Dorian Peters, Rafael A. Calvo
{dorian@dorian-mode.com, rafa@ee.usyd.edu.au}
- The University of Sydney -
In order to have a truly effective educational multimedia application, the visual design has to be as pedagogically sound as the course itself. In this paper, we look at what became the foundation of knowledge and theory for the digital design and planning of the educational multimedia course “B2E Systems”. We discuss a collection of current research, theories and strategies for effective visual design of multimedia learning applications, that came together to mould the development of the B2E course, from concept to production. B2E is a Multimedia CD-ROM developed at the University of Sydney for E-commerce education. In the last section we discuss the teaching and learning rationale behind some of the key design decisions made during the development of the course.
For the purpose of this paper, we will define multimedia education as educational content that is delivered on a computer, and we will focus on the web and CD-ROM.
Digital designers have encountered a new challenge, for to design a teaching application is to become teacher as well, like it or not. The designer may not be writing the course, but every design decision in a learning application has an influence on the effectiveness of the learning. For example, the simple decision to incorporate an animation with or without accompanying text will have an effect on student test scores [5]. Suddenly, the designer is playing an active role in helping the student to understand new concepts in a meaningful and lasting way. The only way to meet this challenge, is to discover how people learn, cognitively speaking, in ways that are specific to the media at hand.
In general, the learning outcomes are defined by the author of the course. However, they are very important to the designer as they define which concepts are the most important and should therefore be focused on in the design. [4]
It is also recommended that the designer add access mechanisms that allow learners to find their own path through the course, for example, an interface that allows for non-linear navigation. There should be a menu that previews the contents of the course, and/or an index, and/or a clickable map to provide an appropriate mental model of the course. [3] In other words, the aim is to prevent any potential confusion for the learner, as they will need to focus on understanding the content. Mayer’s research [5] shows that the following principles yield the best student performance results:
Concentrated – The key ideas are highlighted both in the illustrations and in the text.
Concise – Extraneous descriptions are minimised in the text and extraneous visual features (unneeded details or colours) are minimised.
Correspondence – Corresponding illustrations and text segments are presented near each other on the page.
Coherent
– The presented material has a clear structure (eg. a cause-and-effect
chain.)
Comprehensible – the text and illustrations are familiar and allow the learner to apply relevant past experiences.
Codable – key terms used in the text and key features of the illustration are used consistently and in ways that make them more memorable.
While these principles are not specifically alluding to interactive media, they are easily applied. The first principle shows that ideas explained graphically should be succinctly captioned with the key ideas that they represent in the text, and that extraneous information, both textual and visual, should be avoided (these might be unnecessary bells and whistles.) Concentration is especially relevant to computer-based multimedia, as reading from a screen is particularly taxing and it is therefore important for text information to be minimized. Moving on down the list, “Coherent” tells us the Information presented should have a clear structure. “Comprehensible” reminds us that we need to know and speak to our audience, and “Codable” can be interpreted for the computer-based context, as the need for a consistent interface.
The reason behind these results is explained by Mayer’s “cognitive theory of multimedia” which is based on dual channel processing systems in the human brain. In short, we can see one thing and hear another, or intake verbal and pictorial elements concurrently, but we cannot as effectively take in two things to hear or two things to see at the same time. In this case, there follows a kind of traffic jam.
Structures of individual lessons can vary according to what is being taught. [3] For example, Horton outlines an array of possible lesson structures including classic tutorials, activity-centred lessons, learner-customised tutorials, knowledge-paced tutorials, etc. It is important for designer and course developer alike to be aware of the options for lesson structure design in the multimedia context.
Finally, it is important to rediscover the role that drama can play in motivating learners. We often blame short attention spans, but even computer game users became utterly obsessed with story and adventure games that were entirely text-based a decade ago. [6] In digital design, we have been focusing entirely on spectacle, which is only 6th on Aristotle’s classical list definition of drama. [1] Plot and character hold the first and second positions, and they have been almost entirely neglected on the web and in multimedia (outside of games.)
