Category: Assignment 1 – Blog Posts

EDCI 337 Blog Post 9

2022-11-19 / sujeang / 194 Comments

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

This week, I explored a new software called Twine. According to the official Twine website, it is “an open-source platform for telling interactive, nonlinear stories” (https://twinery.org/). It can be thought of as an online platform for creating your own adventure stories.

While playing around with Twine, I created my own story. I based my story on the objective of teaching students the importance of time management, prioritization, and organization. Please feel free to view my story below.

My Twine Story

Gamified Learning Activity Elements

Twine is very similar to an online game. A few gamified learning activity elements involved include the following:

Narrative – The story begins with setting up the player as a first-year university student tasked to navigate their way through planning a group project.
Immediate Feedback – With each choice that the player makes, they are given feedback.
Player Control – The beauty of a twine story is that the outcome is completely dependent on the choices that the player makes.

Student Activity Using Twine

I think there are multiple ways to utilize Twine in learning. One student activity can be to have students learn about a certain concept through readings and youtube videos then create a Twine story from their learning. For example, they can learn how Chinese workers influenced the creation of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The next step is to have them create a Twine story that is inspired by what they learned.

Although Twine was relatively easy to learn, I did have some troubleshooting problems when trying to solve my errors. It does take a lot of patience and problem-solving on the creator’s part because each passage needs to make logical sense. Therefore, I think Twine is more appropriate for middle-school-aged students. Furthermore, I think that Twine can be used both in a creative sense but also in a technological sense. Twine uses HTML, Javascript, and CSS to create its stories. Through manipulation of each of the languages, creators can see how it affects the outcome. It teaches very basic coding and conditional logic.

EDCI 337 Blog Post 8 – Interactivity with H5P

2022-11-06 / sujeang / 36 Comments

Image retrieved from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Teaching & Learning Centre

What is H5P?

H5P is “a free, versatile, open source authoring tool integrated with WordPress and many other platforms that allow you to quickly create, share and reuse a wide variety of interactive and engaging learning activities” (Watt, 2022, W-9). Some activities include multiple-choice questions, true or false questions, fill-in-the-blank questions, drag-and-drop, image hotspots, and branching scenarios. (Watt, 2022, W-9).

Prompt:

What was your experience of trying H5P? Which of the activities do you think you would make the most use of in your teaching context and what would you use them to do? Which ones do you think require the most resources to create?

My First Experience with H5P

While playing around with H5P, I thought ‘why didn’t my teachers ever use this to teach my class?’. H5P was user-friendly, however, intuitive to learn. The icons to embed activities were simple and easy to find. While playing around with the activities, I would occasionally add a feature that I did not mean to. However, all I had to do is click on the trash can icon to undo my mistake.

The hardest part was determining the timing of my activities within my video. I wanted my activities to pop up at a natural time so that the activities would be cohesive with the video. I had to edit the timing of the activities right down to the milliseconds.

First H5P attempt:

How a student changed her study habits by TEDxTalks (2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7e7gtU3PHY

Most used activities

I think all of the activities from H5P would be great to incorporate as interactive activities in a classroom setting. However, the ones that I found that I gravitated towards the most were the multiple-choice questions and the True and False questions. I think I used these two activities the most because they are the ones that I have personally used the most while in school; I had a sense of familiarity with these forms of assessment. That being said, both activities are great ways to test a student’s knowledge because the different options can trigger a student to be distracted by the multiple choices; multiple choice and true and false are more than just guessing games. They test if the student was retaining the information and if they really paying attention.

Out of the two activities, I think the multiple-choice questions require more resources. Since there needs to be more than one choice, the options that are the wrong choice cannot be too obvious that they are incorrect because that would be too easy for the student. However, multiple choice questions do encourage the student to think critically because most of the time they would most likely think logically to settle on one choice.

