Politicians and educators are concerned about the level of literacy and numeric skills of learners in South-African schools. Educators are experiencing increased pressure to teach reading-, writing- and mathematical skills effectively (the so called 3 R's, namely reading, writing and arithmetic). It is imperative that the effective teaching of numeric and literacy should commence in the foundation phase, where the basis for more advanced skills should be established. The purpose of this study was to establish whether the development and implementation of multimedia learning and teaching support material (LTSM) by means of a digital book disc programmer (DBD) would contribute to effective facilitation of reading-, spelling- and mathematical skills. A positivist research paradigm served as the foundation for this study. A literature study was undertaken to establish how multimedia can be used as LTSM to improve reading, spelling and mathematical skills of foundation phase learners. Quantitative research was done wherein the variables were controlled and standardised procedures and measuring instruments were used to collect data. Statistical techniques were also used to analyse the collected data and draw conclusions, 'n Quasi-experimental pre-test post-test control group-design was used over a four month period, in which learners were exposed respectively to traditional teaching on the one hand (control group) and intervention by means of exposure to the DBD-multimedia programmer (experimental group) on the other hand, in order to test the effect of the DBD. The results of this study indicated that the integration of the DBD programmer, as a form of multimedia LTSM, effectively supports the facilitation of reading-, spelling- and writing skills. The proposed model indicates clear guidelines for the development and integration of a multimedia teaching and learning support programmer to enhance the effective facilitation of reading-, spelling- and mathematical skills in the foundation phase. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Leer en Onderrig)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

abstract: An array of north-striking, left-stepping, active normal faults is situated along the southwestern margin of the Gulf of California. This normal fault system is the marginal fault system of the oblique-divergent plate boundary within the Gulf of California. To better understand the role of upper-crustal processes during development of an obliquely rifted plate margin, gravity surveys were conducted across the normal-fault-bounded basins within the gulf-margin array and, along with optically stimulated luminescence dating of offset surfaces, fault-slip rates were estimated and fault patterns across basins were assessed, providing insight into sedimentary basin evolution. Additionally, detailed geologic and geomorphic maps were constructed along two faults within the system, leading to a more complete understanding of the role of individual normal faults within a larger array. These faults slip at a low rate (0.1-1 mm/yr) and have relatively shallow hanging wall basins (~500-3000 m). Overall, the gulf-margin faults accommodate protracted, distributed deformation at a low rate and provide a minor contribution to overall rifting. Integrating figures with text can lead to greater science learning than when either medium is presented alone. Textbooks, composed of text and graphics, are a primary source of content in most geology classes. It is essential to understand how students approach learning from text and figures in textbook-style learning materials and how the arrangement of the text and figures influences their learning approach. Introductory geology students were eye tracked while learning from textbook-style materials composed of text and graphics. Eye fixation data showed that students spent less time examining the figure than the text, but the students who more frequently examined the figure tended to improve more from the pretest to the posttest. In general, students tended to examine the figure at natural breaks in the reading. Textbook-style materials should, therefore, be formatted to include a number of natural breaks so that learners can pause to inspect the figure without the risk of losing their place in the reading and to provide a chance to process the material in small chunks. Multimedia instructional materials should be designed to support the cognitive processes of the learner. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Geological Sciences 2011

abstract: One of the primary objective in a computer science related course is for students to be able to write programs implementing the concepts covered in that course. In educational psychology, however, learning gains are more commonly measured using recall or problem solving questions. While these types of questions are relevant to computer science exams, they do not necessarily reflect a student’s ability to apply concepts by writing an original program to solve a novel problem. This thesis investigates the effectiveness of including questions within instructional multimedia content to improve student performance on a related programming assignment. Similar techniques have proven effective in educational psychology research using other measures. The objective of this thesis is to apply educational techniques used in other domains to an experiment with real world measures of students in a computer science course. The findings of this paper demonstrate that the techniques used were promising in improving student performance on a programming assignment. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Computer Science 2016

abstract: Web-based learning resources have been criticized as being developed with minimal consideration as to the effectiveness of the design principles or guidelines used to create them. Extraneous material is oftentimes present and necessary for learners to engage in effective learning with multimedia learning material. Signaling learners towards important information between images and corresponding text has been shown to be an effective method for providing learners a way to quickly find information between the two parts of the learning material. However, not all signaling methods are equally effective in all applications. This study investigates a novel signaling method, using spatial isolation of text, as a way to signal learners in a web-based format compared to a traditional highlighting method and a non-signaled control group. Improved learning performance was observed for knowledge retention using text isolation as the signaling method, but no other significant effects were observed between the other conditions. Additionally, transfer of knowledge across all conditions showed no significant differences either. While minimal support for the effectiveness of isolated text signaling was demonstrated, the statistical means trend across all post-test knowledge assessments suggest that further evaluation of the novel signaling method is justified. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Applied Psychology 2017

abstract: This study investigated the effects of concurrent audio and equivalent onscreen text on the ability of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) to form associations between textual and aural forms of target vocabulary words. The study also looked at the effects of learner control over an audio sequence on the association of textual and aural forms of target words. Attitudes towards experimental treatments and reported level of cognitive load were also examined in the context of a computer-based multimedia instructional program. A total of 200 college students took part in the study. Participants were randomly assigned to experimental conditions in a 2 x 3 factorial design with level of learner control (learner-controlled vs. not-learner-controlled) and format of presentation of information (audio + no text vs. audio + full text vs. audio + keyword text) as factors. The subjects completed a pretest, a posttest, cognitive load questions, and an attitude questionnaire. The results revealed the following findings: (a) groups in the audio + keyword text conditions outperformed those in the audio + no text and audio + full text conditions on text-sound association, (b) within the audio + keyword text conditions, the learner-controlled group outperformed the not-learner-controlled group on text-sound association, (c) within the learner-controlled conditions, the audio + keyword group outperformed the audio + no text and audio + full text groups on text-sound association, (d) a redundancy effect was not found for any treatment condition, and (e) overall, participants had positive attitudes towards the treatments. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed within the frameworks of cognitive load theory and cognitive theory of multimedia learning. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Technology 2014

