Animating your students – Promoting active learning through animations

Donald P. French, Ph. D.Department of Zoology

Oklahoma State Universitydfrench@okstate.edu

zoology.okstate.edu/zoo_lrc/biol1114

Overview

Why use animations?

How to involve students using animations

Where to get suitable animations

What am I NOT talking about

Why use animations?

Dual-coding TheoryPresented together, visual and auditory materials allow the brain to use either for retrieving information (Paivio, 1986; Sanger & Greenowe 2000)

Animations may promote formation of dynamic mental models resulting in deeper encoding and more expert-like models (Abraham and Williamson (1995).

…and

Guided explorations using visualizations helped college students engage in active learning and construct knowledge (Khoo and Koh 1998).

However….Animations without narration are ineffective if students cannot determine to what the elements and actions within the animation refer (Mayer & Anderson 1991).

More effective if words and animations presented contiguously (Mayer & Anderson 1991).

Live narration appears to work better than recorded (Burke et al. 1998)

Narration still teacher-centered!

Constructivist teaching is not about what the teacher tells the students…

…It is about what the teacher has the students do.

Let the students do the talking and explaining

Let the instructor do the guiding

How People Learn

People are not blank slates or empty vessels to be filled

They don’t retain isolated informationThey must organized it

But how does this organization arise?

Organization reflects connections

Concept

factfact

Fact

Concept

Concept

Theory of Constructivism

People come with prior knowledge

People must find a connection between new and old knowledge to be able to incorporate the new

Some prior knowledge may be misconceptions that must be (self)identified and changed

Students must be actively engaged

Thomas Lord (2002) provided examples of how properly designed challenge questions can be used to provide students opportunity to “uncover” concepts.Scott Cooper – Formative Assessment in Large Biology Lecture (MIC-2003) – PBL / Student InteractionsDarrel Pearson – Assessing Learning Outcomes (MIC-2003) – Performance Assessment / Providing Context /Active Learning

Animations can provide tool to allow students to gather information they need

Jose Flores – Animated Multivariable Calculus (MIC 2003) – Student Interactions

Animations can provide students with non-verbal guide to the information

Students translate visual information to words with instructor’s guidance

How to use animations…..

Present a visualization of a concept

Allow students time to observe

Provide students basic printed image

Have students record/describe their observations

Flow lines, arrows, labels

Have students work in collaborative setting.

Don - Stop talking and let them see what you are talking about !

Sample image v. animation

(Contact McGraw-Hill for Lewis Life 4e animations)or view this alternative from OSU

How to use…. (continued)

Keep class open to questions and requests

Fill in information as needed/requested

Guide students by helping them recall related phenomena & interpret

Have student propose explanations of phenomenon (or hypotheses for)

Write out complete explanationSteps

Function

Variables that affect

Sample Image v. Animation 2

(Contact McGraw-Hill for Lewis Life 4e animations)

…and

This sets up the opportunity for dialogue where the instructor can

assess students understanding

guide students to correction of misconceptions

and students can work together to construct concepts

This is NOT a replacement for actual experiments or other active-learning techniques – it is another tool.

Style issuesLevel of complexityRealism Sound effects

Add realism – heart soundsAdd humor/entertainment – pinballConfuse students – vacuum cleaner

Text explanationsAnother mode of information transferTempt students to copy and ignore discussionDiscourages students from developing explanations in their own words

Sources of AnimationsMake your own

GIF animator ($45) – animated .gifFireworks ($99) – animated .gifFlash ($99) – flash .swf

Some interactivity, Very web friendly, timeline, frame-by-frame, tweening, path

Director ($500) – shockwave, .exeAs above + tremendous control, 3D, interactivity, complexity; very steep learning curve

Authorware ($500) – WWW, .exepath animation, tremendous control, interactivity, Computer based instruction, less difficult to program, integrates with above

Sources of AnimationsGet from textbook Publisher

(Contact McGraw-Hill for Lewis Life 4e animations)

Sources of Animations - WWW

Copyright © Gary E. KaiserAll Rights ReservedUpdated: May 24, 2001http://student.ccbc.cc.md.us/biotutorials/protsyn/peptidea.html

Sample animation of Protein Synthesis

Sample animation of botulism and synaptic transmission

Copyright © Dr. Glen SongerUniversity of Arizona 1998http://www.microvet.arizona.edu/Courses/MIC420/lecture_notes/clostridia/clostridia_neurotox/movie/botulinum_movie.html

Get from WWW.MERLOT.ORG

Find Peer Reviewed Materials

Shockwave Flash

Object

Thank You

dfrench@okstate.edu

zoology.okstate.eduLearning Resources Center Biology 1114 Introduction for Visitors