Chapter 4: Using Instructional Software And Multimedia For Content-Area Learning
This chapter is focused on computer applications used in an instructional role. The actual and assumed uses of these applications are examined using a model that attempts to define what instruction is.
The following questions can be used to guide your thinking about this chapter:
- What are the four stages of a complete instructional experience? Which of the stages of instruction do computer-based tutorials, simulations, drill-and-practice activities, educational games, and exploratory environments address?
- Why would teachers want students to experience a computer-based simulation rather than the "real thing"?
- How are simulation fidelity, speed of learning, and likelihood of transfer interrelated?
- When are drill-and-practice activities used inappropriately?
- What are the characteristics of an exploratory learning environment, and what role should teachers play to help students learn from exploratory environments?
- In what ways can multimedia and hypermedia extend traditional instruction and traditional instructional resources?
- What are the unique advantages and challenges in multimedia-supported learning?
- Is it possible to apply constructivist principles with instructional software?
- What factors might teachers consider in evaluating software for potential adoption?
I. A Model of Instruction Applied to Computer-Based Instruction (pp. 121-123)
One model for understanding computer applications in classrooms identifies the categories of computer as tutor, tool, or tutee (Taylor). This chapter concerns the computer as tutor. When functioning in this role, technology exerts a high degree of control over the information to which students are exposed and what students do in responding to this content. It is expected that students will acquire knowledge and skills directly from interacting with the activities provided by the computer. This perspective is consistent with relatively traditional views of education and of the roles of educators and students.
A complete instructional experience takes students through four stages (Alessi & Trollip):
- presentation of information or learning experiences
- initial guidance as the student works to understand the information or to execute the skill to be learned
- extended practice to provide fluency or speed or to increase the probability of retention
- assessment of student mastery
We use an awareness of the four stages to differentiate the theoretical purposes of different types of instructional software and to consider how the software is actually used. A mismatch between the intent and the actual application of instructional software may indicate a cause for concern. A common mismatch occurs when students are expected to learn from drill activities. Drill activities are best suited to provide extended practice. With more students having access to multimedia on the Internet, a second frequent mismatch involves assuming an informtion resource is suited as an instructional resource. Exposure to resources not designed for instructional purposes will not take learners through all four stages of instruction.
II. Categories of Instructional Software (pp. 123-143)
II.A Tutorials
A high-quality tutorial should present information and guide learning. Considering the advantages of human tutors when contrasted with group instruction indicate some of the instructional benefits of the tutorial approach and also reveal some of the expectations of a tutorial computer-based applications have difficulty achieving. A tutorial is assumed to offer some advantages because of the individualized nature of the interaction. Tutorials can tailor the material presented and the rate of presentation to the needs of the learner. Tutorials can also adapt based on information obtained in interacting with the learner.
II.A.1 How tutorials function
Tutors being by presenting a small segment of information or demonstrating a specific skill. The tutor then typically engages the learner in an activity requiring use of the information or skill. Performance on the task provides feedback the tutor can use in making instructional decisions. The tutor can move on or continue to engage the learner with the content already presented.
Computer based tutorials do an adequate job of presenting information and engaging the learner with this content. The subtle and dynamic instructional skills involved in "guiding student learning" are most difficult to mimic.
II.A.2 Evaluating tutorials
Classroom teachers have capabilities computer tutorials cannot match, but the circumstances of working in classroom settings may not allow teachers to engage students in ways that utilize these capabilities.
Research findings are summarized later in the chapter.
II.B Simulations
Simulations provide controlled learning environments that replicate key elements of real-world environments. A simulation is designed so that the actions a student takes produce similar results in the simulated environment as would occur in the actual environment.
Simulations can be used for all four stages of instruction: presentation, guidance, practice, and assessment. A given simulation would seldom be used for all four functions.
II.B.1 Attributes of simulations and the influence on learning and transfer
The extent to which a simulation mimics reality is called "fidelity". While it might seem that a perfect match with reality would be ideal, this is not actually the case. Reality is "messy" - it can be unnecessarily confusing and even stressful. Learning of basic skills and knowledge occur most efficiently when unnecessary complications and stress can be eliminated. So - a simplified environment focused on critical content helps in the early stages of learning.
Applying knowledge and skills to actual situations is a little different. In actual "real world" situations, contending with complexity and stress are necessary. Hence, greater fidelity is helpful for transfer.