Connection with Theories and Principles

Below are some examples of how Mayer’s Theory of Multimedia Learning was used in the H5P activity:

Segmenting (Watt, 2022, W-3): Within the interactive video, instead of having all the questions in one section of the video, I placed the questions evenly dispersed. By doing it this way, it forces the watcher to be engaged with the video until the end. Furthermore, it prevents the watcher from being overly stimulated since there are breaks between the questions.
Signaling (Watt, 2022, W-2): Throughout the interactive video, pop-up questions appear. The questions clearly signal to the watcher that it’s time to complete the short quiz. There is no confusion as to where to click in order to answer the questions.

What I wish were different

While going through my H5P activity again, I noticed a few things that I wish I could incorporate:

Closed-Captioning options: The video that I used was from YouTube. On Youtube, the viewer has the option to turn on/off closed-captioning. However, while playing my interactive video, I noticed that option is no longer available. I think it would be very beneficial to have closed-captioning in multiple languages. This would be helpful for hard-of-hearing individuals, English Language Learners, and many more. Having one improvement can benefit many; this aligns with the UDL principle of representation (UDL, 2022).
Voice to Action: While interacting with the interactive video, I thought it would be cool if individuals could interact not solely by clicking the screen. For example, individuals who have a physical disability with their arms, most likely could not easily use a mouse very easily; therefore, they could not participate in H5P activities. Instead, by using their voice and clear instructions, perhaps they could participate in the activities. This reflects the UDL principle of Action and Expression (UDL, 2022).

Additional H5P Activity

Reference:

TEDxTalks. (2019). How a student changed her study habits [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7e7gtU3PHY

UDL. (2022, September 2). The UDL guidelines. Retrieved https://udlguidelines.cast.org/

Watt (2022). W-2: How Do We Learn?. Retrieved from: https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2022/08/29/w2-how-do-we-learn/

Watt (2022). W-3: Multimedia Design For Learning. Retrieved from: https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2022/09/17/w3-multimedia-design-for-learning/

Watt (2022). W-9: Active and Passive Learning. Retrieved from: https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2022/10/29/w9-active-and-passive-learning/

EDCI 337 Blog Post 6 – Storytelling

2022-10-23 / sujeang / 2 Comments

In the reading this week, 7 Storytelling Techniques Used by the Most Inspiring TED Presenters, which of the presenters did you find most compelling? What technique(s) did you recognize in their talk?

The presenter I found most compelling was Leslie Steiner’s story of “domestic violence and how she found the courage to leave her abusive spouse” (7 storytelling techniques used by the most inspiring ted presenters, 2022).

I was attracted to Leslie’s story because of her story started about domestic abuse started around the same age as me. Furthermore, as a young woman myself, I found her situation can happen to me too.

Leslie Morgan Steiner, “Why domestic violence victims don’t leave”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1yW5IsnSjo

A few storytelling techniques were used:

Tell a personal story: Leslie opened up her personal story of surviving domestic abuse with sensitive details such as how her ex-husband choked her so tightly she could not even scream or breathe (7 storytelling techniques used by the most inspiring ted presenters, 2022).
Create suspense: Leslie started the presentation off by saying “I’m here to talk about a disturbing question, which has an equally disturbing answer” (7 storytelling techniques used by the most inspiring ted presenters, 2022). The key word in this sentence that created suspense is disturbing. Starting the presentation like this engages the audience because they will anticipate the story that will follow up.
End with a positive takeaway: Leslie concluded her presentation by sharing her current happy home life with her second husband, three children, and their pet dog. She further encourages that domestic violence needs to be talked about more and that there can be a happy future for victims.

Practicing Storytelling

This week, I had an opportunity to practice my storytelling techniques. In alignment with this course, I was instructed to tell a story with a learning purpose. The topic that I chose was Tips and Tricks to practice a new language. In order to practice my techniques, I created a storyboard: Practicing a new language. This storyboard also includes the story script. I had a lot of fun creating this storyboard because I personally used these tricks to learn Korean at home.

