Learning Portfolio 3

Q1)

Performance load is known as the degree  of mental and physical activity required to achieve a goal. (Performance Load) With a higher performance load there is a higher probablity of errors occuring whilst a lower performance load will bring higher probabilities of success.  There are 2 types of performance loads, these being cognitive and kinematic. 

Cognitive includes the amount of mental activity required to accomplish a goal, whether it be perception, memory, or problem solving.  Strategies for reducing cognitive load include minimizing visual noise, chunking information that must be remembered, using memory aids and automating computation and memory intensive tasks.  Cognitive resources can unnecessarily be overloaded by integrating material from one location with material from another, or by processing material that is overly repetitive (Reducing Cognitive Load) Learning will be maximized if cognitive load is reduced through reducing such elements that stand in the way.

Kinematic loads are those including a degree of physical activity whether it be steps or movements or the amount of force required to accomplish a goal.  Strateigies for reducing kinematic load include reducing the number of steps required to complete a task, minimizing the range of motion and travel distances and automating repetitive tasks. 

Design should always minimize performance load to the greateast degree through the process of chunking, memory aids and reducing uneccassary items and steps within a chosen task (Performance Load).

Learning Portfolio 4

Activity

Presumed

Wikipedia falls under the presumed category as it finishes in the domain org. and is from word of mouth so popular.   Anyone without the knowledge of it being unreliable would initially assume it is of trustworthy source.

  

  

  

  

Reputed

Net objects fusion has been recognised my PC Magazine as being one of the best web site design sites on the World Wide Web.   It has been awarded as being an easy to use web design software program, trustworthy and credible of its sources.

 

 

 

 

 

Surface

The real estate website to me appears professionally designed and of trustworthy credibility.  It has links to other websites and material sources and does not have any pop ups or anything that come up. Although it is slightly overcrowded  I still found it easy enough to follow. 

 

 

 

 

Earned

The Bankwest site has continued to provide me with truthful and factual information I have found very handy over the years.  As a user of online banking I rely on this site on a weekly basis and it has yet to fail me.  It also appears visually attractive with fresh new modern colours and is easy to navigate through.

 

Learning Portfolio 4

Q2)

Within the Learning Portfolio, Wikipedia is not an accepted as online source due to its lack of credibility.  Anyone can upload information on to Wikipedia being why it is an unreliable source of information.   It is an online encyclopedia based on wiki software, which allows users to add, edit and remove content from any page. This open environment of collaboration that allows anyone to change information brings frequent questions about the reliability of the information on its pages.  For students it is hard not to use this site as the information appears nicely organised and easy to navigate through.  Teachers however struggle to push the point that the information provided can not be confirmed as being correct due to the fact that errors may not be tracked for weeks after being uploaded.

Students need to be brought to attention the seduction of cool graphics, the weakness of poor logic and the importance of the authors credibility.  Wikipedia appears to be of a professional and high standard source, using office-like colour of grey scale and photographic images to provide evidence.   If we learn to see online documents as they are, not as preconceptions tell us they should be then we will be better prepared for navigating about on the World Wide Web.  (Burniske [2006]).  Wikipedia falls under the ‘presumed’ category of web credibility where many students base their judgements on the word of others.  It ends with the domain name of org. and fails to provide links to other trustworthy sources of material of web sites. 

Burniske, R.W, (2006) Literacy in the Digital Age, United States: Literacy in the Cyberage: Composing Ourselves Online

Suite101.com; The Genuine Article.Literally; Wikipedia’s Credibility; (16/6/08) retrieved on 21/10/09 from url;

http://online-student-resources.suite101.com/article.cfm/wikipedias_credibility#ixzz0VeVjobQH

Learning Portfolio 4

Q1)

It is important that we evaluate the credibility of websites in order for us to gather thorough and reliable information.  The world wide web is a network anyone across the globe can upload information onto whether it be of a trustworthy source or not.  Credibility can be defined as believability or of perceived quality being that is doesnt reside in an object, person or piece of information.  In some ways it is like beauty, with the power being in the eye of the beholder. 

The goal of websites is to persuade the users attitudes and behaviours, something that is simple not possible without credibility.   As a student I have had my fair share of contact with websites that appear to provide consistent amounts of reliable information.  The colours used and graphical design may work well in creating trusting attitudes towards the site.  I have learnt though that sometimes appearance does not necessarily mean quality. 

There are two sides to web credibility, web surfers who determine what information is credible, and web designers who create the sites.  There are certain elements that can increase web credibility and which should be noted by us and remembered when searching the web.  Some of these can include the sites organization and physical address, if there is an email address provided and the trustworthiness of links to other outside materials and sources.   Often ”the way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe” influencing our initial attitude towards a website.(Burniske [2006])   Even if we believe it to be of trustworthy source from what we may have heard from the people around us, this could simple be because no one has bothered to check the quality of information.  The sites are not monitored, edited, regulated or approved, being factors to remind us the information on the Web is no indication of its believability of accuracy. (An Educators Guide to Web Credibility and Web Evaluation).

