Based on Ruth Colvin Clark’s Book

Presented By Dimas Agung Prasetyo

E-learning

Learning Theories

How people learn

Multimedia principles for Multimedia Learning

90% of universities have distance learning

$50-60 billion/year spent on corporate and governmental training

Toward knowledge-based economy

10 Elearning Statictics

Instruction delivered via computer

Content relevant to learning objectives

Uses instructional methods such as examples and practice

Builds new knowledge and skills

Media elements present and illustrate content Text, audio narration, music, graphics, animation

and video

E.g., Dreamweaver course uses audio narration and animated graphics

Instructional techniques support learning Examples, practice exercises, feedback

E.g., Dreamweaver lesson uses simulation practice

Why might simulating an actual work environment be particularly effective?

Cognitive skills: solving problems, applying rules, distinguishing items E.g., how to complete tax forms

Psychomotor skills: coordination physical movement and thought E.g., driving a golf ball or driving a crane

Require coaching and detailed feedback

Attitudinal skills: opinions and behaviors E.g., whether to recycle

Which is hardest to teach with multimedia?

Receptive: information acquisition Learning adds information to memory

Instruction delivers information efficiently

Directive: response strengthening Strengthen stimulus-response associations

Drill-and-practice with reinforcing feedback

Guided discovery: knowledge construction Learner builds a mental representation

Guide learner in the context of solving problems

Is one theory right? Or a combination?

Inform: build awareness, e.g., about a company’s organization

Perform: build skills, e.g., how to use software or how to evaluate bank loans Procedural: step-by step tasks

Near transfer from training to application Learning Dreamweaver may involve near transfer? Why?

Give an example.

Principle-based: guidelines and problem-solving skills Far transfer from training to application Why does learning how to evaluate bank loans far transfer?

Failure to do job or skill analysis Presenting skills and knowledge out of job context

risks transfer failure

How could this pitfall affect your project?

Failure to accommodate human learning Multimedia can actually depress learning if it

overwhelms limits of human processing

Attrition: e-Learning dropouts at least 35% Games and stories may detract from learning

Why?

Human memory has two channels for processing information: visual and auditory.

Human memory has a limited capacity for processing information.

Learning occurs by active processing in the memory system.

New knowledge and skills must be retrieved from long-term memory for transfer to the job.

The Learning Cycle: Sense → Integrate → Act Learning originates with concrete sensory experience

Reflective observation integrates inputs in patterns and develops generalizations or abstract hypotheses

Active learning tests the results of motor output

Delivery Method Retention

Lecture 05%

Reading 10%

Audio-Visual 20%

Demonstration 30%

Discussion Group 50%

Practice Doing It 75%

Do It on the Job 90%

Retention can be improved with follow-up reviews and feedback.

Using an arrow or color to draw the eye to important information?

Listing learning objectives up front?

Omitting background music?

Using succinct text?

Ask about trouble-shooting actions relevant to job context?

Informal studies: observing people as they learn or asking them about it Formative evaluation makes changes from learner feedback

Summative evaluation reports results to sponsors & others

Formal studies use experimental research design, with subjects randomly assigned to test and control groups Controlled: compare outcomes of 2 or more groups of learners

Clinical trials: evaluate e-learning in real world contexts

Should show statistical significance (p<.05)

Book uses results of controlled studies that suggest basic design principles for e-learning Why is experimental basis useful?

VP thinks a short course should just consist of text and tells course designer:

“Everything they need to know is in the text. All they have to do is read it. And we don’t have much time!”

How should the course designer react?

“Do you mind if I come up with something that builds on your text?”

Include both words and graphics

Why?

Graphics facilitate active learning, mentally making connection between pictorial and verbal representations

Words alone may cause shallow learning

Decorative vs. explanative illustrations

What’s the difference?

Decorative pictures are eye candy

Explanative illustrations help learner understand the material

Instructional designer’s job is to enable learner to make sense of information

Term ‘Focus’

Decorative pictures are “eye candy”

Why? Give an example

Merely decorate the page without improving understanding

E.g., picture of a general in a lesson about explosives

Instructional designer’s job is to enable learner to make sense of information

Illustrate procedures with screen captures

Show a process flow with arrows or animated graphics

Organize topics by using rollover buttons to show different graphics

Facts, e.g., a screen capture

Concepts, e.g., a diagram of species

Process, e.g., animation of a pump

Procedure, e.g., animation of steps with arrows highlighting buttons or parts

Principle, e.g., animation of genes passing from parents to offspring

Information delivery theory: learning consists of acquiring information

Information format shouldn’t matter

Cognitive theory: learning is actively making sense of information

Active learning involves constructing and connecting visual and verbal representations of material

Ten lessons teaching scientific or mechanical processes, such as how pumps work

Students who receive multimedia lesson perform better on post-test than students who receive same information in words

Improvement of 55-121% more correct solutions to transfer problems

Based on cognitive theory, designer is confident in multimedia principle

Explains to the VP that people learn more deeply when they are able to build mental connections between verbal and pictorial presentations

Shows prototype storyboards

Dilemma: use fixed screen displays or scrolling pages (to save bandwidth)?

Principle: place text near corresponding graphics

Text integrated into graphicText separate from graphic

Can we apply this principle in the following situation?

Identifying parts in a diagram:

List of part names below the diagram?

Pointers connecting names to parts?

Hyperlinks from diagram image map to names and descriptions of parts?

Pop-up text as mouse rolls over parts?

