Category: Assignment 1 – Blog Feedback

Addi

Hi Addi!

I love the pictures you created with your AI tool! They look so cool. Sounds like we use ChatGPT for the same things. It is an excellent studying tool. Thank you for bringing up biases in AI. This is a topic that is very interesting to me as a computer science student. There are several studies and reports of code actually being racist, which seems unintuitive, but the feelings of the developer can come out in code. This is something that should be addressed as technology becomes more ingrained in our world. You also made a great point about deepfakes. These can be extremely detrimental to society as it confuses people and can aggravate hate. I really like The Pudding website. It is so interesting, initiative, and creative. I will definitely be exploring it more. Additionally, thank you for bringing up the use of dynamic charts. These are so useful to data visualizations and really draw in users.

Maya

Module 5: Advanced Multimedia Tools

---

Charlie McCullough

Hi Charlie! I really liked reading the story that ChatGPT wrote. Lots of funny puns. I also liked reading the Perplexity response. This may be a new tool for me to study with! I also agree that ChatGPT responses so quickly! Some days it is a bit slower, but generally it is extremely fast at responding. I have heard a few difference responses to the whole “AI is going to take over artistic jobs”. The one that stuck out to me was people arguing that artists may use other artists to help create their work. An example of this is Disney using many different artists to make one artists’ vision come to life. AI could do the same thing for artists today (and even Disney now). But AI will take away jobs from people, which is extremely alarming.

Thanks for sharing,

Maya El-Lakany

Module 5- Advanced Multimedia Tools 

---

Nat

Hi Nat! Yes, in my experience ChatGPT does not help very much with spelling and grammar. There are other online tools that help with paraphrasing and such, but none that use AI. But, I am sure that AI will catch up pretty soon! I would also be careful about the resource lists. When it comes to academic papers, I have found that ChatGPT will make up papers that do not exist. It will just put together different titles to match what you asked for. I also agree with everything you are saying about ethical concerns. Plagiarism, fake news, and inaccurate information are all easily done/created with AI. There needs to be controls in place to ensure it is used wisely.   

Thanks

Maya El-Lakany

Module 5: Advanced Multimedia Tools

Nicole

Hi Nicole! I loved reading your module 4 post. Thanks for pointing out what H5P stands for, I didn’t know it stood for HTML5 Package. Thank you for your introduction into apples and how they impact learning. I found that very interesting. The new food guide is very different. I remember in grade school when the food guide had a huge focus on dairy, there was always a glass of milk with the meal. Also, your lesson plan is so detailed and informative. I like all your uses of multimedia. After doing the readings I am happy to announce I got 6/6 on the H5P drag and drop! I really liked your reflection on all the activities and readings you had in the lesson plan – it was very informative.

Thanks for sharing Nicole

Module 4: Principles of Learning Design and Active Learning

---

Addi

I think I missed the memo about doing Module 4 on food! You and Nicole both did healthy eating for children! Your lesson plan is so detailed and well done. Thanks for sharing that. I also did the H5P activities and I thought for some reason pumpkins were vegetables, but I guess not! I really liked reading your responses to the reflection questions, you are very insightful. Your list of ways to incorporate Merrill’s Principles of Instruction was really informative and something I may use in the future as a programmer! I also found the same thing about constructive alignment and backwards design: a lot of professors are missing this in courses.  I also liked your insight into using AR or VR in games like Historia, its something I hadn’t thought about before.

Thanks for sharing Addi

Module 4: Principles of Learning Design & Active Learning

---

Nat

Hello Nat, I really liked reading your lesson plan. I remember learning about the water cycle in elementary school. The teacher had us create little bracelets with beads to represent each step of the cycle. In your read/watch section, I really liked how you specified each video and reading time. This makes it easy to plan the lesson ahead of time. Your infographic is so cute too! I used the H5P applications and found them very useful, even as a university student. It allowed me to review my knowledge. I also had a few difficulties creating the H5P activities. It was a good idea to look for videos online.

