Animation principle, cognitive, instructional design, learning theory - Research Proposal Example

Exaggerated Animated Principle as Method for Instructional Design Learning Introduction A human being possesses extra ability to think and act differently from other creatures. The ability of human beings to perceive, think and make critical decision is referred to as their cognitive power. In any learning processes the mind of human being is called the working memory in cognitive theory. However the capacity and memory of human mind is limited on how many information it can process within a given time. The introduction of high computing information for instructional designs improves the cognitive theories. The use of animation principle to present information, texts and words using photographs, animations and videos are known to improve the learning and understanding very effectively especially to children (Sorden,2005). The presentation of information using animation requires instructional messages involving words and pictures with aim to enhance learning to listeners. This study seeks to find out how effective exaggeration as type of animation improves the learning process (cognitive) to children using the instruction design. Literature Review on Animation The word animation means to give life to something by making it moveable. Animation improves the graphics in terms of the dimensions of time, which tremendously increase the potential of transmitting the desired information (Ariel, 2012). Before the concept of animation came to existence, there were books and strips in newspapers. People could read a story with images depicting the characters and the actions taking place with the purpose of entertaining themselves. The structure of comics transformed into moving pictures or animation during the comic book era to bring characters to life. The advancement in technology has resulted to very complex animations including 3D for graphics animation systems. In deciding the type of animations, designers should consider certain principles such as gestures and facial expressions of characters to add emphasis to the story. The identification of these elements is important since they are used to ensure relevance of the information throughout the story (McCloud, 1994). Some gestures and expressions can be interpreted differently depending on the cultural background of the audience while others are universally recognized. The way in which information is retained by people has a lot to do with their memory. Before viewers can learn any new information, it is important that their attention is drawn to what they are seeing. New information requires learners to process current information and remember previous information simultaneously as new ideas are being shown in different transitions. There are various principles of animation but only exaggerated animation is discussed since it the one that will be used for research. Exaggeration Animation Principle According to McCrickard (2000), exaggeration explores the essence of the action or idea, understanding the reason for it, so that the audience will also understand it. For example if a character is happy the exaggerated animation should be such that the character becomes happier for emphasis. Animation exaggeration should have the ability to elicit very powerful emotional responses from an audience. However it is important to balance reality with exaggeration, so that the audience can understand and relate to the characters and the actions being portrayed (Roswell, 2010). The audience should be assured of the reality of animations to avoid lose of information (Kelly, 2008). It is important to note that exaggeration in animation can make or break the quality of the story. Exaggeration can lead to anticipation of the next sequence of events in an animation (McCloud1994). Effective response to learning processes and increase in cognitive power is enhanced by use of exaggeration animation principle. Exaggerated animation principle is a powerful instructional design in exploring the essence of action or ideas using graphics, videos and animations (McCrickard, 2000). The exaggerated animation is useful in making the audience to understand the reason for the subject since the exaggeration tries to insist on the information being passed to the learners. The exaggerated animation type is very important as a method of instructional design to children since it is able to remove and stop true-to-reality scenes that are looking unpleasant, boring or dull. Using High computer information systems different animations designs with quality speed and transition can be viewed. This has the capacity to increase the cognitive power of learners especially children. Despite the effectiveness of the exaggerated animations, there are still gaps and problems with the exaggerated animations principle that needs to be addressed. Problem Statement The exaggeration animation is being misused. For example animations are used for excitement and fun rather than to teach and to give instructions to learners. Second problem is that there is no balance between reality and exaggeration; learners are therefore left in confusion as they cannot understand and relate the characters and the actions being portrayed. It is important to note that exaggeration in animation can make or break the quality of the story. The over-exaggeration of animated pictures make the learners lose the interest if used wrongly resulting to subjectivity rather than objectivity of the lesson. There is no adequate understanding of the extent to which animated graphics can provide information, facilitate and improve learning process with correctness under computer based instructions. Some people argue that animations can only be effective in providing information to children only, some alludes that animations can aid learning to adults. Despite all the mix-up on animations in instructional material, there still appears to be significant potential for the use of animations in computer-based instruction for adults and children. The inconsistencies and misuse in animations products between the reality and exaggeration during the learning process are some of the problems the study seeks to address. To increase the cognitive power of children in learning process, this type of animation is recommended. The mode of instruction for this research will be Cognitive Theory of Multi-media Learning (CTML). The CTML is preferred for this study since children are able to develop meaningful connections between words and pictures than they could do with words alone. Objectives of the Study i. Establish the relationship between human mind and computing information instructional design in relation to processing information ii. Determine the accuracy and effectiveness of using high computer information for instructional learning to children iii. How well do Exaggeration Animation principle help in