Critique #2 - Mi Vida Loca
Mi Vida Loca is a web based product produced by the British Broadcasting Company intended to help beginning Spanish students acquire basic conversational skills. Mi Vida Loca is comprised of twenty two interactive videos that take you on a thrilling adventure through Madrid, Medina de Rioseca and Gran Canaria. The main purpose of the series is to introduce the learner to the Spanish language but it also provides them the opportunity to experience some of the culture of the country as well. Each episode is approximately ten minutes long and provides the opportunity for the learner to interactive throughout. In the very first episode the learner is introduced to a man that will serve as their “dictionary” for the remainder of the series. After watching each episode learners have the opportunity to review the content using an interactive module. This review allows the learner to focus on smaller more specific aspects of the episode. Each episode is also accompanied by a transcript, grammar notes and vocabulary lists. The learner has the option to print these lists if they choose. The series can be accessed at the website below:
www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca
Through its design the website has incorporated numerous instructional design principles. The working memory has a limited capacity to store and process information so, it’s essential that an instructional designer create instruction with the aim to reduce the cognitive load. Mayer and Pliegard suggest that segmenting and pre-training are two techniques a designer can employ to reduce cognitive load (p 318). Pre-training provides the learner with “prior knowledge they can use to process the subsequent narrated animation with less cognitive effort” (Mayer and Pliegard 318). Prior to watching each episode the learner has the opportunity to access key grammar components and vocabulary that will be used in the episode[1]. Learning these words prior to watching the episode will help free up essential cognitive space when the learner watches the video. The segmenting principle “slows the pace of presentation to a level that enables leaners to carry out essential processing” (Mayer and Pliegard 318). Not only is the series itself segmented into twenty episodes but each episode is segmented into three to five chunks. After each chunk the dictionary checks for understanding and allows the learner an opportunity to see the new vocabulary again. The learner must also click the next button before moving on to the next segment. In addition, each episode it accompanied by a separate interactive comprehension check. The comprehension check itself is segmented and provides the learner the opportunity to choose and control the content they review and the pace at which they review it[2].
The interactive series also demonstrates the sequencing principle, multimedia principle, and self-pacing principle. The sequencing principle suggests that information be organized from “simple to complex” in order to ensure that the learner can properly process the information (van Merriënboer and Kester 116). Over the course of the twenty two episodes the information presented generally becomes more difficult. It is also essential that the learner comprehend, process, and store information from previous episodes before moving on to the next. The multimedia principle proposes “that learning is improved when text and pictures are presented [together] as compared with text alone” (van Merriënboer and Kester 124). When the dictionary appears during the episodes he reviews key vocabulary. The vocabulary is either presented on the screen in words or pictures and then he says the word aloud. This provides the learner the opportunity to see and hear the word. Finally, the self-pacing principle suggests that if learners have “control of the pace of instruction” it may lead to a deeper understanding of the information (van Merriënboer and Kester 126). As mentioned previously the learner has the ability to control the pace of the instruction.
Unfortunately, Mi Vida Loca also violates numerous design principles. The split attention effect “occurs when learners are required to split their attention between and mentally integrate several sources of physically or temporally disparate information” (Ayers and Sweller 206). The main goal of the series is to immerse the learner in an authentic language environment. The focus should therefore be on learners listening and comprehending the language. However, on the bottom of the screen the learners have the option to read subtitles in both English and Spanish[3]. The program is designed so that the English subtitles automatically appear. A learner could unclick the English subtitles if they wanted to focus on only hearing the language. When a learner leaves the English subtitles on the screen they are forced to split their attention between the episode itself and the text below. Instead of listening to the characters they are reading the text. In addition, this feature allows many students to “game the system” (Renkl 400). The learners have found a way to make learning “easier” but not meaningful. Students can also “game the system” by simply clicking the next button. The program does not require you to complete the task suggested by the dictionary before hitting the next button. A learner can hit the next button whenever they want and thus miss out on essential knowledge.
The series also violates the coherence principle and the expertise reversal principle. The coherence principle proposes that “seductive details such as background music and nonessential video clips [should be] excluded from a training program” (van Merriënboer and Kester 125). The video series uses music to engage the learners during each episode. An example of the music can be heard on the home page. The music often distracts students from essential information. They often become too wrapped up in the mystery of the story that they forget to attend to the key information and vocabulary. The series is used by many Spanish learners in addition to their assigned course work and its primary focus is to help learners hear and speak the language. Since it is used in addition to other resources there a parts of the series that demonstrate the expertise reversal principle. The expertise reversal principle states that learning should “depend on the expertise (or prior knowledge) of the learner...” (Kalyuga 578). Some of the material introduced in later issues is typically introduced the first few weeks of a Spanish I class. For example, episode seven introduces times and days, episode fifteen introduces months and episode twenty one introduces weather. The episodes contain information other than what is listed on the titles but expert learners often become disinterested and lose their focus during them. This causes them to miss out on vital information.
