Running head: MULTIMEDIA LEARNING MODULE PROPOSAL 1

Multimedia Learning Module Proposal

Creating a Science Center in a Preschool Classroom
Maryann Andrews
DETC 620
Assignment #3A
November 25, 2018
MULTIMEDIA LEARNING MODULE PROPOSAL 2

Creating a Science Center in a Preschool Classroom

Introduction
The proposed project is to develop a self-paced, asynchronous, online professional

development module for adult learners in the field of early childhood education (ECE). The

module is designed for novice ECE educators and may be used by seasoned staff as a source for

review. The module content will provide guidance for creating a developmentally appropriate

science center in a preschool classroom and will be made available via an ECE professional

organization’s website. After successful completion of the module, participants will:

 Understand the value of introducing science in a preschool classroom

 Identify the skills developed by children when exploring scientific inquiry

 Be capable of designing a developmentally appropriate science center

The module will be self-paced, allowing the participants to repeatedly visit the content, and will

offer additional instructional support from a subject matter expert by e-mail or phone. The use of

multimedia technology will support the participants’ learning preferences and accessibility

requirements by encouraging exploration of the content through a variety of modalities. The

overall goal of the project is to provide participants with an easily accessible, reusable digital

resource module to promote active participation in their own professional development.

Design Concept

To meet the needs of adult learners the online module has been developed to include

media which may be accessed from mobile devices and home computers. The module addresses

learner preferences and diverse abilities by delivering content in a variety of multimedia

modalities, such as text, audio, video, an infographic, and an interactive drag and drop feature

encouraging learners to design their own virtual science center. The module’s text will describe
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the value of introducing science into the preschool classroom and the skills gained by the

children, supported by sound research and its application to early childhood education. To

reinforce the text content, a podcast and selected videos will be made available. The use of a

podcast will provide learners with an auditory learning preference accessible from a mobile

device. The podcast will present a narrative describing the value of scientific inquiry and

guidelines for creating a science area. The podcast will be designed to encourage the

participants’ critical thinking skills, which will then be applied to their own ECE classroom.

“Critical thinking helps students look for anomalies, discover why something isn’t working, and

figure out a way to make it work” (Moloney, 2018). Visual examples of well-planned science

experiences will be provided in video form supporting the text and podcast content embedded

within the module. At least two different videos will be chosen for the module from prerecorded

open education resource stock videos. The first video will focus on the importance of choosing

appropriate materials for the science center and the second video will show the arrangement of

an actual center. The videos will be used to provide visual examples for learners that require or

prefer graphic displays, including the option for closed captioned text descriptors. In support of

the cognitive theory of multimedia learning shared by Mayer (2009), an infographic will be used

to present “corresponding words and pictures simultaneously”, thus encouraging the holding of

information in working memory. The cognitive theory is also supported by Stankovic,

Maksimovic, and Osmanovic (2018) in their discussion of the “audio-visual learning model”,

stating that word and image selection occur in sensory memory which is then organized in the

working memory and then integrated into long-term memory. The incorporation of text, audio,

video and graphic images within the module design are chosen to support the cognitive theory of

multimedia learning.
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The use of the selected multimedia will contribute to the achievement of module

objectives by supporting a variety of learning preferences. To encourage a better understanding

of how an appropriate science center should be set up for young children, captioned videos with

descriptive audio will be utilized, giving learners the ability to replay the video on demand. The

transcript for the podcast, and an infographic will be available, to provide a quick view reference

for choosing appropriate materials for the science center. The interactive drag and drop

component will encourage learners to actively engage in module content. Participants will design

their own science center, using the module content as a guide, and have the ability to repeat the

exercise as often as desired. By offering the content through a variety of multimedia, learners

will have multiple opportunities to gather content to build upon existing knowledge and meet

module objectives.

