Effect of Multimedia and Virtual Learning - Essay Example

Running Head: EFFECT OF MULTIMEDIA AND VIRTUAL LEARNING Effect of Multimedia and Virtual Learning On Chemistry Learning of the of the Institution] Abstract This paper conducts an exploratory study on effect of multimedia and virtual learning environments on students in learning Chemistry in a secondary school of N Ireland. Virtual learning environments include online educational material, use of internet and extensive use of computers, it provides students easy access to course documents, online courseware, lecture notes, communication tools and some questionnaires. An interactive multimedia (IMM) program is developed to support the laboratory experience and training for secondary school chemistry students. It makes use of text, graphics and video images in order to demonstrate the theory, procedures and techniques used in the prescribed experiments. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the suitability of a series of IMM pre-laboratory lessons at a secondary school, to support laboratory practical and training of chemistry students. The IMM tutorials incorporate text, graphics and video images to demonstrate technique and procedures and explain relevant concepts subsequently encountered in the laboratory. The lessons also contain pre-laboratory quizzes and the program that is used to record the results obtained by the students. Effect of multimedia and virtual learning environments On adults ability to learn Chemistry Introduction Laboratory experience has always been an essential part of learning chemistry as it is a practical science. Longstanding arguments in favour of practical include the acquisition of cognitive and manipulative skills, acquisition of an academic attitude to working, and gaining of practical experience of phenomena. Theory and experiment have an interdependent relationship. It is theory and not experimentation that opens up the way to new knowledge. The curriculum and instructional strategies used in the laboratory have, however, changed during the years as instructional approaches changed from pragmatic to constructivist. There was a strong move away from the ‘cook-book’ approach, and from the teaching of laboratory skills. More emphasis was placed on problem solving, hypothesis formulation, interpretation of data, experimental design and reporting. According to a survey of 39 secondary schools in the UK, the majority of schools still offer traditional laboratory courses and in addition learners are often expected to learn skills aid techniques by ‘doing’, without being exposed to a course on techniques. Since practical are expensive and time intensive, and as alternative ways of achieving instructional goals have become available, educators are again questioning the effectiveness and efficiency of traditional laboratory work. (G.P. Cartwright, 2003 pg 7) If students are to engage fully in understanding chemistry and its laboratory work then it is important that they should have opportunity to: (a) Identify the main objectives of the work given, (b) Identify and overcome any conceptual and practical difficulties encountered during study, (c) Plan and execute the work involved in the study, (d) Record and discuss the results and observations in their laboratory book (a log book, not a book of reports) (e) Suggest practical alterations and improvements and (f) Raise questions orally or through using the ‘question box’ or any of the desktop computers available in the laboratory rooms of school. It is important in a typical chemistry laboratory that laboratory work must be based on fairly straightforward ideas and requires simple equipment, easily available in the laboratory. It is also important that laboratory work should provide significant opportunity for students to really engage with the topics at hand. Laboratory tutors are encouraged not to ‘take over’ the moment that a student encounters a difficulty, but instead to provide appropriate orientation and guidance for the student to overcome the difficulty independently. Students should be asked to record observations and results in an individual laboratory book which can be provided by the school, a logbook that remains in the laboratory room as an accumulative record of the student’s work. Research Question The purpose if this study is to analyse and discuss the following research question: What is the impact of multimedia and virtual learning environments on adults’ ability to learn Chemistry? Literature Review The development of virtual learning environments (VLE) and interactive multimedia (IMM) programs, and their integration into curricula, have become a challenge to educationists and considerable research is devoted to develop a sound theoretical base for their effective use. (DL. Illman , 2004 ,pg 34) The exceptional role of virtual learning environments in the work of scientists and chemists is well known. The German chemist August Kekule described how atoms appeared to ‘dance before his eyes’, and is said to have discovered the structure of the benzene ring by ‘gazing into a fire and seeing in the flames a ring of atoms looking like a snake eating its own tail’ (Rieber 1999: pg 48). Scientists discuss many examples of how spatial visualization was important to the creative imagination of scientists like Einstein, Faraday, Tesla, Watson, and Feynman. Use of new technology allows students to understand their work with a playful, exploratory investigation of a variety of images. In the UK secondary schools are encouraged to develop virtual learning environments, and one can see an increasing trend of online learning. Virtual learning is also encouraged by teachers as it economizes the time of teachers who are also involved in research and administration. Tutorials in CD-ROM format provide the educators with the means to allow the students to develop many of the traditional laboratory skills