What do you need to change in your thought process or learning style(s)
to begin to adapt to R-Directed Thinking for the purpose of creating 21st Century learning environments for students?
I would like to answer this question not as what I need to change, but what other people need to change in order to adapt R-Directed Thinking in learning environments.
The author of this article makes a great point in the beginning of his article when he says things should be "not just functional but also DESIGN." This is a great statement to make because I believe that so many educators are making multimedia presentations for their students without having any design background what so ever. Because of this, teachers don't know how to make things look visually pleasing, not to add too much (such as sound and motion graphics), and organize information in a user friendly way.
All of these things make it very difficult for the end-user (aka student) to actually learn anything because they are so distracted by how bad it looks. If an image on a screen uses very bright colors, sound files, moving images, and/or flashing links, how is a student suppose to pay attention to what the teacher is trying to teach?
Therefore, I feel that if teachers are going to be creating multimedia presentations for their students then they need to change by taking courses in designing for multimedia. Taking a course will teach them how to layout a page, what colors to use, and keep the viewer interested without overbearing him with sound and motion graphics.
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2 comments:
Lauren,
I agree with you that design sensibility is important for teachers when creating multimedia projects and all teachers should have some formal instruction before they create these digital presentations for their students. Appropriate color choices and page layouts can keep students engaged, without the need for sensory overloaded sound and graphics.
I also have a design background, but since my major is ESL instruction, I shouldn’t be required to be a digital media expert. However, all teachers will soon be required to have at least some rudimentary ESL teaching skills.
I also believe that people who make software for education need to have a stronger sense of design. There seems to be this apathetic attitude towards the quality of educational media, just because it is "educational." I think in the next 10 years or so (as development costs shrink and the potential of technology increases) educational tools will be held to the same standard as video games and other forms of quality, visually-rich entertainment.
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