passing information to children in terms of accuracy, graphic animation and speed iv. Evaluate the response of children to learning using exaggeration animation using high computing information in terms of child cognitive power. Research Questions i. Can high computer information be used to improve the cognitive power of human minds? ii. How effective do exaggeration type of animations compare with other type of animations? iii. What is the cognitive ability of children using exaggeration type of animation? iv. How accurate is exaggeration type of animation in passing information to children The Instructional Design using high computing Information (HCI) To enhance the ability of the children to learn, an Instructional Design System (IDS) that summarizes how information will be received, internalized and applied during learning processes will be used. The use of exaggerated animation under high computer information will be the major tools for the study. The IDS summaries the learners need and expectations and possible outcomes during the learning process. The high computing information will be used to address the issues of cognitive load theory which states that there is a capacity limit to which information can be processed (Sorden, 2005). The key components of IDS are; Analysis, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate. The first Analysis phase involves stating the problem of the research, goals and objectives of the study. The learner’s environment, existing knowledge and skills are identified. The design phase assesses the objectives, methods and exercises for the study are formulated. From design phase, the next stage is development phase. This is where instructional designers and developers create and assemble the content assets that were stated in the design phase. During the implementation phase, a module for training the facilitators and the learners is designed. The facilitators are trained on course content, expected outcomes, methodology and evaluation procedures for learning processes. The ADDIE model was first developed by Dick and Carey (1996) and is currently being used as an efficient mode of instructional design. The ADDIE model will be used as design of instruction to present the exaggeration animation using high computer information. The high computing information will be best suited for the study to increase the processing of information, graphics and animations at very high dimensions (2D, 3D) for children. The exaggerated animation will also be used to reduce any boredom since it eliminates any animation that is boring and dull and this can reduce the cognitive power of the children. Another reason why exaggeration animation using high computing information enhances learning to children is because the computer based information integrates text or words based instructions into a computer simulation presented in from of graphics, animations and videos. This enables children to focus their attention wholly on the computer screen hence facilitates learning and increases cognitive power of the children (Cerpa, Chandler, & Sweller, 1996). Methodology for the Study Various methods that will be adopted for the study are Surveys and Questionnaires, Character & Animations, Experimental Design, Story Calibration and procedure. Surveys and Questionnaires This method involves the participants completing a questionnaire form about their bio-data before being allowed to view any animations. The participants proceed to view the animations after which they complete a questionnaire to express their impressions of the character of the animations they see. The reliability of each answers given by the participants are evaluated using principal component analysis followed by a factor rotation (Cronbach, 1951). The Cronbach Index of reliability will be adopted to evaluate the reliability of the answers given. The evaluation criterion will be based on likeability, trustworthiness and sincerity of the answers given (Mohsen, &Reg 2011). Story Calibration Under this technique a single author writes a number of short stories from the same point of view. The stories are then calibrated based on the different characteristics of the animations, for example emotional complexity. Some of the characteristics evaluated using one-way analysis of variance are; pair-wise t-tests to determine stories that are statistically similar. Out of the possible written stories, similar stories are plotted with those that are left. Equal number of stories and characteristics are used to avoid repetition of stories. Experimental Design The participants are allowed to view different animations each displaying different characteristics and then each of the participants move on to create their own impressions related to the viewed animations. A paired orthogonal Latin squares is constructed which simultaneously counter-balance immediate sequential effects and pairing of conditions set. The pair Latin squares will be used to select participants’ trial conditions and trial order. Procedure The participants arrive at the experimental location and complete consent forms. The participants are explained to their expected tasks by the designers. The designer then leads participants to the study set-up, and participants complete the from about their bio-data. After filling the form the participants move to view the instruction from the screen explaining what they are expected to see. The participant’s view each animation and are then asked questions relating to what they have seen which they fill in the questionnaire. Applications of the Methods to the Study The above methods are useful for the study and will be used to effectively help meet the stated objectives. However experimental design methodology needs some adjustment in terms of the latin squares for counterbalancing effects and pairing conditions set before it can be used for analysis. References Ariel, S.T.(2012).Animation as a Tool for Development Communication: An HCI Perspective. Undergraduate thesis, Department of Computer Science, Ashesi University College. Cerpa, N., Chandler, P., & Sweller, J. (1996). Some conditions under which integrated computer-based training software can facilitate learning. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 15, 345-367. Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika. 16, 297-334. Dick, W. & Carey, L. (1996). The systematic design of instruction. (4th ed.). New York, NY: Harper Collin. McCloud, S. (1994). Understanding Comics: Invisible Art. New York: First Harper Perennial. McCrickard, D.S. (2000). Maintaining Information Awareness in a Dynamic Environment. Assessing Animation as a Communication Mechanism. Mohsen,T.,&Reg, D.(2011).Making sense of Cronbach’s alpha. International Journal of Medical Education. 2:53-55. Sorden, S. D.(2005). A cognitive approach to instructional design for multimedia learning. Information Science Journal, 8,263-279. Read More