II.B.2 Advantages of simulations
Simulations can offer advantages over related "real world" experiences:
- Concreteness - simulations provide concrete representations to ponder. Many phenomena are difficult or impossible to observe under normal circumstances.
- Control - simulations put students in control of some situations they would seldom have the opportunity to control.
- Cost-effectiveness - many "real world" experiences would be to costly for educational purposes.
- Safety - actual experiences can be dangerous and thus not reasonable learning activities.
II.C Drill and Practice
Drill and practice software is developed to meet the needs of the third stage of instruction - extended practice. Drill activities concern factual information and practice concerns the development of skill fluency. Typically the goal is to prepare students to perform accurately, swiftly, and automatically. Automatically implies automaticity - once achieved automaticity frees limited capacity STM resources (see Chapter 2) for use in other ways.
Drill and practice activities have been the target of critics. Many of the complaints would more accurately be focused on the conditions of classroom use:
- drill software was not developed to present or guide
- mastery of low level skills or factual knowledge does not assure competence in higher order skills
II.D Educational games
We classify educational software as a game when characteristics such as competition and entertainment are emphasized. Classification of software using the categories outlined here can be a subjective process. Elements of competition and entertainment appear in much of the commercial software you will encounter. However, in examining many software titles, you would note qualitative differences in how strongly these elements are emphasized.
Educational games are receiving greater attention because of the popularity of commercial recreational games. Some are attempting to understand why recreational computer games are so popular and use such insights to improve educational activities. Others are attempting to determine if prolonged exposure to recreational games changes the learning preferences of children.
Exploratory environments provide manageable and responsive computer-based settings for students to explore and manipulate. Exploratory environments attempt to place students in a "real world" situation and engage the learner in tasks authentic to that situation. Exploratory environments are designed to provide opportunities for active learning anchored in realistic situations, experiences, and goals.
Exploratory environments exhibit certain characteristics:
- learner control - the learner must typically act for the activity to progress
- flexibility - multiple courses of action are typically possible
Exploratory environments may be most productive when a clear goal (task) has been established. It may be necessary to provide this task or help the learner establish the task.
Expanded discussion of software categories
Integrated Learning Systems (ILS) - a complete solution?
III. Multimedia and Hypermedia in the Delivery of Computer-Assisted Instruction (pp. 144-150)
III.A What are multimedia, hypermedia, and hypertext?
Multimedia translates as "many formats." It may take the form of a product using more than one modality (e.g., visual, auditory), at least two symbol systems within a modality (e.g., words, pictures), or at least two genres within a symbol system (e.g., still images, video).
Hypermedia allows multimedia to be experienced in a nonlinear and flexible fashion. Units of information (segments of words, an image, video clip) are interconnected in multiple ways and the learner has some control over the order in which these units of information are experienced.
Expanded discussion of differences between multimedia and hypermedia
Hypertext was an early form of hypermedia made up of interconnected text segments.
Brief history of hypermedia
III.B What are CD-ROM and DVD?
We include a description of CD-ROMs and DVDs in this chapter for a very practical reason. Multimedia requires a great deal of storage space and these "transportable" media offer large capacity storage options.
III.B.1 CD-ROM
CD-ROM stands for compact disc - read only memory. The read only implies that once a CD is prepared, it cannot be rewritten with new data. You may also encounter CD-RW - a type of CD that can be rewritten (read, write). A CD-ROM holds about 600 megabytes of information.
CD-ROMS store information in digital form. Images and music can be stored in digital form and so can computer programs. Most commercial programs now have grown to the point that they are purchased on CD rather than on diskettes (some computers come with CD as the standard input device and do not even include a disk drive unless the customer wants to pay extra to have one added).
The technology used in producing commercial CDs is different from the method used in "burning" individual CDs. A commercial CD is "stamped" from a master - the master is expensive to produce, but copies can be made very inexpensively. The CD you might "burn" on your personal computer requires a special "blank" (a CD-R) that is altered by a laser.
III.B.2 DVDs
A DVD is the same size as a CD, but the DVD player uses a more sophisticated laser system allowing more tracks and more tightly packed pits. DVD technology can make use of both sides of the disc and multiple layers of information on a side. Even the lowest capacity DVD can store an entire movie at a level quality exceeding a videotape (check one out at your local video rental establishment). High end DVDs could hold 8 hrs of video of a similar quality.
