Blog Post 3

Intro

These past couple of weeks, we discussed the importance of multi-media learning by looking at different design styles and lesson planning. By doing so, I could recognize different teaching methods that were happening around me. Furthermore, I first-handedly experienced the pros and cons of the concepts explained within the instructional design module, including the value of constructive learning, backward design and instructional design.

Constructive design

Constructive design is composed of three critical components: 

1. Learning 
2. Teaching 
3. Assessing

This form of thinking insists that knowledge is not received but constructive. More accurately, it accentuates the student’s role in learning by claiming that information is not simply transmitted by the teacher but is produced by the student. Moreover, teachers have the duty to give the students the tools to learn, but it is up to them to apply these tools in their natural settings. When learning, teaching, and assessing are not aligned, students face barriers that complicate their success.

I have experienced the benefits of constrictive design within this course by learning from the videos and pictures incorporated within the weekly topic blog posts. A combination of text and multi-media elements accommodates a larger group of people with diverse learning methods. Furthermore, its assists in keeping the learning experience entertaining and lively. I have decided to apply these techniques within my own blog post by including photos and videos that may help others assess and receive the information I am projecting. 

Backwards design

Backwards design is the concept that we are more likely to achieve a goal when we have a clear idea of the goal and create a plan to attain this goal before we start. Furthermore, it is important to remember that there are multiple pathways to achieving a goal and that these methods can look unique depending on the individual. Backwards Design: A great way to move forward highlights that we should picture a curriculum not so much as an old-school binder but as a flip book responsive to the learner (Five Moore Minutes). Today, the British Columbia curriculum has three types of goals:

1. Content goals: the goals about knowledge

2. Curricular Competencies: goals about skills and processes

3. Core Competency goals: goals that support the development of the people we aspire to become.

Although the big idea can be the same for everyone, visualizing the curriculum as a flipbook allows us to understand that the path we choose to accomplish this big idea is individual to us (Five Moore Minutes). 

The idea that we should perceive the path toward attaining goals as a flip book resonates with the structure of one of my courses this term. In my European Union (EU) political science class, we have three choices when it some’s to our final assignment. We have the choice between a final paper centring on our advice for the future EU, a research paper on the topic of our choosing, or a final project (which can be a painting, song, collage, sculpture etc.,) accompanied by a 3–5 page paper describing our project. These options allow students to display their knowledge of course material in a manner that parallels their preferred learning method. Since I am a creative person, I chose the final project option and will display my understanding of a specific topic in the EU through a collage and short paper. I have applied backward design by figuring out my assignment goals before determining the exact details of how I will structure the project. By applying this approach, my teacher is allowing students to develop and expose their knowledge of the EU by following the design pattern that best suits their interests. 

Instructional design

Merrill on Instructional Design explains that much of what we see today on the internet consists of dumps of information, which can be confusing and ineffective for readers (also known as shovel wear). This form of information dump violates principles that are vital for successful learning. Merrill mentions that the three key takeaways to ensure effective teaching are:

1. Teaching is not only about telling but must include showing 

2. Teachers must give students the opportunity to practice 

3. Students must be equipped with proper motivation (applying learning topics to real-world problems)

I understand the importance of instructional design within my studies when acknowledging how much better I learn when engaged in the topic at-hand. More specifically, there have been several occasions where I have applied a topic of study to a current-day situation to deepen my understanding, an example being through field trips. Field trips are not only beneficial to enhance students’ curiosity on a subject, but they also provide a hands-on approach to learning that can lead to better retention and comprehension of the course material. As a result, instructional design allows learners to actively participate in the materials they are learning about, which can help make the learning process more enjoyable.

Canva Infographic

A clear way to enhance learning and generate information is through infographics. A simple infographic composed of concise steps and images results in a step-by-step process that may be more attractive and efficient for those hoping to learn its material. More specifically, having all the steps included on one document, organized categorically, with bold headlines generates a clean outcome that is less intimidating than reading a busy lock of text. I tested this method on my own by creating an infographic explaining a five-step peanut butter cookie recipe. I chose this topic because I enjoy baking and trying new recipes but find that many could be less complex and more organized. Moreover, many recipes are constructed in paragraph format and exclude images, making them unattractive to bakers. Hopefully, my infographic allows others to enjoy not only the delicious taste of these cookies but also the straightforward and simplistic baking process.

PowerPoints

Furthermore, visual cues such as accompanying learning with a PowerPoint are an efficient way to assist in the learning process. However, we must be careful when creating PowerPoints that we are not complicating the subject by creating slides that confuse or overwhelm the learner’s cognitive load. More specifically, in previous weeks, we have been taught that there is only so much information someone can absorb at once; hence, we must ensure that we are not taking away from someone’s learning by bombarding PowerPoints with a compilation of overstimulating images, texts, colours, or graphs. Instead, these visual cues should work harmoniously with the information being explained to assist the learner’s comprehension of a topic. 

The Top 10 world’s worst PowerPoint presentations demonstrates how PowerPoints can hinder the learning experience if done incorrectly. A common theme I noticed within the flawed slides was that they needed to be more organized. More specifically, their disorder prevented me from obtaining a clear direction of what information was important. Some key points we must remember when trying to create a good quality PowerPoint is that we should avoid superposing text on background images, ensure that social network diagrams and flow charts are self-explanatory, verify that colour is not a distraction but is a tool that highlights information, and steer clear from incorporating large summaries of text by instead using point form and short sentences.

For example, below I have attached two PowerPoint slides discussing the same topic; however, the first is overloaded with information and dull, whereas the second on the left is clear, concise, and animated with visual images. 

In addition to course material, I obtained insightful tips on how to make an effective and organized PowerPoint by watching the video attached: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=ALycvCVoaFo&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.hubspot.com%2Fblog%2Ftabid%2F6307%2Fbid%2F6012%2F17-examples-of-great-presentation-design.aspx&source_ve_path=MzY4NDIsMjM4NTE&feature=emb_title

Hopefully all these tools, explanations, and counts of personal experience assist in your understanding of multi-media teaching and the importance of learning design. Thank you!