outside the laboratory — it is possible to subject the learner to an experience which involves experiment design, choice of experiment, selection of the reagents, development of techniques and processing of data by using interactive computer programs. (SW Bennet, 2000, pg 13) A number of chemistry CD-ROMs are produced by New Media, which are designed for students to assist them with understanding of some of the more difficult concepts in senior chemistry. These CD-ROMs use video, audio, very creative animations and text as well as the interactive activities. These include The States of Matter and The Chemistry Set. These CD-ROMs run on both Windows and Mac platforms. (Kershaw, Ian, 2000, pg1) The CD-ROM is suitable for senior chemistry students and teachers. It is an excellent resource for either developing understanding of the concept of Electrochemistry or for revision purposes. It allows for individual student progression making it suitable for school-based students as well as those involved in distance education from home or in remote areas. The handouts, which can be printed without text to allow students to fill in details, are a very valuable resource. (David Tymm, 2003 pg2) A growing number of educators now emphasize the importance of virtual learning environments in both teaching and learning for understanding Chemistry. Laboratory phenomena and manipulative techniques that are often demonstrated in the overcrowded class rooms, can be displayed on the computer by using video clips of the real life experiments. (R. D. E. Sewell 1996, pg 307) Practice with classification, pattern detection, ordering, rotation, and mental manipulation of three-dimensional objects improve students learning ability. Chemists used computer-animated graphics that ‘replicate mental images of rotation and dimensional transformation’ with secondary school students. The intervention was successful in improving scores on orthographic tests, but not those of mental rotation. In a review of visualization research in chemistry education, researchers present a number of techniques that have been proven effective in improving spatial skills. These involve interventions in which students observe diagrams showing successive steps in the rotation of molecules, as well as computer-based programs showing rotating molecules and their shadows. (Tuckey and Selvaratnam ,1993, pg 121) In 1986 IBM announced the Info Window display, which mixed video and computer graphics on a touch-sensitive screen; and in 1989 they announced the M-Motion adapter, which eliminated the need for a special monitor and replaced touch with a mouse interface. The M-Motion adapter has been a significant advance because it not only lowers the cost of the multimedia delivery system in laboratories, but also offers features with important pedagogical advantages. For example, it digitizes video in real time, giving us more programming flexibility than before. Video images can be resized and repositioned on the screen, making it possible to optimize the relationship between computer graphics and the video image. Several still-frame video images can be combined on one display for review or to summarize experiments. Researches suggest that to increase quality in learning is to increase the interaction between the learner, teacher and learning environment, which depends upon the following: • A learner’s well structured knowledge base. • An appropriate motivational context. • Learner activity, so that active learning is better than inactive, or passive, learning. One means of achieving this, we believe, is through the stimulation, encouragement and development of students interest during the process of learning. (Biggs 1999, 73) Following comments of students were recorded during a secondary school survey about use of interactive multimedia techniques in learning Chemistry. ‘It is fun and interesting to prepare on computer, because it gives more information and we see how to do the experiment.’ ‘I am not very practical and must see how to perform the experiment in order to know what is expected of me.’ ‘When the preparation is done on computer it is easier to understand what you must do and why.’ (Margot M., 1999, pg 123) General impression is that students enjoy working on computers and that this enthusiasm for computers could be utilized as a vehicle for improving chemistry instruction. In many modern laboratories computers are used to control the whole instructional system, they keep a record of all student results and allow the instructor to monitor the progress of each student. Methodology Learning objectives of the practical The laboratory work for the course comprises a variety of objectives and demands the acquisition of a variety of skills by the Chemistry students of secondary school in UK. The curriculum is designed to stimulate an interest in the students in learning chemistry at the outset by introducing small scale experiments that are based on everyday chemistry; these rely on making qualitative observations, for example, experiments on the properties of LAN fertiliser. Experiments requiring synthetic and quantitative analytical techniques are introduced at a later stage, for example, determination of iron in steel by a dichromate titration. The objectives of the laboratory work are that students should: • understand the aim of the experiment • observe phenomena in a qualitative way • master the manipulative and quantitative laboratory skills required • process experimental data correctly • interpret the results obtained by experimentation meaningfully • become enthusiastic and motivated for chemistry as a subject The software, in turn, is designed to support each of these objectives. Research Design The methodology that is been followed in the IMM lessons entails a menu-based presentation of the topics related to the laboratory practical work; after a login screen a main menu appears (Figure 1) which