Chapter 1:
Introduction
After a brief history of educational computing and when to use the computer in learning, this chapter pretty much outlines the contents of this book.
Instruction has four main phases: Presenting information, Guiding the learner, Practicing, and Assessing learning.
This book will present eight methodologies for facilitating learning:
- Tutorials
- Hypermedia
- Drills
- Simulations
- Games
- Tools and open-ended learning environments
- Tests
- Web-based learning
Two foundations:
- Theories of learning
- Sound human factors
Developing interactive multimedia:
- Design
- Development
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Chapter 2:
Learning Principles and Approaches
Learning Principles and Approaches
Behavioral psychology - knowledge is gained or lost through a system of rewards and punishments, or positive and negative reinforcements. Knowledge may be lost because motivation is not on learning, but on reinforcements
Cognitive psychology - the process of knowing. Places emphasis on unobservable constructs internal to the learner. Semantic networks are the way that people internally retain knowledge, new knowledge must be assimilated with old or old knowledge must be accommodated to change. Importance in interactive multimedia - perception and attention, encoding of information, memory, comprehension, active learning, motivation, locus of control, mental models, metacognition, transfer of learning, and individual differences. Motivation is a much more complex concept, with sub-parts: challenge, curiosity, control, fantasy, intrinsic, extrinsic, attention, relevance, confidence, satisfaction, and moderation.
Constructivist Psychology - reality is our individual interpretation of what we perceive. Constructivist facilitation allows the learner to construct their own connections of concepts, ideas, knowledge, and reality.
- Learning versus teaching
- Discovery learning
- Construction
- Situated learning and anchored instruction
- Cooperative and collaborative learning
- Autonomy, choice, and negotiation
- Reflection and strategic thinking
- Reflecting the complexity of the world
Constructivist-objectivist debate
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Chapter 3:
General Features of Software for Learning
This chapter gives an overview of the general features of software for learning. They are:
- Introduction of program
- title page
- directions
- user identification
- Learner control
- what and how much
- control methods (buttons, menus, hyperlinks)
- modes (mouse, keyboard, speech)
- recommendations
- Presentation of info
- consistency
- modes (text layout/format, text quality)
- graphics and animation
- video
- sound
- color
- Providing help
- Ending a program
- safety nets
- final message
- exiting
- Summary of general features
This chapter seems like a good overview for the novice interactive designer. It has a great checklist at the end for review. For the most part, it reads like basic communication and design skills under the premise of interactive instruction. I think most of it looks pretty easy, but can be really hard to understand and accomplish without continuous experience. This one chapter could do amazing things for many developers. I wish I'd read it 6 years ago!
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Chapter 12:
Overview of a Model for Design and Development
This chapter introduces Alessi and Trollip's model for design and development. They propose a set of standards be established within major phases: planning, design, and development. The phases, and all items within, are controlled/monitored by project management and continuously evaluated against the pre-established standards. Design and development is viewed as an iterative process, with improvements made at each pass.
Each phase is briefly outlined, but are described in more depth in later chapters (See summaries for 13: Planning, 14: Design, 15: Development).
Establishing Expectations
- formal method to review programs - sets expectations for quality
- well-articulated budget defines/outlines scope, richness of program, time commitment
- obtain approval at stages to prevent "scope creep"
An evaluation form and explanation is given for establishing quality standards for the following aspects of an instructional, interactive, multimedia project:
- subject matter
- fidelity between goals, objectives and content
- structure and organization
- cultural bias
- technical jargon
- auxiliary information
- affective considerations
- assessing motivation
- ideas about individual vs. group competition
- interface
- navigation
- interesting concepts on passive/active bookmarking (*how can this be performed in Flash w/out a backend datasource, could the user be emailed a "key" to return to a certain place?)