B2E – An Interactive Course in Web-based Business to Employee Systems (B2E) began as a module from a University of Sydney course “Introduction to E-commerce Systems.” [2] As a course dealing with web-based and computer-based technologies, it seemed a perfect choice for multimedia delivery. Business to Employee Systems consists of 5 key learning modules: (1) “The Learning Organization” which is the theoretical foundation for all subsequent modules, and (2) Customer Relationship Management, (3) E-Learning, (4) Knowledge Management and (5) Collaboration Systems.
In the case of the B2E project, the design started simultaneous with the structure. After looking over many e-learning courses, we noted that one of the most dizzying elements was often the course menu or contents. Therefore, we aimed at creating a menu that allowed the user to look at the home page and immediately understand both the contents and the structure at a glance. We also wanted to make sure they could tell exactly where to start without a hint of doubt or confusion. The solution to this took inspiration from a game board. This method answered to both Mayer’s requirement of a defined structure, [5] and Horton’s guidelines for the contents and menu. [3] A game board has a very well defined start and finish. In addition, it is a recognisable metaphor that implies fun. It also provides a mental model of the entire structure of the course in a simplified way.
Each module, once entered, is introduced with a summary of instructional goals. This screen is followed by up to 5 sequential lessons screens. After the user clicks on from the last lesson screen, a paper airplane flies onto the screen and announces the “Quiz.” Because the CD was originally intended for adult learners, it was decided that all assessment would be self-assessment. Therefore, the quiz page consists of multiple choice questions and several review questions for critical thinking. To add a touch of humour, if the user checks an incorrect answer for a multiple choice question, they hear an “awwww”. They can choose again until they pick the right one to overwhelming cheers and applause. Once the quiz page is complete, the user can click to the finish screen which is a page of congratulations with the image of a small office party where cheese and wine are being served (if the user tries to click on the cheese a system alert box pops up that reads “this is not real food.”) The use of learning goals, congratulations and aural feedback (as well as the little jokes) are all intended to instil a sense of motivation in the learner and keep the learning experience enjoyable. The finish line of the course itself includes a personalised certificate of completion of the course.
Finally, we designed original characters, one for each module to add a sense of drama [1]. Each character, Betty, Gabe, Marcus and Jasmine, represents a particular module (CRM, E-learning, KM etc.) In each module you meet one of the characters. The characters communicate with the learner via dialogue balloons, comic strip style, and the user tells the character to go on with his story via an arrow in the balloon. Each character has his own drama, or conflict that relates to the lesson at hand and that unfolds during the module. In addition, these storylines are interwoven together as we see that the characters are all part of the same organization and therefore depend on each other as they collaborate and solve problems.
Thus, a conscious and studied visual design is essential to the success of a multimedia education project. This is because every design decision is a teaching decision in some way. In creating the B2E project, the development team at the University of Sydney took research and strategies relating to different areas of media learning and interpreted and implemented them in the context of a digital course on Business to Employee Systems. These elements included research on cognitive theory, structure and usability considerations and even a reconsideration of what motivates a student’s interest in a course. These became the theoretical foundation for the design decisions made during the development of B2E Systems, a course that will be published by Pearson Education in mid 2002.
The B2E Systems project was partially supported by the Australian Government Science Lectureship Initiative “Building a cohesive Electronic Commerce Education Programme” and by the University of Sydney. Special thanks to our teaching and learning adviser, Rob Ellis, to David Levy and to the Sydney College of the Arts, Ryszard Dabek and Josephine Starrs.
1. Aristotle, On Poetics, in Great Books of the Western World (Encyclopedia Britannica, 1952.)
2. Rafael A. Calvo, Introduction to E-commerce Systems, (Pearson Education 2001.)
3. William Horton, Developing Web-based training: How to Teach Anyone, Anything, Anywhere, Anytime, (Wiley and Sons, 2000.)
4. Michael Korolenko, Writing for Multimedia, (Integrated Media Group, 1997.)
5. Richard E. Mayer, Multimedia Learning, (Cambridge University Press, 2001.)
6. Domenic Stansberry, Labyrinths: The Art of Interactive
Writing and Design, (Integrated Media
Group.)