END TEXT REFERENCES

Burniske, R.W, (2006) Literacy in the Digital Age, United States: Literacy in the Cyberage: Composing Ourselves Online

An Educators Guide to Web Credibility and Web Evaluation, (7/01/2002) retrieved on 23/20/09 from url;

http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/wp/credibility/

Learning Portfolio 3

Activity

1) USB sticks have reduced the cognitive load of human beings by acting as a transportable memory device to store information.   These can also reduce the kinematic load of the physical activity required to transport files and books holding vital research that can be instead stored on the memory of the USB. 

 

 

 

 

2)  House phones have reduced the kinematic load required in terms of the dial buttons replacing the original turn wheel.  The effort of turning the wheel to each button has been discarded for much easier and quicker to use buttons.

 

 

 

 

 

3) Reminders can be entered into our phones with an alarm set to go off at a certain time, reducing our own cognitive load.  Instead of having to physically remember the date in our memory or write it down somewhere, the event can be stored into our own transportable mobile phones.

Learning Portfolio 3

Q3)

The study of psychology is necessary in design in order to master the art of typography and create a visual piece that will creat meaning and emotion within the human mind.  Typographic forms are elements unique to communication design because they play a dual role. ( Evans, Thomas [1949]).  Without any knowledge of principles such as “chunking”, the 6 aptitudes and other various design principles, producers of such could fail to develop a visually appealing presentation.  In web design the importance of the psychology of graphic design will highly impact the performance of the website.   The site may be referred to as ” the window to the soul” of the business or entity it is being designed for.  If the sites appears too overcrowded or overwhelming little trust will be made between the business and it’s people.  The psychology of graphic design is very important because of the way the eye reads the images on the screen and how the colors in the images are interpreted by the eye and mind. (The Psychology of Graphic Design for Web Designers[29/4/09]).

END TEXT REFERENCES

Evans, P., Thomas, M., (1949) The Elements of Design, United States: Delmar Learning

Bright Hub; The Psychology of Graphic Design for Web Designers ( 29/4/09) retrieved on 25/10/09 from url;

http://www.brighthub.com/internet/web-development/articles/33397.aspx

Learning Portfolio 3

Q2)

“Chunking”

As human beings we only have a certain amount of memory space to store and recollect information.  There are certain techniques of graphical and visual design that can aid in the process of learning and help us to remember what is most important.   By reducing this cognitive load, we become more productive with a higher possibility of creating better outcomes.  The term ‘chunking’ refers to organising large amounts of information into much smaller parts making it a lot easier to learn and memorize vital sections .  This is possible based on Gestalt’s Law of Proximity (people tend to perceive as a unit those things that are close together in space [Ormrod, 1999]) and Similarity (people tend to perceive as a unit those things that are similar to one another [Ormrod, 1999]).  The technique of chunking seeks to accomodate short-term memory limits by formatting information into a small number of units. It is known that the maximum number of chunks that can be efficiently processed by short-term memory is four, plus or minus one (Lidwell, Holden & Butler [n.d])Universal Principles of Design). 

 An example this may be when we make a list of things to take with us on a holiday or trip somewhere. Quite often we may subconsciously group certain items under headings to make it easier for us to remember those objects.   The same goes for numbers which we may chunk into groups in order to memorize these digits.  Our mobile phone number are grouped in 3 different parts, usually as such; 0424 168 482, rather than 0424168482.  Information should be chunked when people are required to recall and retain information, or when information is used for problem solving.   By chunking information we can also create a hierarchy of the most important elements down to the least, something which is vital in graphic design.

END TEXT REFERNCES

Instructional Design Electronic Workbook: Theories; Cognitive Load Theory Implications; [n.d], retrieved on 25/10/09 from url;

http://usaoll.org/iddtheorywb/htmlcognitiveload/implications.htm

Lidwell, W., Holden, K., Butler, J., (2003) Universal Principles of Design, (pp.21) USA: Rockport

Learning Portfolio 2

Activity

In my first slide I decided to change the glow background of the main image to a red colour.  Previously the picture had just been formatted to have blurred edges with no colour choice. I chose to change it to red as this is a common theme throughout my presentation, with the colours, grey and light blue.  I felt this added a sense of contrast and symphony between the different elements on the page.  The red colour also highlights and brings out the red parts of the image.

My second slide I changed the whole design of the page, with a new background, and colour and positioning of the text.  Previously I had used the same background throughout, providing little variety between the different slides.  I chose to use an image of a dog behind locked behind a gate, to provoke emotion and empathy in the audience.  I also repositioned the text to the left of the page so that it did not clash with the image of the dog being positioned on the right.  The image background along with the text also creates some sense of meaning about the point of the presentation.

The third slide I simply changed the background colour to a black from grey to create depth within  the design of the slide.  On the fourth slide I add a blue shadow to the three images.  This once again creates a sense of contrast bringing in the theme colours of red, blue and grey.

