Multimedia Lesson for EDTECH 513, Week 03

A screen-shot from the lesson

Multimedia instruction: a lesson on 'demand' for an AP Economics class

This week's assignment in EDTECH 513 involved the application of a couple of design and learning theories about which we have been reading. The first theory is called the "multimedia principle," and the idea behind the theory is that people have been shown to learn more efficiently when text is presented along with appropriate and relevant images. The second theory is called the "contiguity principle," and the idea here is that the images and text used in conjunction with one another in a multimedia piece must be perceived by the learning as being combined rather than being viewed as separate elements. When learners see images and text as being contiguous, they process the information presented more efficiently, and they are better to connect their learning to previously retained information.

I created a 15-slide Google Docs introducing students in an AP Economics class to the concept of 'market demand." I have embedded the presentation I created below.



The project corresponds well to two AECT Standards: 1.2 Message Design and 2.3 Computer-Based Technologies. Message design describes the use of images in order to convey meaning. In my presentation, I have used a variety of images to reduce students' cognitive loads and help them to retain information in a more efficient fashion. Because the presentation was created in Google Docs, it is assumed that the user will access and interface with the lesson via computer or hand-held device, thus fulfilling AECT Standard 2.3.

Creating My Learning Log / AECT Standard 2.3: Computer-Based Technogies

Until this assignment, I had forgotten that I had created a Blogger account a few years ago. Back in the days before beginning the M.E.T. program, back when I still had the time for leisurely writing, I kept a blog about my experiences in moving from a large international school in London to a relatively small, private, independent school in Memphis, Tennessee. As you can imagine, the move from London to Tennessee took some transitioning time, and the blog allowed me to cast some of my frustrations in a humorous light. It also helped me to keep my sanity.

Blogger represents an interesting facet of what technologists call “Web 2.0,” a collection of web applications that allow for the user to actively and directly interface with other users in a rich, virtual environment. Shared blogs, wikis, websites like Weebly and Ning, as well as social media sites like Facebook, all represent what we can call Web 2.0 applications.

One of the great aspects about sites like Blogger is that it allows a user possessing no skills in website production and management to register and then to create a very professional-looking website in which to house their thoughts, writings, photos, etc. Registration is simple and once registered, the user is guided through a step-by-step process to create a lovely new, and user-customized web-space.

Because I already had a Blogger account, I simply created a new blog for this class. That is another great aspect about Blogger: it allows for the creation and maintenance of multiple blog accounts. Because I live and work abroad, I chose a “travel” theme for my blog. I then updated my “About Me” page, which was about four years out of date; so it was high time that I updated it anyways. Registration and set-up accomplished, I am now writing my first post. It is that easy; and the results look great.

Now that I am posting, commenting and reflecting upon my learning, the site and its content reflect well one of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology’s (AECT) standards, that being the use of computer-based technology. AECT is one of the pioneering institutions in terms of research relating to instructional technology and technology integration. AECT had published a set of standards to guide educational technology programs, and AECT Standard 2.3 deals using a computer to make or transmit instructional materials.

Blogger can be used by a teacher to create materials for his/her classes and then simply share the blog link with students; students could also simply choose to “follow” their teacher’s blog. The teacher can also easily have students create and maintain their own blog to house their completed assignments and to reflect upon their own learning. There are quite a few possibilities in terms of integrating a site like Blogger into a classroom setting and thus fulfilling AECT Standard 2.3.