Navigating Instagram
Screencastify is an example of a tool that can be used for online multimedia learning. This week, I used Screencastify to create a screencast showing how to post a picture to the popular social media platform, Instagram. Instagram can be used for personal use to share pictures and videos with family and friends. It can also be used as a powerful marketing tool for businesses, providing a direct way to engage with customers and clients.
Providing Effective Instruction
When creating my screencast, I had to make choices about how to lead this instructional video in a way that enhances the learning of the viewer. I consulted Mayer’s Theory of Multimedia Learning, which assumes that learners take in information through two separate channels, the first being a visual channel and the second being an auditory channel. This assumption means that Screencastify is an effective teaching tool that utilizes both visual and auditory presentation. It is also important to consult Cognitive Load Theory, which focuses on minimizing effort wasted on distractions (extraneous load), managing working memory capacity (intrinsic load), and optimizing what the learner understands (germane load).
In order to minimize extraneous load, I had to be cognizant of how I was presenting the material. I considered the Coherence Principle from Multimedia Learning Theory and did not include any unnecessary information or details and abstained from including any background music. I also considered the Redundancy Principle and focused the presentation on visuals and spoken narration and minimizing text on screen (Davis & Norman, 2016).
References
Davis, G., & Norman, M. (2016). Principles of Multimedia Learning. Wiley University Services. https://ctl.wiley.com/principles-of-multimedia-learning/
Hi Darby,
Thanks for walking us through how to post a picture on Instagram this week. I am actually new to Instagram so I found it useful. I was not aware of the accessibility feature that can be utilized while uploading photos on their platform. This has me wondering about differences in dual coding theory (pairing words and images to improve retrieval) with people who are visually impaired. If we use two distinct channels, as Paivio describes, to enhance our memory processes – what if we cannot utilize one of the channels (ie. visual)? I believe that accessibility features like the one you described in your screencast will help people experiencing visual impairment to use ‘imagery’, rather than images – still allowing participants to connect the two channels to enhance their learning and memory processes. I am very curious to learn more about accessibility features and techniques on numerous platforms and am glad that Instagram has taken steps to be more inclusive. Thanks!
Hi Darby,
I loved your Blog 2 post. It was simple in length but full of intriguing information. I loved how you incorporated everything you learned up until week 3 to use in your post. It helped me gain more insight on Mayer’s Theory of Multimedia Learning, Cognitive Load Theory, Coherence Principle, and Redundancy Principle as well. Out of the three I believe cognitive load theory is the most important. Sometimes I see useless websites have ads on them that create negative impact on my learning environment. Thank you for all the insight!