Multimedia Take-Aways (so far):
A few things stood out to me as worthy take-aways for future instructional design: First, that students -- all students, not just “visual learners” -- learn best through a combination of words and pictures rather than words alone. Second, that the information we give students needs to be integratedso that words and images show up as close to simultaneously as possible. Third, if we want to expand the (fixed) capacity of the working memory, we need to carefully present our information in two modes: visual and auditory, but must be careful not to give redundant information, or overload one channel in our dual-channel sensory memory.
Multimedia Applied to Reading Pedagogy
So, where does that leave me? Honestly, a bit confused. As you can probably tell by now, I’m seriously focused on (writing my dissertation on) multimedia worked examples and their efficacy as a teaching tool for supporting differentiated reading instruction. So, what happens when I’m reading a passage aloud while students follow along in their books? Or, what happens when a struggling student plays a chunk of an audiobook while reading along in his copy? In each of these cases, the working memory has to simultaneously process and integrate disparate sources of information (two different forms of words). So, wouldn’t that be a breach of the split-attention principle? A violation of the multimedia principle? Does this principle apply equally to students with low and high prior knowledge? How do I reconcile the theories with the practice, as anecdotally, the lessons above seem to work well for many (the majority) of my students. Is it because they are all novices, and the expertise reversal effect hasn’t taken hold yet? What is the right course of action to take in this scenario, and why?
Questions aside, perhaps what I appreciate most about the context for the Mayer Bible (presented in the opening chapters, most especially in Chapter 6) is the value placed on “Good Teaching.” The authors remind teachers that the effect of teaching with technology is about the teaching, not the technology. Technology might equip a teacher to do things she couldn't do before, but the reason it works isn't because it's on a screen, but rather, because it is well designed. Mayer calls on us to focus on crafting quality learning experiences for students. I love that message.