Reflection on Glogs

Reflections:

 

1.        Given that Glogs have the potential to create extensive cognitive load, what deliberate efforts did you make to reduce cognitive load in your Glog? Do you think you succeeded?

Knowing that a glog has the potential to overload cognition of material, it is important that the content is free of redundancy, offers connections to one another in addition to the relationship in placement to one another, all facts present in Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning.  As we have learned, the working memory can only simultaneously process a limited amount of information; therefore it is important that each experience have meaning and hopefully connections to prior schema.  Glogs offer the opportunity for a wide variety of learning possibilities, which is good to ensure you are reaching each learning type through multiple intelligences, but dangerous as you could possibly overload working memory.  I worked hard to ensure that the material presented was both interesting and provided connections to familiar topics in addition to learning new material; unfortunately, I am not sure I succeeded 100% as I feel there is a huge variety of information available as well as the need for a pleasing look to the page.  Part of what I enjoy about my job, is experimenting with new ideas.  I have created a glog on instrument families and felt great success, possibly due to the fact that it was geared for a younger grade level.  As we work with older grade levels, I find that the material is more complex and therefore perhaps a variety of options for learning could be present.  I won’t truly know the impact of my glog on my students until I try it out.

2.       Do you think that Swisher (and Mayer) would consider a Glog one piece of multimedia, or a collection of separate multi-media elements? Why or why not?

       I think that Mayer and Swisher would consider a glog as several multi-media elements even though they are included on one source due to the fact that glogs can easily contain video, graphics, text, audio, and documents all on the same topic on the same page.  Mayer and Swisher both focus on the importance of cognitive load and this type of “overload” are not supported by the following principles:  mulitmedia, modality, redundancy, and coherence principles.  They feel concise and keeping to the facts are best.  I feel that Swisher and Mayer would consider glogs by each media content.

3.       Defend or refute the following statement: it is entirely likely that almost every Glog ever made breaks all six of Mayer’s multimedia principles.

I would say that yes, this statement may present a good argument as the majority of the what Mayer states, involves concise information that is full of meaningful learning, does not duplicate the same information with different forms of media, and avoids the glamour that sometimes is needed with a “digital poster” to make it important for learning as well as visually pleasing and interesting to look at.  This goes against the mulit-media, modality, redundancy, and coherence principles.  I feel that in order to really defend Mayer’s support for media learning through sources like Glogster, you would really need to stretch the meaning of what he is discussing with dual coding.  The only possible way of refuting this statement is through split-attention theory, which really isn’t enough to refute an entire statement.

4.       Defend or refute the following statement:  Even if a Glog breaks most of Mayer’s multimedia principles it can be still used to facilitate a more complex understanding of topics than many other multimedia representations.

I can defend the above statement because I feel that each student learns differently.  Through Glogster, educators have the power to offer a wide variety of options for learning that will reach out to each learner in a way that is meaningful and will impact student learning.  I do believe that there is merit to Mayer’s modality principle and that a glog is a great example of providing maximum cognition through the visual channel and the auditory channel, which is one of few examples that could support glogs from Mayer’s multimedia principles.

5.       Glogs are very popular in K-12 classrooms. Why do you think they are so popular with teachers and students.

I feel that this form of media is new and exciting for both educators and students.  Students are able to easily access information to learning outside of the classroom in an interactive fun way that actually puts the student at the drivers wheel.  This concept is exciting for both the student and the teacher.  I feel that program is also easy enough for the student to create their own unique work of art that teaches or depicts their version of a concept or topic.  There is a multitude of information at the student’s fingertips online including graphics, videos, interactive games or activities, assessments, and projects, to name a few!  This “one-stop-shop” idea is great for allowing students the ability to enhance learning in one place rather than spending time hunting the internet.