Analysis of potential impacts of learner needs

The proposed module is focused on adult learners new to the field of early childhood

professions. The majority of module participants are already employed in the ECE field and

are completing the module as a component of self-selected ongoing professional development

or have been assigned the module by their employer. The module is designed to address a

variety of learning preferences by accessibility via mobile device or home computer and will

deliver content by text, video and interactive learning media. As stated by Stankovic,

Maksimovic, and Osmanovic (2018), “implementation of multimedia in the teaching process

leads to an increase in the active participation of students on time, facilitating interactive learning

and improving success”. The objectives of the module are for participants to gain an

understanding of the rationale behind creating a developmentally appropriate science center in

a preschool classroom and being able to apply that knowledge to their own ECE classroom.
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Various types of multimedia have been chosen for the module to facilitate learning and

accessibility for the highest number of participants. According to W3C (2018), web

accessibility is assured by “providing clear and consistent navigation options”. Orientation

cues, in the form of clear headings, will be used to offer ease of navigation. Very often early

childhood educators do not have the opportunity to visit other programs, which is why video

evidence of science centers will be provided for review and critique. The use of videos

provides an additional reference supporting the information that is delivered through text in a

slide presentation. Provision of a transcript for audio and video captioning will ensure that the

module content is accessible for participants with learning impairments (W3C, 2018).

Embedded captioned videos will provide participants with the visual example of children in

the center environment, encouraging the participants to use what they have learned from the

module content to design their own center diagrams using the Google Drawings drag and drop

feature. The inclusion of text, the infographic, and images as part of the slide presentation will

offer additional means of gathering content for the learners, especially those that prefer to

read the material. The module has been designed to reach the highest number of participants

by utilizing various types of multimedia to meet learners’ preferences and accessibility

requirements.

Description of multimedia concepts, tools, and applications

A Section 508 compliant slide presentation will be used as the main framework of the

module. The slides will contain photos of real-life science centers to illustrate both correct

and incorrect center design. Embedded with the presentation will be the infographic and

videos. The podcast will be a supplemental presentation supporting the content of th e

presentation and the drag and drop feature will be used to self-assess the learner’s knowledge
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and application skills. To support visually impaired learners, the slides will use contrasting

backgrounds and text that are easily distinguishable (IES, 2014).

The podcast will be created using the WavePad program, which is an audio editor that

allows the user to record files that may be used for podcasts (WavePad, 2018). The content of

the podcast will explain how to create a developmentally appropriate science center. The

audio component will be offered to meet the learning preferences of auditory learners.

Additionally, the podcasts will be easily accessible from both stationary and mobile devices.

Accessibly will also be extended to learners with visual challenges by ensuring that the

podcast describes in detail the essential elements of an appropriate science center.

The Microsoft Video tool will be used to edit the open education resource videos

chosen for the module. This tool is available through the Microsoft suite uploaded onto the

laptop. The videos, which will be embedded within the slide presentation, will provide

examples of science centers for knowledge and critique. The video images will support the

text form of module content, giving participants the opportunity to choose the method of

content delivery that will meet their learning preference. The videos will be used as examples

to provide guidelines for creating a developmentally appropriate preschool science center,

therefore supporting the visual learners’ preference and those participants that prefer video

over content text delivery. Participants will also be able to access the captioning feature on the

videos to follow along with the audio if preferred.

Canva is a graphic design tool website (Canva for Education, 2018) that will be used

to develop the infographic that will be embedded within the module. The infographic will be

available to the learners as a printable download to be used as a reference tool as they create a

science center. The ability to print the infographic will assist those that prefer to have a hard
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copy to see and read the content. For ease of reading and concept connection, the content of

the infographic will be in bullet point format combining text and images.

