Hello again!
Today in my blog post I will talk about the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning and the platform H5P.
First, the cognitive theory of multimedia learning talks about how to combine both the science of learning and the science of instruction. Multimedia learning includes not only listening to someone speak but also looking at images. The picture that I have included above first gave me the impression of the lightbulb being the brain and it absorbing information through visual cues (reading the book), auditory cues (listening through the phone), and both (watching and listening to a video on the computer). The article talks about how we as people cannot process information effectively without allowing both our eyes and ears to work together to remember valuable information. This also goes hand in hand with trying to not exceed the learner’s intrinsic cognitive capacity. Teachers need to ensure that they allow students to have various opportunities to process information (visual and auditory for example), but that they are not overloading students with having to read, listen, and watch all at the same time. Our brain can only remember a certain amount of information and this leads to students only remembering certain information. To enable students to remember the information that they need to know teachers need to limit the extraneous cognitive load in their lessons. Teachers also need to have lesson plans that allow students to pull information from prior experiences and relate it to their current life in order for a child to best understand the information. Overall, while using multimedia a teacher needs to keep the student’s ability to absorb information in mind and create lesson plans that enable the students to focus on the primary information and associate it with prior knowledge and how it all connects to their life.
Lastly, I will talk about H5P. H5P is a program for teachers to use in order to create interactive and collaborative content. Some examples of what can be created using this platform are presentations, quizzes, timelines, etc. One thing that I really like about H5P is that it is free to use. This helps teachers who may not have it in their budget to buy a subscription to a program similar to this. By enabling free access to this program it allows for a lot of different types of multimodal learning that helps engage students in the material through a game-like format. I can definitely see myself using a platform such as H5P in my classroom, especially after being shown how to use it through this class. I believe this platform could be used for children of all ages. I remember in my French 9 class we played lots of games using our smartboard which definitely helped me to learn the material while being engaged and having fun. I believe that H5P would have a similar effect on students of any age during any subject.
The video below contains some valuable information on what multimedia is and why it should be used in the classroom. The part of the video that I really enjoyed is where there are some examples of ways to use multimedia with students in the classroom (approximately at 2:50). One that I found really related to H5P is when the example of collaborative presentations being used.
Overall, by using multimedia in the classroom students are more likely to remain engaged in the topics and to learn more about the topic, as well as learn valuable life skills such as collaboration and teamwork.
Citations:
“Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning.” Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning- ETEC 510, http://etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Cognitive_Theory_of_Multimedia_Learning.
Dana Fredwell. [Dana Fredwell]. (2012, June 29). Multimedia in Education. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbEiBNQMg9U.
H5P, h5p.org/.
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