Adam's Awesome Blog

Social Learning Theory

nodddz — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 02:06:53 +0000

Social Learning involves attention, retention, reproduction and reinforcement. In an E-learning context social learning can be used through demonstration and reproduction over the Internet. YouTube is an excellent example of how a learner can see how to do something then practice it themselves.

3.4 Colour in my E-learning course

nodddz — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:22:14 +0000

After looking over the pages on the ‘colourmatters’ website I definately have a better idea of what colours to use and more importantly what colours NOT to use. Bright yellow seems to be the most strenuous colour for the eyes as is red as they reflect light much more radiantly and hurt your eyes much like staring into the sun though of course of a much smaller scale.

For my e-learning course I would use colours that compliment eachother and are of a similar colour scheme; something like a range of greens to browns. I would also use these colours sparingly as they should be used to direct the learners attention to certain points not fill the entire screen and distract them from what i’m trying to teach them.

3.3 Visual Design

nodddz — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 11:39:41 +0000

Visual hierarchy influences learners by drawing their attention to certain parts of a page. The Lynch and Horton article online states that “Readers first see pages as large masses of shape and color, with foreground elements contrasting against the background field.” Therefore it is the job of the page designer to ensure the reader is able to decipher the content of the page from the moment they lay eyes on it. Finding a balance between graphics, colour and plain text is the most important element as that will determine whether the learner engages in the substantive content in the text.

Lynch and Horton – http://www.webstyleguide.com/page/hierarchy.html

3.2 Recommendations regarding my learning course

nodddz — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 11:29:43 +0000

By following the seven principles of multimedia design i would recommend that any person creating a e-learning course should incorporate a variety of different mediums to better engage the learner. The first multimedia principle states that “Students learn better from words and pictures than from words alone” which suggest that a blend of pictures, text and narration is a better way of presenting information than just one of the mediums by itself.

As far as my learning course is going I am trying to incorporate new technologies into a course that would be taken 100% online. I’m looking at incorporating podcasts/vodcasts, social networking and maybe possibly a virtual world application.

3.1 Multimedia

nodddz — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 11:19:00 +0000

I would define multimedia in today’s context as being any form of information being presented digitally. This can range from television, to YouTube, to Podcasting; anything digitally presented I would consider as a form of multimedia.

The emergence of Web 2.0 technologies has begun to expand our definition of multimedia from something as simple as a film projector 30 years ago to the virtual worlds and online communities of knowledge that we work with today. The Seely-Brown article discusses the idea that new technologies are giving learners the opportunity to create and shape their own learning experiences whereas in years gone by the multimedia of that time was more directive and didnt allow for any learner interaction in what was presented as the course material.

Humanist Approach

nodddz — Wed, 07 May 2008 04:36:33 +0000

The humanist approach is based around the idea that individuals are seeking to grow their self esteem. In an E-learning context, the virtual classroom would need to be highly motivating to ensure learners are able to contribute ideas of their own. By contributing their own ideas learners feel empowered and as such their self esteem rises which encourages them to participate even more and become more involved in the learning process.

Advance Organiser

nodddz — Wed, 07 May 2008 04:30:11 +0000

In an e-learning context advance organisers can be used to help learners understand new programs by relating them to old ones. For example a person learning to use second life can first be taught to word process and also to move a character around a game world and then combine these skills to better understand the overall useability of a virtual world.

Manly Youth Centre

nodddz — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:59:47 +0000

Manly Youth Council (MYC) was established in 1968 and is reportedly the first of its kind in NSW. Designed to form a representative group of interested people 15 to 25 years of age, it provides an effective forum for youth in the Manly area and acts as a co-ordinating body for youth services in Manly.

Manly Youth Centre provides a hub for a number of youth activities run by the council and also by outside organisation. It is desgined to offer fun and safe events both during the day and late at night on friday and saturday nights.

Meaningfulness and Insight

nodddz — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:19:03 +0000

The cognitive approach to learning is centred around remembering and learning and making connections between different pieces of information. A persons intelligence rises if he or she is able to understand the connections between ideas then break down the information and rebuild it with logical connections. This is meaningfulness or the creation of meaning to try and understand something. In an E-learning context this is relevant as learners need to relate what they learn electronically to the real world. Successfully doing this is called insight and this occurs when appropriate connections are made and the answer becomes apparent to us, or in an elearning context, when the theory learnt electronically become relevant and useful in our day to day lives or in the workplace.

Activity 2.2 – Behaviourist

nodddz — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 01:54:26 +0000

Generalising can have an adverse effect in an E-learning context if the learner has been preconditioned to regard e-learning as a waste of time or if they do not fully understand the benefits of it. In this case the learner would never be fully commited to their learning and therefore suffer as a consequence.