branches to sub-menus of the basic techniques (Figure 2) the list of experiments and the pre-laboratory quizzes. Adjunct questions will be inserted at appropriate points during the presentation to promote active participation by the learner. Text, video clips, graphics and animations will be used to demonstrate techniques (Figure 3) and explain concepts. Hypertext (hotwords) will be used extensively throughout the program this includes illustrations of all apparatus and definitions of the scientific terms used. The hotword glossary consists of about 80 items. General topics such as chemicals, apparatus, laboratory safety, basic techniques, errors and report writing are included under the main menu. Under the sub-menu, basic techniques, unit operations such as mass determination, use of volumetric glassware, performing a titration and filtration are discussed and demonstrated. Tutorials based on the twelve prescribed experiments for the general chemistry course are also accessed from a sub—menu. Each tutorial starts with an introduction, a clear statement of the objectives of the experiment, and a short overview of the method; this is supported by the relevant theoretical principles on which each experiment is based. A step by step explanation and demonstration of the experiment is then given. Each tutorial concludes with a pre laboratory quiz to test whether the objectives, procedures and underlying principles of each experiment are understood by the learner. Question types are multiple choice, fill in (alphabetic and numerical) and true—false and they test knowledge, the understanding of principles and concepts, as well as the ability to balance equations and solve problems. Ethical Consideration While conducting research school will be aware of the ethics behind research activity. Following are some specific points which will be considered: School should take the permission of the students who will be studying to conduct research involving them. The research will not involve anything that will cause emotional or physical harm to students. Important consideration in the research is Objectivity vs. subjectivity. Researcher’s personal biases and opinions should not get in the way of the research. Research should be conducted under the assumption that school will keep research findings anonymous in any case school should let the subjects know whether research results will be anonymous or not. During research process, it should be made sure that school is not taking advantage of students who are easily accessible; students should be chosen according to their eligibility and availability. Research should ideally get Institutional Board Approval. This means that research has to be approved by an ethics review committee to make sure that school is not violating any of the above considerations. Reporting of the results should be accurately represented what has observed. School should not take interview responses out of context and should not discuss minor parts of observations unless putting them into the appropriate context. They can with draw any time if they want to quit. The results of the experiment will be kept confidential and school will use results with students’ permission for research purposes. Students will get rewards for participation, which will increase student’s research enthusiasm. Students should feel free to ask any question about the research and they will be provided with the outcome of the research. Students will be provided with teachers’ full support. Data Collection A first round of evaluating the program will be performed by the evaluation team before delivering the lessons to learners. This will be followed by a pilot run of the program, conducted in the real instructional setting in order to determine the educational value of the program. The program will be installed on a Novell network, using a Windows XP operating system and will be delivered to learners on network-linked PC’s in the student computer laboratories. The target population for the formative evaluation of the learning outcome will comprise of about 124 students enrolled in the reputable secondary school of Northern Ireland for the chemistry course. The learners will be randomly divided into two groups of learners, representing the experimental and control groups, respectively. The groups will be judged to be equivalent on the grounds of their grade 12 academic grades, using a Swedish Formula (SF) point count system in which the grade and level of each school subject is taken into consideration. There should no statistically significant difference in the SF values of the intellectual ability of the two groups. The control group will be instructed by the traditional method that will involve preparation for a particular experiment from a manual, attending a pre-laboratory lecture, writing a paper-based pre-laboratory test, performing the experiment and submitting a laboratory report on a pre-formatted sheet. The experimental group will be prepared for the experiments and perform a pre-laboratory quiz on the computer during the week prior to the laboratory session, at their own pace and convenience they will be expected to repeat the pre-laboratory quiz until they obtain a score of at least 80%. The experimental group will not attend the pre-laboratory lectures. They will complete the same paper-based pre-laboratory tests as the control group; they will perform the experiments and will be asked to submit their laboratory reports. The learning outcome of both groups will be assessed over the full period of the laboratory sessions during the semester. Instrument The questionnaires use as an instrument in this study. Qualitative information on the performance of the two groups of learners working in two separate adjoining laboratories will be obtained from the observations made by lecturers and student assistants. Both groups of learners will be asked to complete structured