References:

7 storytelling techniques used by the most inspiring ted presenters. Visme Blog. (2022, September 27). Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://visme.co/blog/7-storytelling-techniques-used-by-the-most-inspiring-ted-presenters/

EDCI 337 Blog Post 5

2022-10-16 / sujeang / 28 Comments

Where do you see constructive alignment and backward design used in this course or another course you are taking/ have taken? Is there anywhere where it seems to be missing?

Constructive Alignment and Backward Design are two tools used to design a lesson. Constructive alignment means that the learning outcomes, assessments, and activities are all aligned with each other (Biggs). Whereas, backward design is when the lesson plan is constructed with the end goal in mind (learning outcome), then working from there to design the activities and assessment (Richards, 2013).

While taking this course ( EDCI 337), I have seen numerous applications of constructive alignment and backward design. For example, during the week 5 lesson, learning outcomes/objectives are clearly stated at the top of the blog. Following this, resources for the lesson are provided. This section aligns with providing the activities. Lastly, is the assessment section. The assessment was in the form of a blog post while commenting on another peer’s post, and creating an infographic using the design principles. Constructive alignment was also used in the lesson since the objectives, activities, and assessment all related to the core idea of design principles for multimedia presentations.

EDCI 337 Week 5 lesson: https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2022/10/02/w5-design-principles-for-multimedia-presentations/

Lesson Design Planning- The Korean Alphabet

Big Idea: The Korean alphabet is the foundation of the language

Learning Outcomes: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to write and pronounce each letter of the Korean alphabet

Evidence of Learning: A visual reenactment of the use of the letters of the alphabet and pronunciation.

Assessment: A video of the student using parts of their body to display each letter of the Korean alphabet. They must also sound out each letter as they display them

Learning Activities: Watch a video about the Korean alphabet: how to write and pronounce each letter.

References

Biggs, John, Constructive Alignment in University Teaching, HERDSA Review of Higher Education Vol. 1, www.herdsa.org.au

Richards, J. C. (2013). Curriculum approaches in language teaching: Forward, central, and backward design. Relc Journal, 44(1), 5-33.

EDCI 337 Blog Post #4

2022-10-08 / sujeang / 46 Comments

Which design principles did you use to create your infographic in Canva? Which design elements of a ‘good infographic’ were you able to incorporate? What other principles did you consider?

For this week’s blog post, I decided to create an infographic. Infographics are visual representations of a certain topic that incorporates visual keys and minimal text. However, design is an important component of infographics since the information should be intriguing for the reader while being informative.

In order to create my infographic, I got in touch with my Korean heritage. Korean food has various flavour profiles which I wanted to showcase to my class.

In order to create the infographic, I tried to incorporate various design principles. When creating an infographic, design principles are vital to keep in mind. Below are the 8 basic design principles:

Focus on alignment
Use hierarchy to help focus your design
Leverage contrast to accentuate important design elements
Use repetition to your advantage
Consider proximity when organizing your graphic elements
Make sure that your designs have balance
Optimize colour to support your design
Leave lots of negative space

(Adobe Express, 2020).

Some design principles that were utilized in the infographic are the following:

Hierarchy: The size of the text from biggest to smallest alerts the reader where the most important information is
Repetition: Consistent format of the layout of the information is used
Balance: The alignment of the graphics alternates so there is an overall balance in the infographic
Colour: There is a consistent colour scheme (a couple of brown shades, black, and white) so that the colour palette is not too overwhelming

Infographic:

References:

Adobe Express, (2020, Oct 17). 8 basic design principles to help you make Awesome Graphics. Adobe. https://www.adobe.com/express/learn/blog/8-basic-design-principles-to-help-you-create-better-graphics

EDCI 337 Week 2 Blog Post

2022-09-22 / sujeang / 20 Comments

Principles of Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning

Most Intuitive – The Coherence Principle

The coherence principle allows designers to create projects that align with their topic; it also prevents them to add extraneous visuals, sounds, and text. I feel like this is the most intuitive principle because I feel that many people start by solidifying their topic before diving into their project.

