I have chosen to evaluate the Khan Kids application. Many of the multimedia principles are present within this application which have led to reviews and many positive experiences from educators who have used this app for primary children. I found that the majority of the principles discussed were present within this application. Many of the principles that the Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia identifies as being effective for managing essential processing due to an increase in āthe learnerās ability to understand main points of the multimedia presentationā (Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning). The app uses levels and various sections to fulfil the segmenting principle. The modality principle is effective within the Khan Kids application as all the tasks (etc.) are represented verbally with spoken text as well as represented graphically in an age appropriate manner (Mayer, 2014). The levels and sections available allow the teacher to accommodate for students and pre-teach essential components to allow the pertaining principle to be demonstrated within this application (Mayer, 2014). These principles allow for essential processing to occur as students play age appropriate games aimed at learning various essential skills.
There are also many principles present within this application that are useful for reducing extraneous processing in order to lead to the most effective learning being able to take place (Mayer, 2014). The signalling g principle, special continuity principle, temporal continuity principle, and the redundancy principle are all evident within the Khan Kids app. Highlighting essential words, having words and pictures close together, words spoken at the same time they are illustrated, and including narration all allow for extraneous processing to be reduced- and more effective learning to take place (Mayer, 2014). I found that the coherence principle, the principle stating that better learning takes place when extraneous material is excluded from multimedia lessons, was not followed completely. There was lots of extra sound effects and material that could be distracting- or engaging- for some students.
Fostering generative processing principles were present within the Khan Kids application. Specifically, the multimedia principle and the personalization principle. The multimedia principle, being the most relevant and important principle in my opinion, stating words and pictures are more effective than words alone was very evident within the application (Mayer, 2014). Because the app is designed for young children, this is necessary and of great importance for learning to take place. The personalization principle is another that is necessary for effective learning. This principle states that using a conversational style is more effective for learning than a formal style as engagement in conversation leads to more effective learning (Mayer, 2014).
The Khan Kids application is an effective multimedia application. It effectively uses nearly all of the principles for effectively using multimedia to aid learning. It is also very user friendly, can be used at home as well as at school. It can be used in whole class lessons, small groups, or individually in order to meet each studentās needs. The Khan Kids app is also fun, low pressure, and engaging for students, making it seem like play.
References
Anstey, L., & Watson, G. (2018, September 18).Ā A Rubric for Evaluating E-Learning Tools in Higher Education. Educause Review.Ā https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/9/a-rubric-for-evaluating-e-learning-tools-in-higher-education
Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning: http://etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Cognitive_Theory_of_Multimedia_Learning
Mayer, R. E. (2014). The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1017/CBO9781139547369
Ā
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=g-sknUVq1mk&feature=emb_title
Good job!