Challenge B Videos – Part 2

Even though we avoided information that was not needed, we did realize that captions and other support cues have the possibility of actually reducing cognitive load by giving our learners a few options for information processing as they make their way through the videos.
According to Paivio’s (1971) Dual Coding Theory, combining both visuals and narration helps with both comprehension and recall for our audience. Clark and Mayer (2016) also talk about how important it is to present information through more than one channel because this can improve engagement and understanding when done with care. We’ll definitely keep these ideas and key concepts in mind for future projects. One of the best things about this type of multimedia is that it is able to simplify complex ideas and make them both more fun to view for viewers. Using visual aids, along with narration, and small amounts of text keeps the students involved and creates stronger connections within their brains as they learn by viewing videos.

The largest limitation to that, however, is that these shorter videos tend to have a proclivity towards oversimplifying topics that contain an awful lot more to unpack. To counteract that, we thought it could be helpful to include some discussion questions or even short reads in order to give learners some extra space to further explore concepts. Finding that equilibrium between keeping it short but still relative to the topic of discussion is something that we will get more practice on in future projects. Overall, we would say this project helped us realize how even small details in design can lead to huge impact on how people can learn. Completing the whole cycle of making, getting feedback from our peers, rewriting and revisiting allowed us to better realize how to make multimedia that’s clear and accessible to our learners. In the future, we plan to continue to stress clarity, universal accessibility to all learners, and learner-centered design in everything we do.

Personal Reflection on Feedback – Michael Donkers

Reading through the peer feedback was honestly really encouraging to me as I felt like my efforts were recognized. It felt really good to see that people picked up on the clarity and flow we worked so hard to create in this project. I was happy that our use of Mayer’s principles, such as coherence and personalization, came through so clearly to our viewers. The comments and feedback really demonstrated that the visuals and narration helped make complex psychology ideas more understandable and relevant, which was exactly what we were hoping to accomplish.

The suggestions we were given for improvement were also really helpful to me personally. The feedback I got about signaling and transitions made me realize just how important it is to be more intentional and concise with guiding the viewer’s attention. Going forward I plan to include things like highlighted key terms, small icons, and short captions to make sure learners can easily spot the main ideas in any other work i do on future projects. I also really thought making transitions between the three parts more visually distinct helped with pacing and focus of our project.

Overall, this feedback helped me see how even just the smallest of design tweaks can make a big difference in accessibility and understanding for our learners. Going forward, I’ll pay closer attention to pacing, signaling, and how different design elements work together to support learning for all. This project really showed me that good multimedia design isn’t just about making something look good, it’s about helping people connect with ideas in a clear and meaningful way that is authentic to them and their learning.

Personal Reflection on Feedback – Taha Fareed

I guided Videos 2 and 3, from storyboard and script to final version, with a focus on overt cognitive models (encoding–storage–retrieval as factory/shelves metaphor) and applied behavior change (chunking, distraction management, short-timer workflow). I built the visual system in Powtoon and finished in Microsoft ClipChamp with similar iconography and calming blue/coral color scheme to reduce cognitive load. Michael’s work on Video 1 set a good story foundation and grounded the series; his amygdala vs. prefrontal cortex framework brought the science to life and gave me a seamless lead-in to memory and strategy. For future time, I can make pacing tighter (pre-load signaling using bolded keywords and thinner onscreen text density), perform rapid user tests before final export, and standardize transition styles across all three videos earlier.

Looking at my reviews, I noticed that they were pleased with my use of multimedia principles such as dual coding and metaphors used to explain complex topics. They suggested using fewer transitions in the procrastination tips video to help the viewer really understand what is happening and have then absorb the information. I took that advice and edited my videos to reduce the amount of visual transitions and visual clutter to help the viewer digest the information much easier without feeling overwhelmed.

Our Use of AI

We originally came up with the idea ourselves of procrastination ourselves but used AI to help us sharpen our idea to add a video related to memory too because of how procrastination and memory are intertwined. s. We also used AI to help develop our prototype especially breaking down the concepts into short 1 minute videos. The logic of shelves of memory and the use of the colour changing in video 1.

References

Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2016). E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning (4th ed.). Wiley.

Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Paivio, A. (1971). Imagery and verbal processes. Holt, Rinehart and Winston