For example, if a University of Victoria student is preparing a presentation about eagles, she may use the following image and video:

https://pixabay.com/photos/adler-eagle-bird-white-tailed-eagle-2386314/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-DikVjBI_s

Since these items are on the same topic and do not distract from each other, they would make the presentation coherent.

Most surprising – The Signaling Principle

The signaling principle uses visual and auditory signs to draw the viewers’ attention to certain areas of the screen. I found this principle the most surprising because I feel that not a lot of presenters use this principle. I think that if educators learn to effectively use this principle then students will be more engaged with their learning.

EDCI 337 Week 1 Blog Post

2022-09-16 / sujeang / 48 Comments

What made you decide to take this course?

As a health information science student, I learn how to incorporate technology into healthcare practices. I wanted to take this course to learn how multimedia could perhaps enhance technology acceptance.

What is interactive media?

Interactive media is media that is affected by the user’s interaction. One example is a mobile phone game called Subway Surfers. The movement of the character depends on the motions of the user. For example, if the user swipes up on their phone, then the character jumps.

Subway Surfers: https://www.mobygames.com/game/iphone/subway-surfers/screenshots/gameShotId,563777/ (Mobygames, n.d.)

What is multimedia?

Multimedia is a mix of two or more types of media within one project. An example of multimedia is movies. Movies combine visuals (ie graphics) and sounds.

What is interactive multimedia?

Interactive multimedia is a combination of at least two media forms while changing its outputs according to inputs from the user. An example of interactive multimedia is virtual reality (VR) games. VR games incorporate graphics, sounds, and some written media. The game changes as the user interact with it. For example, when a user swings their arm diagonally in Fruit Ninja, then the fruit explodes.

Fruit Ninja Virtual Reality Game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPY4TRRHwZc (PlayStation, 2016)

References

PlayStation. (2016, December 20). Fruit Ninja VR – gameplay trailer | PS VR. YouTube. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPY4TRRHwZc

Subway surfers screenshots for iPhone. MobyGames. (n.d.). Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://www.mobygames.com/game/iphone/subway-surfers/screenshots/gameShotId,563777/

Runner on path — Photo by Flickr user jfchenier under CC license: BY-NC 2.0

Welcome and Introduction

2021-05-04 / edtech / 189 Comments

Before proceeding with this first blog post, we expect you to consider your privacy preferences carefully and that you have considered the following options:

Do you want to be online vs. offline?
Do you want to use your name (or part thereof) vs. a pseudonym (e.g., West Coast Teacher)?
Do you want to have your blog public vs. private? (Note, you can set individual blog posts private or password protected or have an entire blog set to private)
Have you considered whether you are posting within or outside of Canada? This blog on opened.ca is hosted within Canada. That said, any public blog posts can have its content aggregated/curated onto social networks outside of Canada.

First tasks you might explore with your new blog:

Go into its admin panel found by adding /wp-admin at the end of your blog’s URL
Add new category or tags to organize your blog posts – found under “Posts” (but do not remove the pre-existing categories or sub-categories). If you would like to add more course categories, please do so (e.g., add EDCI 306A with no space for Music Ed, etc.)
See if your blog posts are appearing on the course website (you must have the course categories assigned to a post first and have provided your instructor with your blog URL)
Add pages
Embed images or set featured images and embed video in blog posts and pages (can be your own media or that found on the internet, but consider free or creative commons licensed works)
Under Appearance,
- Select your preferred website theme and customize to your preferences (New title, etc.)
- Customize menus & navigation
- Use widgets to customize blog content and features
Delete this starter post (or switch it to draft status if you want to keep for reference)

Do consider creating categories for each course that you take should you wish to document your learning (or from professional learning activities outside of formal courses). Keep note, however, that you may wish to use the course topic as the category as opposed to the course number as those outside of your program would not be familiar with the number (e.g., we use “Multimedia Learning” instead of “edci337).

Lastly, as always, be aware of the FIPPA as it relates to privacy and share only those names/images that you have consent to use or are otherwise public figures. When in doubt, ask us.