A free-standing module from Lancaster University's Advanced Learning Technology (ALT) Programme requiring 60 hours of study time. Some of this time will be spent on-line communicating with other course participants and tutors. Most of the time will be spent reading and preparing a course assignment off-line.
The course will run from 1 February to 30 June 1997 for the MECPOL user trials. The last date for starting study on this course is 30 April 1997.
We will need two weeks notice in order to dispatch course material to you.
A good command of English is required. Much of the work on the module requires on-line discussion and the writing of an assignment. The on-line discussion is NOT real-time, and therefore you will have the chance to prepare your contributions before going on-line.
Centre for Studies in Advanced Learning Technology (C SALT), Department of Educational Research, Lancaster University, UK.
INSTITUTION COURSE CODE: ITL11
This module is intended for people concerned with adult learning – in training or educational contexts – who want to improve their understanding of the special characteristics of learning with interactive multimedia. The course offers a review of theories and evidence about effective ways of supporting learning with new technologies.
[Note: The content of the reading pack is currently being updated]
The readings/support materials have been divided into six sets. Clearly it would be impractical for you to work through all of the readings in all sets. We suggest you be selective in your reading by focussing on those areas and readings that most closely match your own needs, or the need's of your organisation. At the same time we do encourage you to at least skim through one or two of the readings in ALL sets to get a feel for the diversity of issues that can be considered within the area of learning with multimedia. Set One is both an introductory set and raises some general issues for consideration so is suggested as useful for all.
Our approach on this module is to avoid focussing on technology and instead examine the potential multimedia can offer to learning or training. However we have included a brief introductory overview of the current state-of-the-art for the various multimedia technologies. Therefore the first set is intended as an introduction to multimedia for learning and the various technologies that come under the multimedia umbrella:
We're certain you'll quickly be aware, if not already, that the field of multimedia has been a hot topic for the last few years. The rise of the various technologies and delivery platforms, has continued to fuel this interest. On this module we're keen to cut through the gloss and examine multimedia from a learning perspective. We've therefore included in this opening set some general commentaries on multimedia for learning to open the debate.
Discussions of multimedia are frequently made in association with a consideration of hypermedia. Hypertext has generated a lot of excitement as a non-sequential way, of structuring knowledge. Our definition here is that hypermedia is multimedia hypertext. In other words hypermedia may be regarded as a sub-set of multimedia, with some degree of non-linearity in the way that information can be accessed and explored. The readings in Set Two on hypermedia focus on the use of various presentation media- text, graphics, still and moving images and audio. There are many, many more references we could give you to hypertext/hypermedia articles/texts. The additional reading list in the following section includes some of the general texts available.
Each paper in SET THREE takes a deeper look at design and prototyping issues with multimedia technologies.
In SET FOUR we offer you some food for thought about learning or cognition and multi-modal (or multisensory) processing. Problems associated with the human aspects of the application of multimedia technologies for learning/training purposes are complex and call for increasing attention: learners are not merely recipients of facts and ideas but each individual's mind will dictate how he/she constructs knowledge in a way that is both personal and individual. This is increasingly true when the information is presented to the learner in different media formats - as images, or graphics, or speech. Again, we hope to guide you in your reading of, and thinking about, these papers through the on-line conference, particularly in item 4 on Multisensory Processing and Learning / Cognition.
The readings in SET FIVE include examples of different multimedia projects/studies. These are mainly of the "how we did it" and "why we did it this way" variety which may give you useful insights in thinking of possible applications for your own organisation.
The readings in SET SIX are concerned with future trends and developments in the multimedia arena and so include just 3 short articles concerned with Virtual Reality. That this technology has implications for training cannot be in doubt. Just when we should begin to expect VR systems and tools to be readily available is a matter for debate.
The Lancaster University Advanced Learning Technology (ALT) Programme has been designed to support the continuing professional development of people working with computer-based learning technologies.
This module is open to people who are currently involved in the design, development, use or evaluation of ALT systems. It is open to those involved in training and to staff working in higher, further or adult education who want to learn more about ALT. It is not oriented towards the needs of those who are primarily concerned with the use of computers in schools.
ALT is broadly defined, to include such things as the use of electronic communications and groupware, multimedia systems, electronic books, on-line help and performance support systems, simulations and exploratory learning tools, as well as more mainstream elements of technology-based training.
You will need access to a computer and the Internet using a World-Wide Web browser such as Netscape (version 2.x or above) or MS Internet Explorer (version 2.x or above). You will be accessing Lotus Notes discussion databases (conferences) via your Web browser.
A participant pack will be provided on request. This pack includes readings for this module. Alternatively, you may choose to find the readings yourself from a reading list which we will supply.
Other learning resources are provided on the module's Web pages, ALTLinks V1 and ALT Links V2.
The assessment task is meant to act as the motor for your learning on the module. It provides a focus for your studying and reflecting on the readings. It is the vehicle through which you can
The following suggestions may give you some ideas:
i) Consider a specific training need in your organisation and analyse the requirements that are relevant to the choice of media for the training application. Document the requirements, the analysis and your reflection upon the process. Alternatively Construct a guide (paper-based or computer-based) for other training designers in your organisation that would help them to make sensible decisions about what medium to use in a training application. This guide might need to contain some basic descriptions of the different media, so that your reader can use it more flexibly.
ii) Prepare a report for senior management which compares hypermedia and traditional CBT and outlines the relative merits in terms of your organisation's training requirements. Alternatively Hypermedia has only been marginally exploited in mainstream industrial training because it is generally held to be inefficient and not directed enough. Write a short report making the case for the use of hypermedia in training, illustrating your discussion with examples (real/invented) of ways in which hypermedia may enhance the training the learner receives.
iii) Carry out a set of observations of learners working with a multi-modal learning package. Include post learning interviews or questionnaires and write about the theoretical and actual impact of using multi-modal training.
iv) Carry out a small survey of organisations similar to your own who have used multimedia training / learning. Write a report outlining how effective this has been with recommendations for your own organisation from your analysis.
v) Provide an outline design for a real or hypothetical training need which utilises multimedia. Make clear how the learner will use the different media and include some pedagogical justification for the inclusion of multimedia as opposed to traditional training methods.
Consult the tutors electronically to discuss ideas that you could explore for your own assessment task.
In assessing your work we will be expecting you:
Assignments should be 2500 -3000 words, or an equivalent.
This module has a 6 CATS points credit
rating in the UK.
(A full masters course = 120 CATS points)
You will be assigned to one tutor who will discuss an appropriate assessment task with you and will provide tutorial support for an agreed period. The normal means of communication will be computer-based conferencing, email or fax, with telephone by arrangement. You will be expected to communicate regularly with the tutor.
The period between your official start date on the module and the submission date for your assignment will not normally be less than four weeks or more than twenty weeks.
Tutors are:
Ms Christine Steeples and Dr. Karen Valley from Lancaster University, UK.
£100 for the participant pack for MECPOL partner students, otherwise £450.00 (pounds sterling). Please allow up to two weeks to receive your pack from the time of ordering. Packs will be dispatched by surface mail within one week. If you wish to receive your pack by courier there would be an additional charge.
MECPOL partner students may wish to acquire the readings for themselves, in which case no fees will be payable.
If you already have access to the Internet via a Web browser there is no additional cost. If you pay telephone charges related to your use of the Internet, then you will have additional call charges.
If you would like to register for this module, or you have any other queries, please contact:
ALT Programme Organiser- Alice Jesmont
C SALT (Centre for Studies in Advanced Learning Technology)Further details regarding the ALT programme may be found on:
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/users/edres/research/altprog.html