Thanks,

Maya El-Lakany

Module 4: Principles of Learning Design and Active Learning

Hi Nicole,

I loved reading your Module 3 post. I agree that storytelling is such a beautiful way to connect to people. My favorite moments with family are recounting of old, new, and forgotten stories. Your Twine story was also so lovely to read. I loved the use of Mayer’s personalization principle to share your story about moving to the Netherlands. It seems like we have a shared experience of homesickness. I moved to Egypt for a year when I was in high school with my family. The move from a quiet, west coast city to a hot, dusty, crowded city without knowing the language was a huge culture shock, but I promise you get use to it! Additionally, your experience taking to your parents about residential schools is tragic yet beautiful. Stories really connect generations, trauma, and most importantly healing.  

I can’t wait to see your assignment 2!

Maya

Module 3: Storytelling and Creating Video

---

Hi Addi,

I really like how you used the word “leverage” when writing about storytelling and learning. I think that its a perfect way to explain this module. I also loved your Twine story; it was really cute and entertaining. Thank you for sharing your uncle’s story. You did a great job of using the same techniques you mentioned like suspense and tension. I also had the exact same thought about the Leslie’s story. When she brough out the gun, my heart skipped a beat. This was her use of storytelling; she made the viewers confront something she personally had to experience. It made for a shocking, attention holding, and personal story and lesson. I think that your insight into using the personalization method along side Mayer’s segmenting and signalling is something that myself and others also aspire to. It is a difficult skill.

Thanks for sharing,

Maya

Module 3: Storytelling

---

Nat

Hi Nat, I really liked your Twine story. The music and images really added to the story. Thank you for sharing. Looks like I got an A+ from your Twine story, I hope that for this class too 😊. You did a great job of explaining examples from the TedTalk video to the techniques you saw. Great job. I also see that you used these elements in your Twine story, this is probably why I liked it so much.

Great job!

Maya El-Lakany

Module 3: Interactive Learning with Twine

Hi Nicole! I loved reading your Module 2 post. I had the exact same errors on my WAVE report! I am glad I wasn’t the only one. I also really liked your quote from Kat Holmes. A mismatch between a person’s abilities and the environment is a perfect way to explain how to approach inclusive design.  I also had the same thought about the text-to-speech accents, they are too distracting! I also never thought about the different ways I use text-to-speech like using Siri to read my texts while driving – what an interesting perspective.

I love how you reflected on the WAVE report and implemented it in your infographic by reducing contrasting colors. I did read that contrasting colors are good for infographics. I wonder how teachers should find a happy medium between the two schools of thought. Your infographic is easy to read and since you used the personalization method, I felt more drawn to read it as it told me about yourself. I also appreciate you standardizing the text to follow one of the six recommended practices.

Thank you so much for sharing and I can not wait to read more of your posts,

Maya

Module 2: Design Principles for Effective and Accessible Multimedia

---

Hi Addi! I loved reading your Module 2 post! I had the same thought about the WAVE report, it is so easy to miss small details, but they can make a huge impact on learning. I also tried the Snoop Dog voice and found it distracting. But as you mentioned, it could be useful to another learner. I also agree with you that captions are a wonderful example of how accessibility is used by a wide variety of people with and without disabilities. Accessibility measures should be taken at every opportunity as to enhance the learning experience for all. I also had the same thoughts about the World Worst PowerPoint Presentations. They are full of clutter, inconsistency, and lack of Mayer’s Principles.

Additionally, I love your infographic. I didn’t think about how templates may impact creativity. That is a very good point. I think they are good for when you are just starting out as they create a good starting point, but they can create a very narrow image of what the infographic should look like. I can see that you used the segmenting principle by having the topic ordered into a step-by-step process. The spatial contiguity principle was well used as you had images right beside the corresponding text. Additionally, as per the coherence principle, the infographic had just enough information and was not crowded. Lastly, your alternative text was extremely detailed, I am impressed.