I changed the background once again on the fifth slide, using an image off the internet of a dog and cat sleeping together.  I also eliminated some of the textual information provided on this page to minimize overcrowding of elements.  On the sixth slide I simple chose to highlight the important words in red, as done so with a previous slide.  Finally on the seventh page, I changed the background colour to black, evoking a stronger impact, and gave the image a red shadow blur.

Learning Portfolio 2

Q2)

My chosen topic for the Powerpoint presentation required for Assignment 2, was animal cruelty.  I decided to try and create emotion in the viewers by evoking a sense of sympathy for the animals through the usage of certain graphical images.  Whilst I did not succeed in using all 6 aptitudes; design, story, symphony, empathy, play and meaning, I do feel I used some of these elements throughout various parts of my slides.  Empathy is perhaps the strongest most obvious aptitude used throughout my presentation.  There are also certain colour themes used which work together well in creating a symphony of contrasting elements. 

 

 

 

 

 

Empathy:  The slides shown above indicate a sense of empathy as the audience is encouraged to put themselves in the animals position.  The images included are designed to grasp a sense of the pain and suffering experienced by these dogs and cats.  As mentioned by Pink; “it involves an understanding of the importance of the nonverbal cues of others and being aware of your own”.  These slides demonstrate the need to think about what these animals are experiencing, through the graphical and confronting style of the images. 

Meaning: From these images we also develop a sense of knowledge about the presentation and the message being conveyed.  These slides display the need for something to be done in order for the suffering of these animals to stop. 

 

 

 

 

 

Symphony:  In the above slides there is a sense of symphony created through the usage of colours and positioning of the text and images.  The blue colours work well in contrast with the grey colour, keeping it simple yet effective.  Only the most important elements were included in these slides which mattered the most in terms importance.  The positioning of the images also demonstrates a sense of symphony in terms of variety and impact on the audience.

Play:  The play aptitude is left out of my presentation as the idea of humour throughout would not suit the attitudes provoked towards animal cruelty.  Instead I relied on the long-lasting effect of images and short factual evidence to have an impact on the audience. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Story: The slides shown above indicate the usage of story throughout my Powerpoint presentation.  From the images used and the quotes given, the animal’s life time of suffering is constructed as being a story in itself.  The quotes given with the images lead the audience to question their existence and when this is going to end.  This style of story created demonstrates what sorts of things are real problems to the people. (Pink)

Learning Portfolio 2

Q1)

Design

• To many people design is simply a nice element but does not exist as mission critical, therefore developing the term of “decoration”.  (Reynolds[2008])
• The value of design lies in its ability to capture the emotional connections which consumers have or might have with a certain product of service (The Archetypes of Creativity[30/6/09])
• The best designs are the ones that dont stand out as obvious and noticeable to the users or observers. 
• When designing a product or presentation, it is the initial element that should begin the process of creativity. 
• One should consider the topic, studied objectives, key messages, and needs of the audience at hand. 

Story

• Stories are a natural way of beginning dialogue with the user.
• Cognitive scientist Mark Turner calls storytelling “narrative imagining, something that is a key instrument of thought”. 
• As humans we are born storytellers, wired to tell and receive stories.
• Acknowledging the value of storytelling, seeking and employing such abilities, and using them to propel business into the future seem logical (The Archetypes of Creativity[30/6/09]).
• Somewhere along the long “story became synonymous with fiction or even falsehood”
• The best professors put their own personality, character, and experiences into material in the form of a narrative.
• It involves the capacity to explain, understand and persuade not only with logic, but also with narrative.
• Stories reveal what people like about their work, what they hate about it, what works well and what sorts of things are real problems. 

Symphony

• Symphony includes synthesis and the ability to use seemingly unrelated pieces to form and articulate the big picture.
• It encourages people to become better at seeing things and recognizing the patterns.
• It also involves utilizing our whole mind to make sense of the world
• Deciding what matters as being important and what does not.

Empathy

• Empathy involves putting yourself in others positions such as that of the audience.
• Understanding the importance of nonverbal cues is essential when working with empathy
• Notice when  the audience is ‘getting it’ and when they are not.
• Computers can’t demonstrate empathy.
• Your inventor of the future will be someone who has the skill to observe and listen to others and then continue to have some deep insight regarding their actions, needs and desires. 

Play

• Work is not just about seriousness but about the play as well.
• Good old fashioned humour can help during time of presentations and leave lasting impression on audience.
• “Laughing people are more creative people.  They are more productive people”. 

Meaning

• A successful presentation can have a long-lasting effect on the audience and your own career.
• This can be a very rewarding experience for both sides of the party.
• Appear different to the audience, challenge expectations, produce an impact.

NAIP Patent Blog; The Archetypes of Creativity [ 30/6/09] Retrieved on 25/10/09 from url;

http://naipblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/archetypes-of-creativity.html

Reynolds, G. (2008). Presentation in “The Conceptual Age”. In Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (pp. 14-19). Berkeley. CA: New Riders