“Park Bench Reflection”by CPSutcliffe is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

 

Over the last week various groups summarized and reflected upon readings from Second Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, and from The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. The summaries allowed me to brainstorm alternative possibilities for my final project in the master’s program, and to put layers upon ideas that have started to take motion in moving forward with my final project. 

 

Recently I have been thinking about how collaboration can be successful with students in my classroom with their peers situated at much distance from our own community. How could students in my classroom help build a website collaboratively a peer, make learning relevant to both learners, and create personal meaning for individuals and for their community?

The article on Advanced Principles in Multimedia Learning from the The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning gave some insight on ideas to consider. Presented by Gary, Deirdre, and Andrew, these individuals brought in the three viewpoints on how  one can create an environment in which deeper thinking strategies and tools for the learner are provided through multimedia. 

 

The Guided Discovery Learning Principle in Multimedia Learning

The biggest consideration is how much scaffolding, support and guidance does the teacher provide in supporting discovery learning with the application of multimedia. There is no definitive answer on how to proceed, but it does get the educator to think about starting students with a level of success by not making the learning goal too challenging that results in a lack of motivation, or inert drive, for the individual to move forward. With the new B.C. core competencies, there is a move towards collaboration, thinking, working with others, and being creative in a landscape with ever changing content. I agree with the groups thought on how I can consider the aspect of multi-leveled designs to support students. In an inclusive classroom, I would need to set adapted or modified goals that are clear, supportive, and within a framework in which collaboration with peers not only takes place, but is also valued and part of the overall whole.

 

The Learner Control Principle in Multimedia Learning

The initial goal of the learner control principle was to give the learner more control of their learning which would cause an improvement with engagement. Andrew, Gary and Deirdre made a big note on mentioning that there is very little empirical evidence that it works, but did suggest that the model can work under certain conditions such as a high level of prior knowledge, instructional support, and scaffolding. I feel before attempting a project in which students are engaged with peers from another school through technology, scaffolding of prior knowledge can support the learning relationship between peers. Skill sets such as self regulation, codes of conduct, and providing peer review between individuals could help support the learning activity.

 

The Collaboration Principle in Multimedia Learning

The greatest amount of reflection came from the information presented to me through the collaboration principle. With the advent of new software and technology, I feel the bridge for students to cross is getting smaller. The key ideas for success with student collaboration is making the activity cognitively challenging but not overwhelming, making sure the flow of information between peers flows without obstructions, and that students share their vision of moving forward when collaboration occurs. Working on a project together, the individuals in the group can break activities into workable units and form the overall whole together. Programs such as Trello and Skype are software possibilities in which I can get students to collaborate with each other and allows coordination of learning.

Also, being aware of some of the pitfalls of collaborative projects such as social loathing, where an individual in a group project decides not to put in the same effort compared to when a project is reliant solely on oneself. Finding adaptations would be necessary in such a case.

 

Summary

I enjoyed watching the videos and found the summaries quite valuable as a resource guide in exploring concepts such as using technology for assessment, basic principles of multimedia learning, and challenges related to digital equity.  The summaries from peers in our course highlight various topics in which further research can set up positive impacts for our learning community as a reader and researcher.