educationalandfun

2006-05-02T18:22:00.000-07:00

I'm back here again at the lab... let's see how much more I can get accomplished or how many more hours I will spend tweaking things to get them the way I would like them to be. There may be moments of frustration and feelings of being really overwhelmed...but I must say I'm really enjoying this journey of web design.

2006-04-27T23:34:00.000-07:00

I have to say I'm really liking this 'blogging' thing. When we were told the first class we are to blog every week, I was thinking to myself, no way! Sharing thoughts and comments with everyone?! I really find it interesting and helpful to read blogs and comments of students in the same class. I gain new perspectives and it's also nice to know that the other students in the class go through some of the same things I do.
Thanks, Professor Diamond for introducing it! (well, it was an introduction for me, since I've never blogged before this class)

2006-04-27T22:19:00.000-07:00

Understanding specific things really helps in expediting what I need to do to build my site for the final project. Having the extended lab time and being able to ask very specific questions during that period was great. The pressure is on.
I spent quite a few hours working on my site again today. I will have to spend a few times more the hours the next few days working on it. Then, I have the design document...

2006-04-25T22:14:00.000-07:00

Everything we've discussed in class is finally becoming more clear...
div tags, ...css styles... all those mini assignments...now having to put it all together...
the last class was much useful as I am trying to apply much of what we went over to my final project. After storyboarding and flowcharting, I finally started working on the actual website. Though things make more sense to me now, it has still been quite a challenge for me...figuring certain things out on my own, trying to get things to look a certain way, and...thanks! Jessica, for your tips yesterday. It was very helpful. I still have a long way to go with the project.. but I'm enjoying the challenge and the journey of creating this site.

2006-04-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

Organizing and Storyboarding a Web Site

Drawing my own storyboard and constantly referring back to it as well as the article really helps with my final project. It helps to see what information I would like to include organized.

2006-04-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

Information Interaction Design: A Unified Field Theory of Design

Regardless of what decisions are made for a design, messages and goals needs to be clearly communicated from the beginning of the design to ensure the intended message to be correct. Clarity, according to Shendoff, is the most important goal for communication to be effective. Is the user understanding what the designer is conveying? Clarity means regardless of how simple or complex, the information is presented with a single message or goal a time, not attempting to include too much at one time. It's beneficial to research before and during the process of the design. Understanding the audience's level of knowledge is crucial. Knowledge is gained through experiences. What valuable experiences do we want to create for the users? The experience created needs to be a compelling one to gain a larger audience. Thinking of this while working on my own final project, I need to consider the different ways to organize information for my potential users so that they will find it easy to understand as well as useful and create experiences for users so that they will continue using the site.

2006-04-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

Attractive Things Work Better

The connection between aesthetics and emotion could have affect on its function. When a person finds something attractive, the person is in a positive state perhaps finding its function easier to use vs. when a person sees something as not so attractive, a less positive state the person will be in which may affect how the design will be used. "The emotional system changes how the cognitive system operates." The definition of attractive is vast. Even within small groups of people with various backgrounds, opinions of what will be attractive will differ. Will the users find the background, color, sound, images, design layout as appealing as the designer? Not an easy task task from a designer's perspective.
Norman states that happy people are generally more creative, has a better imagination, whereas anxious people are more narrow minded and focused. Creative minds allows one to be more free with their ideas as well as being open to new ideas which will generate new results. Narrow minds will stay focused on the same ideas generating the same results. With that said, challenges that result ought to be taken as opportunities to look at different approaches.

2006-04-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

Recipe for a Successful Website

Shedroff used an interesting metaphor to help understand what is needed to design a successful website. I found this reading light and humourous. He used quite a few great examples. Websites that will trigger emotions, make one laugh, inspire, and be informed will keep users going back to those sites. Content needs to be fresh. Constantly updating the site using new material is appealing. The information on the site would be helpful if it's clear, organized and easy to navigate. Another key point is performance. The quicker the better it is.

2006-03-28T21:05:00.000-08:00

Final Project

Background: Learning objectives for the site

The site will include step-by-step instructions on how to create handmade custom designed invitations/notes/announcements for personal or business. It will include a collection of ideas on various themes and backgrounds to use. Individuals can in addition to taking those ideas add special touches using paper and other materials. There will be links to workshops, calendar of events, ideas/tips for each holiday or occassion. There will be a comment/suggestion box, links to books and other sites.

Audience

The audience will be anyone who's interested in creating personalized invitations/notes - parents, event planners, individuals with home based businesses to market their service or product(s), brides/bridal party, anyone who likes to entertain

Background knowledge in the area

The individuals will have basic to very little knowledge, however, will have somewhat of a creative sense and be interested enough to create one's own unique invitations/notes.

Level of technology proficiency

The group will have basic to intermediate knowledge on certain programs to incorporate simple drawings ... to the products. Relies much on the internet for information and inspirations.