With rapid development of science and technology, introduction of the ICT different methodologies into the learning environment today becomes one of the most important factors. Application of IT tools in classroom learning in and methodology for teaching and learning processes creates number of issues, which could be solved with the help of online Learning Management System (LMS). This paper presents experiment results using of Moodle, at the course of Linear algebra and analytic geometry (LAAG) in the first semester of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 study year. The paper presents quantitative and qualitative rationale interdependence analysis and experiment conclusion based on midterm and final exam results of the freshman students of the National University of Mongolia.

Il est aujourd’hui plus aisé de proposer dans un même document d’apprentissage de nombreuses sources d’information présentées sous des formats différents. Si présenter plusieurs médias peut apporter des bénéfices en termes de performances d’apprentissage, traiter efficacement ces différentes sources d’information est une activité complexe. C’est pourquoi, proposer des documents guidant l’apprenant lors de sa consultation peut s’avérer nécessaire afin de favoriser la construction d’un modèle mental de qualité. Les études empiriques menées au cours de cette thèse se sont attachées à déterminer quels formats étaient les plus efficaces tout en augmentant progressivement le guidage au sein du document. Ainsi, ont été testés : la position de l’illustration par rapport au texte, l’effet de la consigne, la segmentation du texte et l’introduction d’un guidage via un contraste figure/fond. De plus, afin d’apporter de nouveaux éléments de réflexion quant à la manière dont les individus explorent un document d’apprentissage et l’impact de ces stratégies sur les performances, les mouvements oculaires des apprenants ont été enregistrés. Les résultats obtenus ont mis en évidence que les modifications du format de présentation des informations avaient un impact sur les stratégies de consultation du document notamment sur l’augmentation des transitions oculaires effectuées entre les textes et les illustrations. Cependant, seule la segmentation du texte sous forme de paragraphes sémantiques a permis d’obtenir des bénéfices en termes de compréhension. / It is easier today to offer in one informative document many sources of information presented in different formats. Presenting various media can bring benefits in terms of learning performance, but dealing effectively with these different sources of information is complex. Therefore, offering documents guiding the learner when he is reading may be necessary to promote the construction of a qualitative mental model. Empirical studies that are conducted during this thesis endeavour to determine which formats are most effective while gradually increasing guidance within the document. Thus, four items are tested: the position of the picture relative to the text, the effect of the instructions, the text segmentation and the introduction of a guidance through a figure-ground contrast. Moreover, in order to bring new elements of reflection about how people explore an informative document and the impact of these strategies on performance, the eye movements of the learners were recorded. The results showed that changes in the format of information have an impact on the strategies of consultation of the document, including the increasing eye transitions between texts and illustrations. However, only the segmentation of the text in the form of semantic paragraphs brought benefits in terms of understanding

This paper is the second part of a study where the first part was written as a literature review on digital learning at school. In this second part the paper focuses on digital schoolbooks and their use in foreign language teaching, an area that has not been researched yet. Multimedia, interactivity and interaction are terms connected to learning with digital schoolbooks. These books aim to cover all a subject’s contents leading up to pupils using different multimedia features through a learning process. Previous findings indicate that using digital tools help to individualize teaching by supporting children’s individual needs in learning. This paper concerns on teachers and producers’ purposes and experiences in using the digital schoolbooks in foreign language learning in Swedish primary and secondary schools. The paper presents the results of interviews with four teachers and a publishers’ staff member. The main conclusions are that multimedia learning promotes effective learning and that teachers wish to increase their influence in practical terms in order to improve the books effectiveness in teaching contexts. / <p>Tyska</p>

In this master thesis, we studied the effect of the use of graphical personification in multimedia learning materials on positive and negative affect, and retention and transfer of the acquired knowledge. According to the Cognitive-Affective Theory of Learning with Media, graphical personification, as one of the main forms of emotional design, could increase the learning outcomes by means of elevated positive affect. The theoretical section of the thesis describes the underlying theories of emotions, emphasizing the Cognitive-Affective Theory of Learning with Media. The respective subsections are dedicated to cognitive multimedia learning principles, emotional design and the Cognitive Load Theory. The experimental section describes a replication and an extension of the original study by Mayer and Estrella. In our experiment, we used an incomplete 2 x 3 between-subject design with independent factors being the use of personification in learning materials (three levels) and the presence of eye tracker in the experimental setup (two levels). We have found no significant effect of graphical personification in learning materials on positive affect, retention or transfer of acquired knowledge. The participants that were given learning materials containing personification and were subject to eye tracking...

According to the seductive details (SD) effect, interesting, but irrelevant information in learning materials reduces learning outcomes. Basic research suggests that subjects in positive mood are more distractible by task‐irrelevant stimuli than subjects in negative mood. Hence, mood could moderate the SD effect. We tested this assumption by comparing eye movements to seductive pictures in participants in positive versus negative mood. As expected, participants in positive mood fixated pictures longer and more frequently than participants in negative mood, which can be interpreted in terms of mood‐based higher distractibility. However, this did not translate to a more pronounced SD effect in the learning test. Unexpectedly, there was no SD effect in either mood condition. We discuss implications of the eye‐tracking data as well as potential reasons for the nonexistent SD effect in our study.