Greetings,
Here is a Web-based version of my ECEL09 conference presentation on the topic:
Online Presentation Strategies for Visual Learners
http://www.programhouse.com/webpres/phecel09pres1.htm
This Web-based PowerPoint presentation (optimized for the Internet Explorer browser) outlines the major points of a (peer-reviewed) paper that provides a foundation for identifying and measuring learning styles in an online course, how online learners can accommodate divergent teaching styles, and how online teachers can accommodate divergent learning styles.
The presentation continues with a description of how these research findings have been initially applied in the author’s online courses as the basis for subsequent action research focusing on usability of these techniques within an online learning environment.
The instructional techniques of this innovation are described in terms of how online teachers can search, select, encode, and annotate video segments, still images, animations, and other visual types of information in course management systems within the context of legitimate re-use tactics and data repository use that conform to established intellectual property conventions for public domain, licensed, and fair use of existing visual materials.
Presented at the 8th European Conference on e-Learning, University of Bari in Bari, Italy on 29-30 October 2009.
http://www.academic-conferences.org/ecel/ecel2009/ecel09-home.htm
Insights, experiences, and other comments welcome in reply,
Doc
I just wanted to say that the presentation is great! It’s nice to see all these technology created to help simplify education to learners (visual/ verbal). I believe that consentrating on visual learner needs in classroom then explaining it in the classroom would be helpful to both visual and verbal since the teacher is showing it for the visual learners and discussing it for the verbal learners to interact as well. I think technology is getting better and better in education, which will help in creating a bright future for the future generation!
Hi Nof, Thanks for your feedback. It appears from your comments that you share my goal of addressing the needs of learners with a strong visual preference for the presentation of information, so I am glad to know that this was helpful and that you are working on achieving these goals as well. Thanks and best wishes, Doc
Hi Doc,
I enjoy the use of videos in my on-line learning experience. I recently took a programming class and the teacher used the same style to deliver the class material to us. I enjoyed being able to read the material and as an added tool the teacher posted a presentation complete with step-by-step guides with his voice over explaining the material covered in the text, not to mention the tutorials that are all over the Internet. Nothing beats being in a face-to-face class, but using video presentations, powerpoint presentations, and tutorials certainly bridges the gap in my book.
Thanks Jennabeth, for elaborating your preferences for visual material in your online courses. I also appreciate it when learners embed videos in their discussion posts, but I realize that most course management systems do not make this an easy process, so it often involves advanced skills to achieve it. This is an area of unfulfilled user need.
Hi Doc, This blog/study was so interesting for me. I recently nominated a teacher at UMUC for an excellence award because she not only made an introduction & review video, but also covered all the major points in videos she made herself. She was a very hard physics/chem instructor, but her videos made me feel as though I knew her. I understood her personality and what was important to her for us learn but what she stressed verbally in the video. Online classes sometimes feel impersonal, so I greatly appreciated the time, effort and humility she took to make the videos. I thought about it for a long time and realized that it must be extremely difficult for a teacher to make these videos, not because of the technical aspects so much, but more because it is hard to put yourself out there like that. This teacher even more so, since she had a speech impediment and had several students who seemed a little hostile towards her. I feel her doing this took courage and I appreciated her effort. It made a huge difference in my grade in the end, since I watched the review video repeatedly and found that all the subjects covered were on the final.
Thanks Tara Li’ for sharing your experience as an online learner with a teacher who created and used videos to support learning. It does take a lot of time and effort to create and/or select/use relevant and effective video material, but from your testimonial to her effort and from the feedback I receive as an online teacher who uses videos, it appears worth the effort.
I returned to school Spring 2010 and I found that sitting in a traditional classroom setting to be boring. After so many years of being visually stimulated through computers my attention level to listen to a lecture was limited.
What changed for me was my Biology professor who used PowerPoint and other visuals to help the students get a better understanding of the subject. Additionally, she selected a web site that supported the text book that displayed a variety of charts and graphics. My interest in the class increased as well as my grade.
I chose an online school originally because of time and family. Now I take online courses because I am actually learning. This is my 6th-7th class and the well written syllabus and professors additionally notes have made learning easier.
The conferences( requirements) and postings between the students allow for more in depth thought to the answers. In a traditional classroom setting the professor lectures and has to solicit participation from the students.
Also the outside peripherals and videos added to the online classes has helped to clarify and support the topic. There are those students who need the classroom interaction to understand what is being taught. For me e-learning has allowed me to better manage my time. The ability to go back through the conferences and notes at anytime to help me with my assignments is a bonus.
Thanks Lisa, for sharing your comparative learning experience in ways that highlight many advantages offered in online learning, especially for individuals who have stronger preference for visual presentation of information.
I greatly appreciate your presentation, even though it was textual. Your highlighting of text was very helpful. I am a dyslextic and find traditional learning/reading challenging. Last year, I adopted my daughter, who also displays dyslexic traits. She is being tested, as I hope to spare her some of the turmoil I went experienced through new learning techniques.
Thanks Patti, for sharing your perspective with us. In my action research, I have learned that many online students have a preference for visual presentation of information, so in my online courses I have been incorporating relevant use of visuals (images, video, animations, etc.) to accompany textual representation. I designate this visual material as optional learning activities and try to balance it with some textual information so that learners are not penalized who do not value it or have any disability that may prevent their use of it.
Thank you Doc, for your insightful presentation on learning techniques and the various pathways to achieve the most out of online presentation, videos, web lectures, and more. I found your presentation very helpful in gaining the most information that we, as learners, can achieve, in our growing world of technology.
Thanks Jeannette, for your valued feedback. I hope that you will consider conducting this kind of research as a way to better understand the individual needs of learners.
Greetings Doc,
The presentation was awesome and shared a lot of valuable information that can be used to help students or individuals who learn and recall information visually. As a visual learner, I tend to recall and remember things and information more often when a visual image is attached to it. Visual imagery helps build the connection. If information is presented without any form of visual imagery to help make the connection, I tend to not remember as much of the information provided. It is great to see that visual imagery with video and audio combined helps enhance and provide a better chance in how we as visual learners recall information. The implementation of the re-use strategy is significant and helpful for teachers and instructors, because the information provided for students can be reused over and over whenever that particular lesson is taught and students can become familiar with making a connection when seeing the similar images with text they have read or seen. Overall, the information provided in the presentation is very useful and offers insightful information that teachers and instructors can use when teaching online.
Thanks Kim, for sharing your valued comments on the conference presentation and the online teaching and learning approach to addressing the needs of learners with a visual preference in what is often a text-dominated online environment. There are many conference presentations that could/should be made on this topic, especially by teachers like yourself who are concerned with addressing the individual differences and needs of your learners. Thanks for sharing, Doc