THE DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF THE MULTIMEDIA REUSABLE LEARNING OBJECTS FOR LEARNING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
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Date
2010-05
Authors
AHMED SALEH MUNASSAR, WADDAH
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Abstract
The potential of reusable learning objects (RLOs) for effective and efficient
instruction is high but remains largely under-utilized. This study looks into the
effectiveness of the design, development and evaluation of a multimedia courseware
based on RLOs. It identifies appropriate theories and/or models to guide its design
and development. Those theories and models suggest an instructional design
theoretical framework which is RLO-based. This framework provides pragmatic and
feasible guidelines for multimedia instruction developers to harness the power of
RLOs. The developed courseware is then tested to determine its effectiveness on
Yemeni students who encounter difficulties in learning English as a foreign
language. Towards this end, two learning modes based on RLOs were developed,
namely, the redundancy mode and the modality mode. The students in the two
learning modes were exposed to the same instructional materials but in different
presentations. In the redundancy mode, static pictures and audio narration were
presented concurrently with redundant on-screen text. In the r.1odality mode, static
pictures and audio narration were presented without the redundant of textual
information. A quasi-experimental study that employed a 2 x 2 Factorial Design was
then conducted to investigate the effect of both learning modes on gain scores and on
perceived motivation towards the modes of instruction. A total of 209 students were
randomly assigned into two experimental groups. Each group was exposed to either
the redundancy mode or modality mode. The independent variables in this study
were the two learning modes. The moderator variable was the learning preferences
style. The dependent variables were the gain score and perceived motivation towards
the modes of instruction.
The results showed that students who were exposed to the redundancy mode
performed significantly better and were significantly more motivated than their
counterparts in the modality mode. Both visual students and verbal students who
were exposed to the redundancy mode performed significantly better and were
significantly more motivated than those in the modality mode. It was also found that
the redundancy mode provides almost equivalent benefits to both visual and verbal
students. The interaction effects between the students' learning preferences style and
the two learning modes related to the gain scores and related to the IMMS scores
were not significant. This study has added an important caveat to the redundancy
principle. The caveat is that adding redundant on-screen text has positive effects for
students where the textual information was foreign to them. It has provided empirical
evidence to support the importance of looking into the fine nuances in the design of
multimedia learning. The redundancy principle should not be a one size fits all
principle. For example in special situations, the on-screen text can reduce the
cognitive load rather than increasing it as highlighted in this study. The overall
results of this study suggest that knowing how people can learn better with dualmode
presentations of multimedia instruction is the best principle, instructional
designers have to think seriously about this, or it may only impair learning.
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Keywords
EVALUATION , MULTIMEDIA