When words and pictures are separate, people must use scarce cognitive resources just to match them up

Less resources available to organize and integrate material in memory

Contiguity reduces load on working memory and thus increases learning

Separating visuals and text

Obscuring connection with scrolling text

Feedback on a separate screen from practice question

Second browser window covers related information on main screen

Directions for exercise on separate screen from exercise itself

So far we’ve learned how to apply two cognitive principles to e-learning: Multimedia principle?

Include both words and graphics

Contiguity principle? Place text near corresponding graphics

Next, we’ll apply two more principles: Modality principle: put words in spoken form

Redundancy principle: don’t put same words in both speech and text

Project sponsor tells course designer to “get rid of all that [narration] audio”

Why would she say that?

How should the course designer react?

“Let me look into it” (resolves to look into theory and research about audio)

Put words in spoken rather than graphic form, when graphic or animation is in focus

Why?

Cognitive theory of learning: Separate information processing channels for

visual and auditory/verbal processing

Capacity of each channel is limited

Graphics and onscreen text compete for attention

Overloads visual channel

Instead, use both auditory and visual channels

People learn more lessons with concurrent speech than just text alone

64% vs. 36% correct on post-test

Are you impressed?

Would project sponsor be convinced?

Is it worth the extra work of audio production?

When is audio less effective?

VP: “We need to accommodate different learning styles: add text to the screen for those who learn better from reading.”

Is she right? Why or why not?

Redundancy doesn’t help: people learn more from audio alone than audio plus text explaining graphics or animation

Some have visual, others auditory style Therefore present both, to accommodate both

learning styles What do you think of this hypothesis?

This hypothesis is a special case of information delivery theory: people learn by adding information to memory Mind is an empty vessel to be filled with info So redundant presentation puts more info in mind

Cognitive theory: each channel is limited Redundant text could overload visual channel

Avoid presenting words as narration and identical text

Special cases for narration of text: No pictorial representation on a screen

Slow pace of presentation

Helping learners with disabilities or non-native speakers

Learners who may not have access to speakers or headsets

Director says a first version “seems a little dry—can you spice it up a bit?”

Why might spicing it up with extra graphics or background music seem worthwhile?

Common sense: avoid boring the learner

Arousal theory: when learners become emotionally aroused they try harder to learn the material

Interesting material can hinder learning

Why? Cognitive theory: learners have limited resources

Extraneous materials competes with core material for limited cognitive resources

Coherence: all materials should cohere relevantly with what needs to be learned

Background music and sounds may overload working memory Especially when learner experiences heavy

cognitive processing demands

Experimental results: For lightning presentation, added sound effects

such as winds depicting air movement and crackling of charge transfers

Retention was 61-149% better for narration without additional sound effects

Adding interesting sentences may seem like an easy way to increase interest

Again, they may just distract learners

Conclusion: avoid seductive but irrelevant details that force excitement but don’t increase understanding

Discuss in your project group

Do you follow this principle in your scripts so far?

Are there any sounds or graphics in your script that you might drop?

What’s the difference?

Which is more effective for learners?

Conversational style aids learning Formal style avoids first- and second-person: e.g.,

“Caution should be used when opening pyrotechnic containers.”

Use second-person: “You should be careful if you open any containers with pyrotechnics.”

Why might informal style help learning? People work harder to understand material when

they feel they are in a conversation with a partner.

Discuss examples on p. 164

Agents may be representations of real people or artificial characters using animation and computer-generated voice

Clippy, Knobby or professor personae?

Herman the bug improved learning 24-48% Lifelike agents may not be essential

Human voice may work better than computer-generated speech

Web-based agent supports lesson presentation, student monitoring and feedback, probing questions, hints, and explanations

Characters move freely in computer display, speak aloud and display text onscreen, and even listen for spoken voice commands

Downloadable from www.microsoft.com/msagent/

Psychological reasons for using visible author? Author as guide for student

Social relationships motivate students

Evidence shows that learners provide richer answers for some learners

Will you adjust your writing style?

Will you use learning coaches or agents?

Check out Microsoft Agent software?

Will you include a “visible” author?

Interactive practice exercises help learners integrate knowledge into LTM

What kinds of exercises? Drag-and-drop and simulations

More crucially: exercises should mirror thinking processes and environment of actual task

Better learning results from practice questions interspersed throughout the lesson

Learners should be trained to developer their own questions

Activities should require learners to respond in similar ways during training as they will on the job E.g., Jeopardy game doesn’t help transfer on job

Simulation of actual job decisions does

Avoid simple regurgitation of information provided in training program Doesn’t implant cues for retrieval in job context

Asking “why” questions improves learning

“Why does an object speed up as its radius gets smaller?”

Results in greater factual and inference learning

Pro and con analysis improves learning

Developing arguments requires organization and integration of materials

Well designed practice exercises provide opportunities for encoding knowledge or skills The more encoding opportunities, the more integration

Logarithmic relationship between amount of practice and time to complete tasks

Improvement occurs regardless of initial ability

Tradeoff of time in development and lesson Interactive practice can be harder to design

Practice also adds to training time: eventually there are diminishing returns on learning

Spacing practice is superior to massed practice, e.g., at end of lesson

Spacing effect is not immediate but after a period of time

Contiguity: keep text close to graphics

Modality: use audio to explain graphics But audio is transient, so redundant text and

graphics is OK for practice questions

Feedback should also be presented in text

Redundancy: use text alone Don’t narrate text directions or practice questions

Peronalization: use conversational language Provide hints and feedback in first & second person

Learners can ask and answer their own questions during lessons: “How can I apply the program features to my job?”

Agent could suggest such questions

Why encourage self-questioning?

Active engagement improves learning

Developing metacognitive skills improves learning