- pedagogy - appropriate medium for delivery
- methodologies, cognitive capacity, cooperative learning, learning metaphor (*is this same as Reeves "treatments"?), learning strategies, user control, questions, answering questions, quality and format of feedback, mastery level
- invisible features - records and data, security and accessibility, too much data
- robustness - program should never fail, determine ultimate limitations or specifications to be met (cannot predict future changes in technology
- supplementary materials - manual: general aspects, program operation, program content; auxiliary materials; other resources
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Chapter 13: Planning
This chapter discusses the planning phase, with the following subparts:
- Define the scope of content
- identify characteristics of learners and other users
- produce a chart: weak > average > strong
- understand client
- download form
- establish constraints
- hardware
- software
- budget constraints
- timelines
- client responsibilities
- developer responsibilities
- content
- permissions
- download form
- cost the project (important! upside, great outline of consumable time based on project needs -- downside, does not talk about $$. of course, in the academic field, TIME IS ALWAYS MONEY)
- qualities of the project: content acquisition, development of standards, scripting, screens, underlying models, graphics, video, audio, interactions, data collection, bookmarking, record keeping, log on and registration, associated EPSS, software testing, project management, clerical, packaging, manuals/instruction, travel, other out-of-pocket expenses, overhead, taxes, project summary
- when I think about it, I've done just about all of this. Seeing someone else write it on paper, I want a raise!! Clients could really benefit from seeing this breakdown. Most folks think that it's a simple task to produce an interactive CD-Rom or some such. There is SO MUCH MORE THAN WRITING CONTENT! I could vent, oh how I could vent!
- download for
- Produce a Planning Document
- budget management
- time management
- Produce a style manual
- look and feel
- style conventions
- functionality
- Determine and collect resources
- subject matter resources
- instructional design resources
- delivery system resources
- computer tools to facilitate use of resources
- Conduct initial brainstorming and tools
- Define look and feel
- Obtain Client sign-off
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Chapter 14: Design
This chapter describes the design phase, which includes:
- Purpose of design
- Developing initial content ideas
- Conduct task and concept analyses
- do a preliminary program description.
- Prepare a prototype.
- Create flowcharts and storyboards
- Prepare scripts
- Obtain client sign-off
- audiences for design documents
- instructional designer
- clients
- project manager
- content experts
- trainers or teachers
- learners
- production staff (technical writers, programmers, graphic artists, photographers, videographers, audiographer, special effects artists, actors)
- Develop initial content ideas
- brainstorming (great list illustrating brainstorming process)
- elimination of some initial ideas
- characteristics of learner population
- relationship of ideas to subject matter and goals
- amt of time needed to learn content
- restrictions of delivery system
- ability of production staff
- Task and concept analyses
- task analysis (idea tree -- refer to task analysis in 6180)
- concept analysis (flowchart of processes - helps communicate with client, project team, etc.)
- Preliminary program description
- identifying types of learning
- choosing methodology
- identifying procedures and required skills
- factor decisions
- sequence description
- Detailing and communicating the design
- Prototypes
- look and feel
- to explain methodologies
- Flowcharts (levels 1-3
- Storyboards
- write and revise primary text displays
- write and revise secondary text
- produce storyboards
- Ongoing evaluation
- Client sign-off and scope creep
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Chapter 15: Development
Development includes all aspects of production of the project -- programming for functionality; producing graphics, audio, and video; and development of support materials. This also includes final preparation of items for implementation and evaluation.
- Prepare the text
- Write program code
- Create the graphics
- Produce audio and video
- Assemble the pieces
- Prepare support materials
- learner, instructor, and technical manuals, adjunct instructional material
- Do an alpha test
- Look and feel
- style conventions
- functionality
- Make revisions
- Do a beta test
- make final revisions
- Obtain client sign-off
- Validate
Project Management
- Time management
- budget management
- Prepare text components
Four levels of evaluation
- Assessing reaction and attitude
- Assessing learning
- Assessing behavior change in intended environment
- ASsessing results and ROI
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Chapter 7: Simulations
Simulations can be physical, iterative, procedural, or situational.
- Types of simulations
- Physical (SimCity)
- Iterative - usually excludes time, "scientific discovery"
- Procedural - sequence of actions to accomplish some goal [this applies to my project in some sense]
- Situational - behaviors and attitudes of people or organizations vs. skilled performance, exploration of alternatives and see effect [this also applies....]
- Advantages of simulations
- Compared to reality
- Compared to other media and methodologies
- motivation
- transfer of learning
- efficiency
- flexibility
- Factors in simulations
- theory of learning
- fidelity (transfer of learning from simulation to real world)
- delivery mode
- instructional strategy
- microworlds, virtual reality, lab sims, role playing, and so on
- model - represents system being simulated; continuous, discrete, and logical
(pp 237-242)
- objects
- precision
- type of reality
- sequence number of solutions
- time frame
- role of learner
- providing objectives (frames experience)
- directions
- opening
- instructional supports
- motivators
- sequence
- presentations
- learner actions
- learner control
- system reactions and feedback
- natural vs. artificial
- immediate vs. delayed
- Taxonomy for fidelity analysis
- Sim design and development
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