cues that highlight important elements are implemented.
• ❑ Redundancy Principle
The multimedia provides most of the words in narrative along with images. Written text is minimized.
• ❑ Spatial Contiguity Principle
Corresponding words and pictures are presented close to each other rather than far from each other as in using captions.
• ❑ Temporal Contiguity Principle
Corresponding spoken words and images are presented simultaneously rather than successively
▼ ❑ Manages Essential Processing
Multimedia helps learner avoid cognitive overload when processing complex material. The multimedia artifact shows awareness of several of the following principles:
• ❑ Segmenting Principle
Lesson is broken in manageable parts. Avoid loading too much information on each slide or segment. Pace of lesson may either be controlled by learner or in response to needs of learners.
• ❑ Pre-training Principle
Learners perform better in complex lessons when they are given names and characteristics of key concepts before or in the beginning of the lesson. Prior knowledge is activated. Knowledge that supports the learning may be reviewed.
• ❑ Modality Principle
The multimedia presents most words as spoken and reduces the use of printed words.
▼ ❑ Fosters Generative Processing
The multimedia should foster integration of new material with existing knowledge. The multimedia artifact demonstrates awareness of several of the following principles
• ❑ Multimedia Principle
Relevant graphics are included with words.
• ❑ Concretizing Principle
Unfamiliar information is related to familiar information. Relevant prior knowledge is activated and related to new knowledge.
• ❑ Personalization Principle
Uses conversational rather than formal language.
• ❑ Voice Principle
Learners perform better with a friendly human voice rather than computer generated voices.
▼ ❑ Uses Graphics to Foster Learning
Uses graphics effectively to enhance learning. Graphics carefully chosen to support learning. Decorative images are avoided. Graphics support attention, activate of build prior knowledge, minimize cognitive load, build mental models, or support learning transfer. The multimedia artifact may include representational, mnemonic, or explanatory graphics.
• ❑ Avoids decorative Graphics
Avoids graphics that may be humorous, interesting , eye pleasing, but do not support learning.
• ❑ Representational Graphics
Realistic representations of something related to learning objectives including screen captures
• ❑ Mnemonic Images
Images that help learners remember information
▼ ❑ Explanatory Graphics
Images that help learners create mental models.
• ❑ Organizational Graphics
Show qualitative relations: maps, mind maps, organizational charts, tree diagrams, etc.
• ❑ Relational graphics
Show quantitative relations such as charts and graphs
• ❑ Transformational Graphics
Show changes over time or space: flow charts, step by steps procedures, timelines, or animations depicting changes.
• ❑ Interpretive Graphics
Involve more abstract ideas like illustrating a theory, principle, or cause and effect relations.