Assignment 1
Introduction
Educational multimedia (EM) is being used more and more in education. Used effectively, it offers greater individualization and fosters improved learning, learner satisfaction and completion rates. When applied with awareness of organizational, cultural and structural constraints, it provides a contemporary tool that can improve retention, expand the scope and resources available in the learning situation and improve the motivation of students (R. Phillips, 1997).
I consider the four most important criteria to be applied in the evaluation of EM to be:
- purpose
- functionality
- interactivity
- accessibility
Criteria 1: Purpose
Description: The purposeful use of EM should include the following elements:
- Satisfy learning goals and achieve objectives.
- Have sufficient, accurate, reliable content.
- Match developmental needs, skills and audience age
- Use appealing visuals to enhance motivation and engage the learner in ways that add to the educational purpose.
Justification:
- Need to design for developmental needs of audience.
- Choose appropriate content to add to the learner's experience and enhance their learning, not distract them from the task at hand.
- Choose the right media for the right purpose eg graphics, video or audio. To maximize learning using multimedia, Skaalid (1999) cautions that combining too many media simultaneously can overwhelm the brain. Nguyen (2008) believes combining relevant graphics with words contributes to the learning process.
Good example: - Lecky's Picture Painting: Visual colour sequencing activity- 5-6yr
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=colour-sequence
- Satisfies Purpose elements 1 - 4.
- Provides repetitive practice with instant feedback using an engaging activity
- Makes learning fun.
Bad example: Fling the teacher - Missing number game 7-9yrs
http://www.abc123kidz.com/missingnum.html
- Satisfies Purpose element 2 and 3
Although the content is age appropriate, accurate, visually appealing and engaging, it does not achieve the educational objectives as students waste time on the preliminary activity. Students use trial and error to remember the missing numbers to eventually fling the teacher out of the cannon.
Go to Criteria 2