Tuesday, June 8, 2010
e-learning and Memory Retention
I have just come across an interesting article(http://www.communication.howstuffworks.com/elearning2.htm) regarding the benefits of e-learning when it comes to memory retention. E-learning is more effective in that it can incorporate several elements such as text, images, videos,etc...which thus make learning more interactive and fun. Moreover it allows the learner to pace themselves and learn in their own time. When the type of content is varied such as a mixture of images and sounds or the inclusion of quizzes, it is easier to remember the content. An added advantage is that e-learning can provide immediate feedback which allows the learner to move on to the next step immediately. Last but not least, it is also helpful to create an online community of learners which can still allow discussions and exchange to take place just as in a classroom.
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This is an interesting post. I have recently read something similar with regards to Java Applets. Applets are programs written in Java and embedded in normal web pages, which can be used to help a student learn a particular concept. An example of an Applet is found here:
ReplyDeletehttp://arcytech.org/java/clock/clock.html (aiming to teach students how to read time...)
It has been found that when using visualisation tools, such as applets, students not only tend to remember things better, but also spend more studying time (i.e. they can bear it longer). This holds when, especially, as you said, use of multimedia is made. It is known that not every student learns in the same way, i.e. some learn most by seeing, others by hearing, and other by doing. So when using multimedia, I guess that you would be increasing the probability that the tool will contain at least one element to attract each student.
I agree that the use of visualisations and multimedia in general can be very helpful to keep students alert and interested in class. For programming teachers, tools like the Tryit Editor (from w3schools) is a simple but great tool to teach programming to beginners as they can try writing programming code and instantly see the result of their code. eLearning certainly gives us teachers more space to experiment with the endless resources available for free online.
ReplyDeleteWith regards to Elaine's point, we use Moodle at ICT to share our resources with the students. The good thing about applets is that you can share them by simply copying and pasting the link in Moodle just like Elaine did in the blog above.
ReplyDeleteThis year I was coordinating a subject about the way various PC components work. This link includes several examples of animation and applets which I found very useful during the course delivery: http://www.educypedia.be/computer/javacomputer.htm
Applets are every essential, as students could not just follow how things work step by step, but also follow a visualization of what is happening within each and every step. If compared to a verbal explanation, I think this method is much more effective!
An interesting web application which I use frequently is VisibleBody, an interactive, 3D human body online application.
ReplyDeleteThis application can be a valuable tool in anatomy classes, for example as part of Biology and Sports Science courses.
VisibleBody give a complete and accurate 3D human body model which can be explored by going round or through the various body components.
The site offers a free trial subscription.
http://www.visiblebody.com
These tools which we are mentioning seems to offer a win-win situation. What I mean is that both the students and the teachers gain. Students are given a way in which to make learning more fun, and also help them remember things more. On the other hand lecturers are given a way in which to attract students' attention, making it easier to control the classroom, with less effort.
ReplyDeleteHowever, speaking for myself, I do not make extensive use of such tools, so the question is..why? I guess it is due to the lack of time available to prepare for the lecture. The lecturer must first find an appropriate tool, then get used to it himself/herself. Besides, with 4 hours a week per group, is there enough time to spend time on these tools? Sometimes I find myself rushing through the material to finish it on time, let alone let students experiment in this manner...
Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteYes I have read some articles on the issue of memory retention. Various studies show that when students are taught in different ways than what is done traditionally, the level of memory retention on the subject usually improves significantly. Traditional education has been based on text and word teaching and learning meaning that students are taught in class using textbooks and black-boards (white-boards?). The level of memory retention is relatively low in this scenario and has to be supported by revision and studying by the majority of students time after time until the concept is learnt.
On the other hand various studies show that graphical teaching (pictures, diagrams, simulations, modeling etc) and practical work (workshop, labs, project work, etc) have a much higher level of memory retention in students that traditional teaching. As the saying goes “A picture speaks a thousand words”.
E-Learning is another powerful form of teaching that boosts memory retention of the students in the subjects taught. The human brain can learn and retain information better and more efficiently when presented with information that can be assimilated by the brain in more than one way. E-Learning fits this perfectly and should prove to be more effective in learning and memory retention.
I fully agree that e-learning helps memory retention. In fact, I experienced it this year. For one particular lesson in Advertising I used a series of commercials from YouTube in connection to a power point presentation. These commercials were used to stimulate discussion in order to determine what are the characteristics of a successful advert. During the past two weeks when I was revising the material prior to exams I noticed that this was the chapter which students remembered most. But I agree with Elaine that such lectures are limited because of the availability of lecturers' time. However, noticing that this was successful I am planning to use the same method for other lessons next year.
ReplyDeleteMany of us end up suffering with dementia when we get old. My recently deceased mother-in-law suffered from dementia. It took a heavy toll on my wife and myself to take care of her. We took care of her for 17 long years. In the final three years , her situation was really bad. She would not recognize her own daughter , and she even forgot were she lived when she walked two doors down from her home.
ReplyDeleteDementia tends to be hereditary, so my wife got very worried. Doctors told us that it could be reduced or attenuated if tackled at early stages. There are pills but the best way is to keep exercising the brain.
Exercise of the brain is by reading , craftwork doing mental exercises in memory. It was then that we saw advertisement of the Nintendo DS on Italian tv. In this advert , there are elderly persons (and in one there was even Nicole Kidman) doing memory games with this Nintendo DS. We purchased one of these and my wife trains on it regularly. It is really very good for training memory
This topic needs further study at MCAST level.
ReplyDeleteOnce again its TCA correction time and once again the majority of BTEC Business students have fared badly mostly due to lack of memorary retention. No amount of study from their part can compensate for the fact that when they come to sit for an exam they just don`t remember what they are supposed to remember.
Will elearning techniques solve this? If yes then what`s keeping MCAST from disseminating it quickly? But I think that we should not be looking at elearning as the magic wand which will solve all our woes.
BTEC moduels were not intended to be based on memory retention. It is MCAST which somehow or other put so much emphasis on time constrained assignments. The reason given to us what that employers in Malta do not give much credit to certificate where the element of examinations is missing. So at the end, what`s the real difference between University and MCAST? We have reduced MCAST to an academic institution instead of a vocational one.
The remedy is to shift MCAST back to where it started in 2001 and give BTEC back its true origins, shifting away from so much emphasis on TCAs. After all with the referral system, a certificate is granted when the student knows the whole topic and not just a percentage of it.
Once this shift is effected then the problem of memory retention is eliminated and we can concentrate more on teaching aided by elearning.
What do you think?
I agree with the idea of stimulating the senses as much as possible during your teaching. Lately while working on the long assay, I read a paper which illustrated how a good teacher would first stimulate the student curiosity with the visual aids then using Podcast the student will listen repeatedly to the important points of the lessons and then the student is given research to apply what he have learned.
ReplyDeleteThe main concern for students is to retain old learning's while they continue to acquire new ones.
ReplyDeleteFinally e-learning comes into play which is said to be one of the most efficient ways to learn and train. Modules and features included in e-learning are fully customizable, making them highly adaptable even in the case of memory enhancement through exercise. This is most important, since the entire learning process can be geared in such a way as to promote the most retention and still deliver the needed training and learning.
Using e-learning has helped my students understand more effictively the basic concepts in Physics. They were even able to put up presentations in class (on the topics in questions) with a remarkable results.