attitude questionnaires to determine whether the IMM activities has an effect on their attitude towards chemistry and laboratory work. The first attitude questionnaire will be completed in January before the students have had any contact with the IMM lessons and the same questionnaire (with appropriate changes in the wording when necessary) will be completed by the same groups of students again in June, upon completion of the laboratory course. The questionnaire is divided into four fields — examples of the questions pertaining to each field (1—4) are given in Table 1. Students will be asked to grade their responses on a five point scale ranging from agree totally (5 points) to strongly disagree (1 point). Effect sizes will be determined by dividing the average change in attitude of the experimental and control groups, respectively, by the respective pooled standard deviations according to the responses obtained in January and June. ( J. Cohen, 2001, pg 307) The computer (experimental) group will complete two additional attitude questionnaires pertaining to the IMM program, one structured and one open-ended, after completion of the course in that year. The structured questionnaire (Table 2) is comprised of a set of questions concerning the operation of the program in the network environment and the presentation of the program, as well as a set of questions concerning the attitude of the learners to the use of computers for laboratory training. The experimental group will be asked to give their own opinion on the IMM program in the open-ended questionnaire. Finally, the learning outcome of the two groups of learners will be assessed after completion of the course according to their achievement in the paper-based pre-laboratory tests. At the start of the following academic year, preparation by the computer, using the software described above, has been made compulsory for all of the chemistry students. The target population for the evaluation will comprise of all on-campus chemistry students. Learners will complete one structured attitude questionnaire pertaining to the IMM program (Table 2), in an attempt to determine whether the course objectives as perceived by learners were met. The lecturers responsible for the practical course will also be asked to complete a structured questionnaire that will focus on the pre-determined course objectives stated earlier in this paper (Table 3). Expected Results The two methods will be used to measure the effectiveness of computer-aided learning materials are based on student achievement and student attitude. Achievement can be assessed quantitatively by comparative studies as described in this study. Attitude, on the other hand, is not an exact measure, but can be a strong influencing factor to a learner’s learning and it can contribute to a learner’s motivation. The results of the structured attitude questionnaires in Table 1, will be issued before the start and after the completion of the course, completed by both the groups, will be expressed in terms of effect sizes (Cohen, 2001, pg 123). The change in attitude between January and June will be measured by using the values for the January and June response for each student, and calculating the change of the average response to individual questions. The effectiveness of the computer-based instruction versus traditional teaching will be compared on the grounds of the percentage obtained in the paper-based pre-test, as well as the percentage obtained in the practical tests. The questions posed to learners in the pre-tests will be set by an independent lecturer who would have not seen the questions on the computer. The testing will be performed in the real instructional setting with 420 learners accessing the practical program at regular intervals. It is expected that both qualitative and quantitative evidence will support the positive outcome of the implementation of computers as a teaching aid to meet the predefined objectives of the chemistry laboratory course. It is evident that the usage of interactive multimedia software brings about a positive change in attitude towards chemistry. Discussion Human resources, both for the designing of IMM and for managing the delivery system are expensive. However, most residential secondary schools have well-equipped computer laboratories and maximum benefit should be reaped from the available technologies to ensure quality education to all learners. Well designed IMM can give highly individualized feedback and provide the opportunity for frequent repetition and reinforcement. In addition, the use of IMM has the advantage that the learners are put in control of their own learning, that they can work according to their own pace and that they are actively involved in constructing their own knowledge. The medium can be optimized by using hyperlinks that call for proactive inquiry. By using animations, video material and simulations, concept formation is promoted and the learners’ experience of real life experiments is augmented. According to researches the use of an IMM program can have a positive effect on students’ attitudes towards chemistry — the impact of this should have both immediate and long term benefits. The gain for lecturers lies mainly in the time and effort that is saved once the IMM program is implemented. Use of multimedia expand the content of chemistry courses by allowing students to interact with the experiments that cant be done in a traditional wet lab or even demonstrated in lecture. Just as with a book, students can work at their own rate and, unlike the situation in many wet labs, they may repeat experiments as often as they want. The process of science, which is often overlooked, is emphasized in these lessons along with the facts and principles. An enormous progress in computer technology and virtual learning has been observed in recent years and use of the computers in education has increased. The