2006-03-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

Anchored Instruction: Why We Need It and How Technology Can Help

I found the article on 'Anchored Instruction' particular interesting. I gained new perspectives with the given models and illustrations in the article. Having additional specific information can help define for example the same phrase of text in such a different way.
Educators and instructional designers applying the concept of 'anchored instruction' is a great one. It facilitates thinking. It helps students identify problems by paying attention to one's own perceptions as well as experiencing change in perceptions through perspectives of others. Valuable information becomes useful and it allows students to apply this knowledge to new situations. I have experienced in training sessions where similar scenarios and exercises were given to myself and a group. It was found from experience that students gained new perpectives after given more specific information helping the students identify and solve certain problems.
I also found the idea for future design to incorporate information 'across traditional subject areas' using technology quite interesting. It can be quite a challenge as well.

2006-02-22T12:59:00.000-08:00

Nine Ways to Reduce Congitive Load in Multimedia Learning

According to the authors, one major challenge designers have with "multimedia instruction is the potential for cognitive load." While reading the article, this reminded me very much of the material presented in one one of Dr. Kalyuga's lecture in class re: how certain multimedia instruction designs can be more useful to learners than others. Again, designers need to understand how students learn, how the minds of the students work, what their prior knowledge is, if any, cultural similarites and differences. The theories all make sense. Most of it is common sense. However, I could see how a designer can fail with a piece of design if those theories are not applied to the designs. A designer may have the intention of designing a useful piece of design but it will only be useful if the learners (a diverse group of learners) find it useful.
While we are looking for future directions for multimedia design, what will or how much of the traditional settings of a classroom change? I find that technology thus far have helped support learning. I'm thinking of the many classes I was required to take as a student where I had to listen in on a lecture on a subject I had limited knowledge on, had to take notes (which required active listening, remembering accurately, speed in writing) and had to try to make sense of all the material presented to me simultaneously - cognitive overload.

2006-02-14T21:24:00.000-08:00

Chapter 6 - The Design of Learning Environments

The four perspectives (learner-centered, knowledge centered, assessment centered, and community centered) discussed in chapter 6 are important in developing effective design environments. What is the learner's previous knowledge? How can that knowlege support new learning? I agree that more complex concepts need to be presented to learners, especially young learners or adult learners of a new subject, in a manner that is "developmentally appropriate." Once the learner has an understanding of the subject, then he/she can develop his/her own interpretations or conclusions. Feedback for learners is so important. It enhances understanding, perhaps alter their thinking or help the learners progress to the next level.

Chapter 9 - Technology to Support Learning

What are ways of educating teachers to use technology effectively?
Just as it important to know how students learn, the same applies to teachers who will use the instructional tools to support learning. How do teachers learn? What do teachers need to know about the technologies to incorporate what they have been teaching? New technologies used to support learning may alter traditional teachers' approaches in how they promote learning.

2006-02-07T20:48:00.000-08:00

Design Issues for Learning Environments

Collins'perspective is to minimize costs by maximizing the usefulness of designs. He raises an interesting point when he mentioned in his paper that perhaps designers need to think about what present and future learners need to live in modern society. What students had to learn in the past may not be useful information for present and future learners. I agree with Collins when he says that much of what is taught is never used and often times people do not take what they learn and apply it to real situations. What is needed to prepare learners of the today and future world? Another interesting point Collins brought up was should an individual learn a little about many things of different subjects or learn fewer things, more narrowed topics? The compromise was for designers to support both generalists as well as specialists. Who's the audience? Catering to a general group of learners or to a specific group? Designs for fundamental learners (perhaps a structured approach) will be different than that of a design for more experienced learners (perhaps an exploratory approach.) A design to appeal to generalists? I think it's important to keep in mind all the issues Collins discusses but really define who the users are. It's cost effective if the design is useful.

2006-01-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

Design of Everyday Things
User-Centered Design

One thing an instructional designer has to keep in mind while designing an instructional piece is to be certain it is user friendly. The designer must pay attention to the users' cognitive architecture. This relates to Dr. Kalyuga's lecture on congitive load. How much information can a person store in their memory at a given time? What effective ways are there to help a learner retain information?
The product needs to be simple and easy to understand. If the design is too complex and much time is required for problem solving, it could be frustrating. Plus, it wouldn't be very effective for the learner. As a novice in designing, I find clear, step-by-step instructions on how to design helpful. Sometimes, errors can occur with clear instructions, I find it helpful to have hints on how to correct those errors. A clear understanding of something generally will not only help me remember but also will help me progress quicker to the next level.

2006-01-24T19:51:00.000-08:00

Finally! I'm blogging...my very first blog.

Response to Reading:
Technology Applications in Education - A Learning View
Theories of Learning and Their Application to Technology - Richard E. Mayer

"Technology can be used to expand cognitive capabilities, but to accomplish this goal instructional designers need a useful conception of how the human mind works."

The learning experience is different for each individual. Each individual receives, processes and transfers information differently. "Cognitive constructivism rests on the premise that knowledge construction occurs within the minds of individual learners." During the early learning childhood years, an individual may learn by retaining information that is given to them. A child can either have it stored in their long term memories or not. "...the teacher fills the students' empty heads with information." "... building a mental representation in short term..." "... final result in long term memory." Rote learning is almost a necessity in learning the basics, as a child or adult. Depending on the learner, the individual can either choose to continue with rote learning or have meaningful learning occur. An individual will generally want to make sense of something if it's of interest to him or her. Using effective methods of teaching will students get interested, understand or master a new skill. Understanding how individuals learn is crucial for technology designers. "...people's conception of how students learn influences how they would design a multimedia instrutional message."