Link to the Twine Interactive Story: file:///C:/Users/USER-PC/Downloads/The%20Beginning%20(2).html
The multimedia object selected for this assignment is a Twine Interactive Story. The story describes different theories on the origin of the novel coronavirus, the prevalence and the preventive measures to curb the spread of the virus. This interactive story has been improved by incorporating images to demonstrate the content conveyed in the text. As much as the story does not incorporate audio as it is the case with the redundancy principle, it obeys several other multimedia learning principles. This interactive story reduces extraneous processing through the use of cues which highlight the organization of essential materials therein. This aspect is in line with signaling principle whereby I have used brief sentences to introduce a paragraph, thus giving the reader a clue of what the paragraphs are about.
This interactive story further obeys the contiguity principle which asserts that “people learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented near each other and simultaneously” (Mayer, 2009). Throughout the story, I have incorporated pictures below the texts to provide more clarity on whatever is conveyed in the text. The incorporation of pictures in this interactive story is guided with the understanding that the use of images is an effective method of presenting abstract concepts when teaching. Besides, images help learners to develop visual literacy skills that are essential in developing critical thinking skills.
The incorporation of images in the interactive story is in line with the cognitive theory which states that people learn better from words and images as opposed to using words alone. Multimedia herein encompasses the use of both text and images. Mayer (2005b) argues that “multimedia learning occurs when we build mental representations from words and pictures (p. 1)”. Words in the cognitive theory refers to either the spoken or written whereas the pictures may include photos, videos, animations or photos. According to Mayer (2009), the main idea behind cognitive theory is that learners try to establish meaningful connections between words and pictures which facilitates the learning process as opposed to the use of either words or images alone. Herein, the learner is able to construct new knowledge.
References
Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Mayer, R. E. (2005b). Introduction to multimedia learning. In R.E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. New York: Cambridge University Press.