DVD-RAM drives (read and write capabilities) are now available in newer computers. The 2.5 (or 4.7) gigabyte capacity provides the capacity necessary for storing classroom video productions.
IV. Educational Applications of Multimedia
IV.A Multimedia can be used as a delivery system for computer based instruction.
IV.B Other applications of multimedia in the classroom
IV.B.1 Talking books
Talking books duplicate and extend the function of a traditional book. Talking books typically allow the text content to be narrated and may provide this narration in multiple languages. Readers may be able to hear the pronunciation of words they select.
IV.B.2 Multimedia References
Reference tools (encyclopedia, almanac) are available as multimedia. The multiple formats available (audio, video) allow some unique experiences that books cannot offer. Lower cost and superior search capabilities are other advantages.
IV.B.3 Cooperative problem solving
Multimedia allows the presentation of complex problem solving environments designed for cooperative learning. Individual members of a team can familiarize themselves with different aspects of a problem (resource interdependence) and then contribute their unique knowledge in the collaborative effort to achieve a successful team solution (reward interdependence).
V. Learning from Multimedia Instructional Resources (pp. 150-157)
V.A Strengths of Multimedia
V.A.1 Practical delivery system for effective learning
The availability of multiple formats (video, text, images) and the easy transition among formats allows the use of a format best suited to the content and instructional task. Explanations can be combined with visual or auditory examples when appropriate.
The multiple formats also allow a more realistic approximation of "out of classroom experiences." The realism allows learners to experience both the demands imposed by greater complexity and to also anchor concepts in more realistic settings.
V.A.2 Dual coding theory
Pavio's dual coding theory argues that imagery and verbal memory codes are unique and the availability of both codes provides cognitive advantages. Mayer argues that linking these unique codes is important.
V.A.3 Meeting individual needs
Hypermedia and redundant multimedia allow more options for learners.
V.B Concerns related to multimedia
V.B.1 Multimedia may needlessly duplicate less expensive alternatives
V.B.2 Students may not have the skills to take advantage of the theoretical advantages of hypermedia
Research that has studied the approach learners take as they explore hypermedia material has identified several categories of learners:
- knowledge seekers - strategic learners who use goals to determine viewing patterns
- feature explorers - learners who are distracted by interesting resources
- apathetic users - learners who take very limited advantage of what the resource might offer
It appears that experience plays a role in determining how effectively students use a hypermedia environment. With poor background knowledge, learners have little insight into what might be important examine carefully.
The concept of cognitive load provides a way to think about several issues associated with hypermedia. The navigational demands of hypermedia increase the cognitive load on the user. Those who are inexperienced or are struggling in understanding the presentation may be pushed beyond the limits of effective processing with this additional load.
VI. Evaluation of Computer-Assisted Instruction (pp. 157-165)
The evaluation of computer-assisted instruction can mean several things:
- research conducted in an effort to determine how effective CAI is in helping students learn
- consideration of software by teachers to determine if the software meets their instructional goals
VI.A Research
Hundreds of studies have been conducted over the past 25 years in an effort to evaluate computer-assisted instruction. Because it can be very difficult to make sense of such a complex literature, it is probably most practical to consider published reviews of this extensive literature. Reviews typically describe the procedures that have been used to include or exclude individual studies and how the author has attempted to reach general conclusions about the studies included.
Reviews tend to report a "moderate" advantage for the use of tutorials, drill, and simulations.
Critics have contested these conclusions and point to a number of common methodological limitations:
- studies showing no benefit are seldom published
- extra time spent with software is seldom controlled
- computer applications are likely to be novel and thus temporarily stimulating
- computer activities may simply be more carefully structured (designed)
While additional research is certainly important given the resources that have been and will likely continue to be committed, it is unlikely the question many would like answered - Is it better? - is possible to answer. Learning and the classroom circumstances encouraging learning are much too complex for simple "recipes for success".
The U.S. Department of Education acting under the authority of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 have initiated "rigorous" evaluation studies to evaluate the effectiveness of carefully selected commercial software products. Classrooms will be randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions and standardized achievement test scores are to be used as the independent variables. The results of these studies were unavailable at the time these comments were being written.
VI.B Evaluating software for purchase
Formal evaluation procedures have some value in that help those selecting software discuss areas of strength they are looking for and weaknesses they would like to avoid. A formalized evaluation process can improve the odds that inexperienced teachers will consider factors that will determine whether or not they will actually use the software they have recommended for purchase (Ring, 1993).