computer based education has been enriched with animations and various graphics. In different secondary schools of N. Ireland students in the first semester attend alternate weeks of laboratory work with interactive video lessons and virtual learning. This has reduced the problem of disposing the hazardous and heavy metal wastes and has allowed these schools to make better use of the laboratory space. Costs have also been reduced since fewer chemicals are required and breakage is reduced. Instructors have less grading to do, while on the other hand, student learning has increased. In each lesson students know what they are doing and why. With the results of routine student feedback on the computer technology and virtual learning, this has been revealed that the introduction of new technology in teaching Chemistry is successful and should be pursued further. Graphics is one of the major outputs of modern computer technologies. It is true that, static and dynamic representations provide a powerful language tool when words and gestures are poor. Different researches argued that graphical simulations, which accompany experimental activities, allow for mental imagery and associative knowledge. (Markham 1998, pg23) Interactive video lessons have enhanced the content of the course and better prepare students for laboratory work at secondary school level. According to a research, instructor supervising a class of 25 students performing a two-hour experiment has only about five minutes of individual attention to give to any student. On the other hand, a student using an interactive videodisc-based lesson can make as many attempts as necessary in order to learn a skill such as reading a manometer or calibrating a spectrometer. The lessons require the student to perform the simulated procedures correctly before going on. Since we can be sure that students have learnt correct procedures, students then receive training in more skills than was possible when only the wet lab was available. (Jones, L. L., 1999, pg 22) Freedom to try new strategies and to experiment is greater with the videodisc-based lessons than in the wet lab, which is strictly limited by the time, equipment and the availability of chemicals. Computer simulations are set of interactive software programs in which individuals explore new situations and complex relationships of dynamic variables that model real life. Learners can formulate hypotheses about the simulated environment and test these hypotheses by changing parameters in the simulation and observing the way in which the simulation responds to these changes. For example, in a simulation of the ideal gas law (i.e., of the relationship among pressure, volume, and temperature in an ideal gas), a student might hypothesize that increasing the gas temperature while keeping the volume constant would result in a higher or lower pressure of the gas. The student would then use controls provided on the computer screen to change the temperature of the gas. The simulation would respond by displaying the corresponding change in gas pressure, as described by the ideal gas law, and the student would observe this change and compare it with his or her hypothesis. The use of CD-ROM in teaching chemistry is suitable for secondary school students and teachers. Its effectiveness in developing understanding of the different concepts of chemistry or for revision purposes has no doubts. It allows for individual student progression making it suitable for students studying in a school as well as those involved in distance education from home or those studying in remote areas. Various chemistry topics such as Atomic structure, chemical bonding, periodic tables of elements, and composition of matter and behaviour of gases are designed using computers, printers and digital cameras in order to teach Chemistry students at secondary school level in the UK. (Varrati, Richard, 2005, pg1) ). In some researches this has been observed that, virtual learning environments can induce an active, interrogative, attitude that not only seeks appropriate information and opinion, but also allows some determination of the worth of what is read or heard by the student. Virtual laboratory is something students always wanted, It allows students to do experiment of chemistry independently in safer environment, supplement classrooms improve understanding of the students. It provides aid to teachers in giving lessons and provides opportunity for thoughtful visualization of struggling students In the UK at secondary schools, it has been revealed that student response towards use of multimedia in learning Chemistry has been overwhelmingly positive. There is also strong evidence that if ‘good’ conditions are created (appropriate conditions conducive to the generation) then students are likely to take more interest in learning, no matter how difficult and dry topic is being studied. Students seem to be better prepared for laboratory work and more motivated to learn chemistry. Chemistry teachers feel that the opportunity to make mistakes in a hazard-free setting enhances learning by relieving the stress inherent in time-controlled laboratory experiments. (Smith, S. G, 2003, pg78) Different researches in the UK prove that virtual learning environments and Interactive video lessons in learning Chemistry have expanded and enhanced the content of the Chemistry course by allowing students to study reactions that are too hazardous, too expensive or too time consuming to study in the lab; have reduced the costs and problem of disposing hazardous and heavy metal wastes; and have allowed for better use of lab space and more effective use of teacher’s time. Virtual learning ensures the availability of quality control requirements for chemistry students of secondary schools, hence provide standard vehicle in order to collect the required information. 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