Multimedia course

Website critique assignment

In this assignment, I selected a website that meets the usability principles. Please see the attached file.

DOWNLOAD Webs...e AA.docx

Website interface critique


Reflection:

The course I critiqued was an effective one in terms of applying multimedia and usability principles. The key takeaway from this assignment was to see things from the learners' perspective. Instructors and designers can assume that learners can navigate the courses without tutorials. However, this is often not the case. Even though I am an experienced online course taker, I appreciated having clearly labeled tabs at the top of the course. That did not require me to spend time locating things. Giving the learners autonomy on how the page is displayed is something that I have never considered before.

The less is more approach in this course was one of its strong points. The course did not include any redundant photos or visuals solely for the sake of having a visually appealing page. The pre-training principle was put into action by placing a glossary to which learners could refer. The selection of color was on point. The text was readable, and the color selection did not detract from the learning experience and the content.

Thanks to content chunking, I did not feel overwhelmed. The designers struck a balance between the content that needs to be read, external links, and the videos. Doing so resulted in increased attention and retention of information.

Mind Map

I used MindMesiter to create a mind map on creating an outline for an academic writing paper. This is a short module meant for students with no prior experience writing term or research papers.

The mind map covers the content and outlines the areas that will be discussed. The instructional methods delineate the educational materials to be used. These range from articles, and videos to interactive activities. The last aspect was the multimedia principles to be considered for this module. 


Writing an outline for an academic paper by Abir J

Implementation plan

Multimedia Implementation Plan: Research paper outline 101

The course for which I am designing the implementation plan is a part of an undergraduate writing course. It is traditionally taught on-campus over 15 weeks. However, a recent proposal from the higher management asked instructors to develop a pilot module that can be delivered within five weeks. I have chosen this unit on outlining term papers for the multimedia implementation plan because the content and skills of writing an outline can be delivered online with the right tools and implementation of multimedia principles.

The 5- week module covers the following topics:

  • Why outline? The importance of outlines and their different types
  • Searching for content: the use of keywords, dictionaries, and encyclopedias
  • Thesis statement: formulating the thesis statement and the criteria of effective thesis statements
  • Source evaluation: popular vs. academic sources and the CRAAP test
  • Referencing: APA style in-text citation and reference page

The instructional methods below will be used in the module:

  • Videos and screencasts: the videos and screencasts will discuss and introduce as well as demonstrate skills
  • Readings: articles from websites and OER sources
  • Interactive activities: formative assessments, unit wrap activities to check for understanding
  • Self and peer assessment: reflection on one's performance and giving feedback on a peer's rough outline

The videos and screencasts will be created using PowToon and Screencast-O-Matic, respectively. PowToon has a wide range of templates and characters, making the videos less rigid. Screencast-O-Matic allows recording of one's screen and can be beneficial when demonstrating aspects, such as formatting the reference page using APA style 7th edition. Quizlet and LearningApps.org will be used to create interactive activities. They have various activities, such as MCQ, image matching, and matching definitions, that can be embedded within the LMS.

The success and effectiveness of the module hinge upon the successful implementation of the following principles:

  • The pre-training principle improves learning by providing learners with pre-requisites (Mayer, 2014).
  • Segmentation acknowledges the role of bite-sized learning and information in retaining the information and avoiding overwhelming the learner (Mayer, 2014).
  • The coherence principle ensures eliminating extraneous information that does not enhance the learning experience (Mayer, 2014).
  • The spatial contiguity principle addresses how positioning words and pictures near each other on the page improves learning (Mayer, 2014).
  • Consistency refers to using the same layout and design to transfer knowledge and increase usability (Nikolov, 2017).

Multimedia Principles and the Multimedia Implementation.

As explained earlier, the process of writing an outline is taught as a part of a course that is traditionally offered face-to-face. Moreover, the learners' experience with online learning is mainly limited to that during the COVD-19 pandemic. Thus, this implementation plan emphasizes pre-training, segmentation, coherence, spatial contiguity, and consistency principles.

When taking an online course, usability is critical. Usability is achieved by maintaining a consistent layout and organization of the modules, resulting in familiarity and ease of navigation. The pre-training principle will be fulfilled by providing a glossary of terms at the beginning of every module. Segmentation, coherence, and spatial contiguity are also considered to provide learners with a rich learning experience. Videos will be broken into small manageable chunks and texts can be broken into separate headings. Long videos and texts can discourage learners. Coherence and spatial contiguity help ensure that the multimedia used does not detract from the learning experience.

Consequences of Implementation
The main issue I foresee with this implementation plan is the learners' reluctance. Learners' buy-in could be dealt with by emphasizing the diversity of the learning experiences and the high-end activities and videos.

Using multimedia tools that are already compatible with the institution's Learning Management System (LMS) is cost-effective and leads to less resistance from the different parties. For one, getting a budget approved will not pose a problem. Faculty are already familiar with the LMS, which does not require training and offering professional development sessions.

Conclusion
My multimedia implementation plan Outlining a research paper 101 will follow Mayer's multimedia principles. The ultimate goal is to provide learners with a high-quality online learning experience, where every effort has been exerted for learners to embrace online learning.


References

Mayer, R. E. (2014). The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning. Cambridge University Press.

Nikolov, A. (2017). Design principle: Consistency. https://uxdesign.cc/design-principle-consistency-6b0cf7e7339f