- Provide an example of a multimedia learning principle you have intuitively followed in the past, and an example of a multimedia learning principle you have broken in the past. What will you do differently now?
an example that I have always followed in the past is the segmenting principle, I have always kind of know that if you throw out a big information bomb to the learner it is always going to be hard for them to take, I personally get confused and disoriented when that happened. I would usually break things down and give them a direction into what is going to be happening before getting in the details.
- What did you notice about your learning when you listened to the Soundcloud by Howat? How was it different from reading an article?
It was more relaxing for me since I didn’t really need anything to visually pay attention on, and sometimes when I do visually pay attention, I get overwhelmed and don’t know where to start thinking that I have to go thru all these information. By listening to him I would know to get in rhythm according to him so I don’t have to worry about being overwhelmed by all the info’s that are complexed and I know I just have to wait there and let it come to me. This is making me passive but in a good way that I am relaxed when I am receiving information without being stressed and don’t know where to start.
- How did sketchnoting change your ability to recall the information you were documenting? What principle(s) from Mayer’s theory do you think are at work here? How would you incorporate it into a learning activity?
Sketchnoting create a unique way for me to link my thought to the stuff that I Sketched. Since when I was just taking note, they are just words that i never attached any meanings into it, but in the process of sketchnoting I create my own image unique to my understanding and thus when I see it I would know the meanings I attached to it and thus it would be easier for me to understand. therefore, each information I saw have been referenced to a unique way. Mayer’s multimedia principles are used in this way, since people learn better from visuals and words not just words alone, sketchnoting definitely provides good visuals for learners to incorporate their learning information. Also Mayer’s personalization principles are also applied to it, you are personalizing sketching’s to the best of your availability to understand it so it makes it easier to just understand dead notes that are written in the lectures. To incorporate it, you can sketch things when information load is too high and there are too many words to take down, by sketching things down to create your own meanings will make it easier for you and decrease the amount of word you might have to jot down in your note.
Hi Bruce,
I appreciate that you said, “I create my own image unique to my understanding” when referring to sketchnoting. I think that is so cool that everyone’s sketches will be unique and potentially meaningless to everyone BUT the creator. Another way to implement sketchnoting in a class, in a more collaborative way, would be to develop a symbolic language that could be co-constructed and used by everyone in the course. The article linked below discusses visual note taking ideas – one of which is identifying 10 words or concepts that could be linked to icons or characters that represent them. The class could co-construct something like a study guide sketchnote that could enhance everyone’s learning, while being understood by all. Thanks for your post!
https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-and-why-introduce-visual-note-taking-your-students
Hi,
Lots of great points here, the one that resonates with me is that I totally agree with when it comes to taking notes, it just feels like I’m not really understanding my notes as they can sometimes be meaningless especially if its heavy loaded which can make it hard to remember or learn off from. Sketch noting has completely shifted the way I study now as now I attach meanings I’m better able to remember things. I am a more visual learner, so this new way of learning has been super beneficial.
Hi Chuhesong,
Your description of segmenting principle is very creative. You illustrate the knowledge we have received as a big bomb, which I agree with you.
Besides, have you ever thought about reorganizing bite-sized information into more than one form? For example, you create an instructional video of how to cut a sphere. And you define four steps of cutting a sphere:
1. put out a knife
2. draw the center line on the sphere
3. cut the sphere through the center line
4. cut the rest of the sphere into the shape of whatever you like
You would find these steps are not straightforward after a few days. Then you can define the instruction of cutting a sphere into other instructions such as how to cut a sphere into stars; how to cut a sphere into squares, etc.
That’s all my assumptions. Hope you could enjoy them.
Angel
Hi Bruce,
I thought you did a great job of explaining sketchnoting, and I agree that we can make original sketches. Extremely personalized images and text maximize learning effectiveness and are less likely to be forgotten. The Segmenting Principle, I think, applies here the best. When a multimedia message is delivered in user-paced segments as opposed to one continuous piece, people learn more effectively (Mayer, 2009). However, I am not sure if the Modality principle applies in this case. It seems paradoxical.
References
Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Hi Bruce,
I agree with you about the segmenting principle, and I also think the theory of the segmenting principle is very practical. I get confused and overwhelmed when I read a lot of information. However, breaking up the boards will speed up and enhance my understanding. But occasionally I worry about missing some of the key points or not dividing them up in a reasonable way. I have the same concern about sketchnoting and missing things when I’m drafting notes.