I also never heard about tactile graphics, thank you for sharing. I was able to learn something new today because of you!

Thank you for sharing Addi,

Maya

Module 2 – Design Principles for Effective & Accessible Multimedia

---

Hi Skye,

I really enjoyed your module 2 post. After reading your reflection about the amendments you made to your site because of the WAVE report, I realized that I had actually noticed these two issues. When I clicked on your site today, I instinctively felt as thought it was easier to navigate. It is so interesting how well the WAVE report worked and how my subconscious felt about the site. Additionally, I am intrigued that you liked the Irish voice for the speech-to-text! I wonder why that is. Do you have friends or family with that accent? I also felt that the World’s Worse PowerPoints were a great way learn what NOT to do!

Your infographic looks awesome! I love how you took the advice of your WAVE report and used contrasting colors (red and blue). Your infographic also used the segmenting principle by having the topic ordered into a step-by-step process. I also appreciated that your infographic was simple and did not overwhelm my cognitive load. I liked that you used images and text, displaying the dual-coding theory. You also abided by the eight rules of infographics for example leaving negative spaces and having balance.

Thank you so much for sharing,

Maya

Module 2

Hi Skye, I loved your screencast and module 1 post! I really liked your reflection about the signalling principle “simply describing it as ‘showing the words’ instead of ‘saying the words’”. This really struck a chord with me too. I also had the same thought about the pre-training principle. It seems very underused yet powerful. Your screencast was absolutely perfect! It looks like we will be using Canva in the next module, so your screencast acted as a real-life example of pre-training. I think your estimation of it being for high school age students and above was very on point. I really liked how you used the personalization principle and spoke in everyday language. You used the segmenting principle perfectly as you broke down the content, Canva website and functionalities in simple and straightforward way. You also used signalling effectively as you pointed with your mouse and signalled with your voice as well. I was able to follow your instructions and thoughts very well during your screencast. Thank you so much for sharing.

I am looking forward to working together and taking another class together,   

Maya El-Lakany

Module 1

---

Hi Addi! I really enjoyed reading your Module 1 post and watching the screencast. I really agreed with your point that when the personalization principle is used in lectures, I feel more relaxed and can advance my learning. I find professors that use that approach are easier to talk to and I find myself being able to learn better. I also understand feeling overwhelmed when there is too much text on slides, which goes against the redundancy principle. Text and narration of the text is hard for my brain to process as I am trying to read the slides and listen to the professor. As for your screencast, I loved it! I did not use PowToon so this gave me great insight into what a potential end product could be. I absolutely loved your use of the personalization principles. Having a character look like you throughout the video allowed me to picture you presenting the material without too much distraction. Additionally, the video used the signaling principle effectively by having words appear as you spoke. Lastly, the video used the modality principle as you had limited text and used images, your voice, and animation effectively.

Thank you so much for sharing and I am looking forward to working together,

Maya El-Lakany

Module 1: Theories of Multimedia Learning

---

Hi Nicole! I really enjoyed reading your Module 1 post and watching the screencast. It seems like we both had issues with PowerPoint, but I am glad you were able to figure it out and your presentation came out beautifully. I also had the same thought about the pre-training principle! This semester I started to review lecture slides before lecture, like you, and have found that it significantly increased my comprehension of class material. I also agree that this should be encouraged for university classes. I also had the same issues with the signalling principle in high school and even in my university career. Signalling is a vastly underused part of teaching and should be utilized to ensure that students learn the important parts of the lesson. As for your presentation, I loved watching it and learned a lot. Your use of the segmenting principle, as you allowed the user to control the pace of the presentation, really allowed me to pace my learning and repeat sections that I missed. I also appreciated your use of the multimedia principle. You had a mix of text, images, and narration. Lastly, I loved your use of the signalling principle as you used an arrow to point the audio symbol on each slide. This ensured that I knew where to start the audio.

Thank you so much for sharing and I am looking forward to working together,

Maya El-Lakany

Module 1: How do We Learn? Theories of Multimedia Learning