Metaphorical graphics aid learning and memory

The present investigation was designed to determine the effects of metaphorical graphics on learning from an expository text. The graphics were designed to function as metaphorical representations of the semantic elements inherent in the passage, with the level of correspondence between the graphics and text varied as weak or strong. In study 1, participants (N = 168) were randomly assigned to one of three graphic/text conditions (strong, weak, or none). Learning was measured immediately after the presentation of learning materials and again a week later. In study 2, participants (N = 98) followed the same procedure as study 1, but they were allowed to view the experimental materials online, rather than in a lab setting. Results from both studies revealed that, while decorative graphics may appear benign or detrimental to learning outcomes immediately after exposure under experimental lab conditions, further analysis indicated that graphics designed to metaphorically correspond to text content functioned to preserve learning across a one-week delay. In addition, when participants viewed the materials online, the decorative graphics improved learning, not just prevented decay. The online effect was mediated by the level of metaphorical correspondence between the passage and the graphic.     

Static and animated graphics in learning from interactive texts

Animating the graphics in electronic documents may increase readers’ willingness to study them but may impair or distort the processes of gist comprehension. Experiment 1 confirmed that, compared with static diagrams, animation increased readers willingness to study a range of graphic genres (maps, time-lines, drawings of unfamiliar objects). Total reading time was also increased but readers’ differential access of static and animated graphics confounded the interpretation of immediate and delayed retention tests. Experiment 2 contrasted the effects of accessing the graphics before or during reading. Scores on a quiz immediately after reading were significantly higher when the graphics were seen before rather than during reading, suggesting that readers found it difficult to integrate the graphics while still building the gist of the text. Scores on both an immediate and a delayed quiz were significantly higher when the graphics were static rather than animated. One pointer to the cause of the decrement with animated graphics was that the quiz performance of readers having animated graphics correlated with their scores on a picture memory test, whereas those of readers with static graphics did not. In contrast the delayed quiz scores of readers with static graphics showed a significant interaction with their performance on a digit memory task. Readers with high scores on digit memory benefited from accessing the graphics while reading, but readers with low scores on the digit test were impaired by such access during reading. This suggests that the cognitive skills needed for integrating text with animated graphics may differ from those needed for dealing with static graphics.     

The sand/water table as a learning center

The sand/water table, an old standby in nursery and day care classrooms, has long been popular with children. It has remained a fixture despite the nuisance of sand on the floor as teachers acknowledge its social benefits and the calming influence it can have on children who are upset or unhappy.Judith Dighe is a teacher specialist, Head Start, Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD.     

Computer graphics software packages: Evaluating and selecting production materials

Conclusion Finally, in evaluating software packages, “what you need to do is work with the package and match it up with your needs.” Your preference for software will depend on your own background and how you like to work with a package. If you are learning to use a package, you may need to work with it for some time. The longer you work with it, you may form a whole new opinion. Software also changes. There are updates that may improve its capability, so even though you may not like the package now, you may want to reconsider it as new versions come along     

Space: A learning center

A learning center is any focal point or area within a classroom or school which contains activities and/or materials used to educate, re-inforce, and enrich a skill or learning concept. The learning center can free the teacher, enabling her to interact with individual children. A learning center offers the educator a carte blanche of creativity, because as a teacher, you can create a learning center based upon almost any conceivable topic or subject. This article was excerpted from The World Around Us: A Learning Center Approachavailable from Pacific Shoreline Press, 15157 Lincoln Ave., Lake Elsinore, CA 92330 © 1984 for $14.95.     

Computer conferencing: a contribution to self-directed learning

This article describes computer conferencing in its educational context, particularly as a tool for encouraging greater autonomy in the learner. Conferencing experiments at the Open University with a large undergraduate course (1000–2000 students) are described, and guidelines proposed: the conferencing system must be integral to the course and related directly to an assessment, the facility must be easy to use and the conference moderator needs special skills to manage the conference. Various problems can arise, such as the non-participant 'lurker' and the dominant personality. Ways in which conferencing can improve educational interaction are suggested. With an innovation as untested as conferencing, it is premature to expect definitive answers; rather this paper poses questions and identifies issues about the role of conferencing in education in the future.     

计算机与学习文化

远程教育的本土化任重道远。最近读了美国加州大学学者Richard Kern发表在国际著名的英语教学杂志TESOL Quarterly(TESOL意为“向说其他语言的人教授英语”)2006年第1期上的一篇论文,题为《对语言教与学中技术应用的认识》。文章的第一部分回顾了计算机辅助语言学习(CALL)的研究成果,我对其中“计算机与文化”这一小节的内容尤感兴趣。在这一节,作者旁征博引,令人耳目一新,引人深思,启发良多。Kern指出,关于计算机与文化的关系,有两种不同的观点:一种观点认为计算机是一种工具,从文化的角度讲是“中立的”,而另一种观点则认为,作为…