This interactive PowerPoint presentation introduces principles of using multimedia in education by exploring definitions of key concepts from literature, including multimedia, different media forms, and cognitive load. It uses examples, videos, and interactive activities to help explain these concepts, specifically focusing on Mayer's (2005) definitions of multimedia as having verbal and pictorial forms, and means of illustrating the concept of working memory, in order to facilitate understanding cognitive load theory.

1. In this interactive PowerPoint we will think about principles informing the use of multimedia in education. We will look at some of the informing literature, as an initial prompt into your reading for this course unit. There is a lot of very good multimedia literature out there! Multimedia: Principles and Practice

2. How would you define ‘multimedia’ learning? Write your idea in the reflection box then click on the green area to compare your thoughts with the definition you will be taken to. Click here to compare your thoughts with definition on first page of Mayer (2005) . We will be referring to Mayer on a regular basis 

3. How would you describe the different media below? Can you think of specific terms to do this? Is it possible to group any of them? How?

4. Click on speaker button below for Susan’s Pictorial form Verbal form ? Click here for Mayer (2005) .

5. The term multimedia can be viewed in three ways (according to Mayer, 2005) as shown below. Watch the video below. Which of the three views can you relate it to?

6. Over the next three slides will find three means of helping people understand ‘working memory’: which do you think is the most effective? Why? Picture from: http://working-memory-and-education.wikispaces.com/Introduction+to+Working+Memory+%28WM%29 Means 1

7. Means 2

9. Which of the three means do you think helped you best understand working memory? Perhaps a combination of all three helped. Use wallwisher to briefly say why (see the below screen grab of Wallwisher and instructions) : http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/Workingmemory Write your first name here Double click on Wallwisher screen to create a sticky Double click on Wallwisher screen to create a sticky You can add an image, audio or video link here Click here to read Doolittle et al (2005) who discuss ‘working memory’ as it relates to cognitive load in their chapter.