Interactive drag and drop: The Google Drawings program offers a drag and drop

feature which will be used by the learner to create their own science center floorplan. The

diagram will be used to self-assess the learner’s knowledge and demonstration of center

arrangement. The instructions for creating the center will be provided as part of the slide

presentation. The ability to create their own science center diagram will improve knowledge

retention and provides the opportunity to practice before skill application in an actual ECE

classroom. Use of the drag and drop application requires the learner to be an active participant

and apply the principles delineated within the module, thus demonstrating accomplishment of

module objectives.

Plan for project completion

Tasks required

Development of module

 determine content for slide text

 develop podcast

 choose and edit videos

 develop infographic

 create drag and drop design

 determine which supplemental materials will be included, such as articles, videos,

transcripts, and FAQ sheets

Personnel for each task

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 Subject matter expert, instructional designer: Module content (slide presentation)

 Content developer, instructional designer: Podcast and podcast transcript

 Instructional designer: Videos, editing

 Graphic designer: Infographic

 Instructional designer: Interactive drag and drop

 Participants: Test group

 Web Master: Module upload onto the organization’s site

Resources

 Supplemental videos

 Approved ECE publications

 Printable learning activities

 Transcripts

Timeline: 5 months
Timeline Stakeholders Task
Week 1 Design team Brainstorming meeting:
determine goals, delivery
design, supplemental
resources
Week 2-3 Design team Finalize module content and
design
Week 4-7 Design team Develop module
Content developer Record podcast, create a
transcript
Instructional designer Edit videos
Graphic designer Create infographic
Instructional designer Create link to drag and
Design team drop feature
Finalize module
Week 8-10 Webmaster Upload test module onto the
website, provide temporary
link to module
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Instructional designer, Conduct a test run with a

subject matter expert, small control group
participants
Week 11-14 Design team Make corrections, edits to
the module
Week 15-17 Webmaster Upload test module onto the
website, provide a
temporary link to the
module
Instructional designer, Small group test run
subject matter expert,
participants
Week 17-19 Instructional designer Make corrections, edits to
the module
Week 20 Webmaster, Instructional Upload module to the
designer organization’s website for
public access

Each participant will submit an online module evaluation due upon module completion.

Evaluations will be reviewed quarterly by instructional designer and subject matter expert to

assess module efficacy and to determine necessary improvements or edits. An annual review will

be conducted by the design team to check for content accuracy, active links, and accessibility of

multimedia.

Conclusion

The proposed project is a self-paced, reusable module offered online for novices and

experienced staff in the field of early childhood education. The provision of this module via

the website of an early childhood education association will encourage the highest number of

users possible. The inclusion of various types of multimedia will not only meet partici pants’

learning preferences but will also accommodate learners with varying abilities. The module

objectives will be clearly stated and the content will be delivered using audio, video, text, and

interactive opportunities to construct knowledge before putting the skills to practice in the
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ECE classroom environment. The easily accessible module will provide ongoing professional

development for all participants with the ability to revisit the content often as needed.
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References

Canva for Education. Retrieved on November 23, 2018, from https://about.canva.com/education/

Institute of Education Sciences. (2014). 508 Compliance: Preparing presentations, Excel files,

websites, and multimedia products. Retrieved from

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED545253.pdf

Mayer, R. E. (2009). Principles of multimedia design. In R. E. Mayer, Multimedia

learning (2nd ed., pp. 265-280). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Moloney, B. (2018, September 5). 5 Basic principles of instructional systems design. Retrieved

from https://elearningindustry.com/instructional-systems-design-5-basic-principles

Stankovic, Z., Maksimovic, J., Osmanovic, J. (2018) Cognitive theories and paradigmatic

research posts in the function of multimedia teaching and learning. International Journal

of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education. 6(2).

Thompson. L. (2017, April 26). Creating a drag and drop assignment in Google drawings.

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixwd8noZ0bw

WavePad Audio Editing Software. Retrieved on November 23, 2018, from

https://www.nch.com.au/wavepad/index.html

W3C Web Accessibility Initiative: Standards/Guidelines. Retrieved on November 23, 2018,

from https://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/accessibility