If asked to re-design this series each episode would be accompanied by a required pre-training exercise and a comprehension check. Students would engage in the pre-training exercise before watching the episode. This would guarantee that learners had the necessary pre-requisite information before viewing the episode. Learners would not be able to open the actual episode until they successfully completed the pre-training exercise. Next, learners would engage in a comprehension check. Successful completion of the comprehension check would be required before moving on to the next episode. In addition, within each component students would still have the ability to self-regulate but would not be allowed to go on to the next segment before successfully completing the previous one. Also, to help students focus their attention on the essential information I would remove the subtitles at the bottom of the page. This will allow the learners focus only on listening and repeating key vocabulary.
Overall, in my opinion, Mi Vida Loca is a great resource for any beginning Spanish student. It is the only free program I know of that provides the learner an opportunity to be immersed in an authentic interactive learning environment. This idea of a real world environment is supported by the physical-fidelity principle (van Merriënboer and Kester 120). However, in terms of cognitive theories and principles this series is poorly designed. The website was designed with theories and principles in mind but it fails to organize or sequence them in a way that best suits the learner. As mentioned previously the website allows the learner to “game the system.” There are too many opportunities for the learner to simply click the next button without experiencing meaningful learning. It also provides learners with the necessary prior vocabulary and grammar knowledge but does not require that learners engage with it before watching the video. Finally, if the main goal is for learners to be engaged with the language then the subtitles at the bottom of the screen make it difficult for the learner to attend the essential information.
Works Cited
Ayres, P & Sweller, J. (2014) The split-attention principle in multimedia Learning. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.),The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. (pp. 206-226). New York: Cambridge.
(e.g. Chapter 8)
Kalyuga, S. (2014) The expertise reversal principle in multimedia learning. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. (pp. 576-597). New York: Cambridge.
(e.g. Chapter 24)
Mayer, R.E. & Pilegard C. (2014) Principles for managing essential processing in multimedia learning: segmenting, pre-training, and modality principles. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. (pp. 316-344). New York: Cambridge.
(e.g. Chapter 13)
van Merriënboer, J. J., & Kester, L. (2014). The four-component instructional design model: Multimedia principles in environments for complex learning. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. (pp. 104-148). New York: Cambridge.
(e.g. Chapter 5)
Renkl, A. (2014). The worked examples principle in multimedia learning. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. (pp. 391-412). New York: Cambridge.
(e.g. Chapter 16)
[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/syllabus.shtml
[2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/ep01_pb.shtml
[3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/ep01.shtml
www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca
Through its design the website has incorporated numerous instructional design principles. The working memory has a limited capacity to store and process information so, it’s essential that an instructional designer create instruction with the aim to reduce the cognitive load. Mayer and Pliegard suggest that segmenting and pre-training are two techniques a designer can employ to reduce cognitive load (p 318). Pre-training provides the learner with “prior knowledge they can use to process the subsequent narrated animation with less cognitive effort” (Mayer and Pliegard 318). Prior to watching each episode the learner has the opportunity to access key grammar components and vocabulary that will be used in the episode[1]. Learning these words prior to watching the episode will help free up essential cognitive space when the learner watches the video. The segmenting principle “slows the pace of presentation to a level that enables leaners to carry out essential processing” (Mayer and Pliegard 318). Not only is the series itself segmented into twenty episodes but each episode is segmented into three to five chunks. After each chunk the dictionary checks for understanding and allows the learner an opportunity to see the new vocabulary again. The learner must also click the next button before moving on to the next segment. In addition, each episode it accompanied by a separate interactive comprehension check. The comprehension check itself is segmented and provides the learner the opportunity to choose and control the content they review and the pace at which they review it[2].
The interactive series also demonstrates the sequencing principle, multimedia principle, and self-pacing principle. The sequencing principle suggests that information be organized from “simple to complex” in order to ensure that the learner can properly process the information (van Merriënboer and Kester 116). Over the course of the twenty two episodes the information presented generally becomes more difficult. It is also essential that the learner comprehend, process, and store information from previous episodes before moving on to the next. The multimedia principle proposes “that learning is improved when text and pictures are presented [together] as compared with text alone” (van Merriënboer and Kester 124). When the dictionary appears during the episodes he reviews key vocabulary. The vocabulary is either presented on the screen in words or pictures and then he says the word aloud. This provides the learner the opportunity to see and hear the word. Finally, the self-pacing principle suggests that if learners have “control of the pace of instruction” it may lead to a deeper understanding of the information (van Merriënboer and Kester 126). As mentioned previously the learner has the ability to control the pace of the instruction.
Unfortunately, Mi Vida Loca also violates numerous design principles. The split attention effect “occurs when learners are required to split their attention between and mentally integrate several sources of physically or temporally disparate information” (Ayers and Sweller 206). The main goal of the series is to immerse the learner in an authentic language environment. The focus should therefore be on learners listening and comprehending the language. However, on the bottom of the screen the learners have the option to read subtitles in both English and Spanish[3]. The program is designed so that the English subtitles automatically appear. A learner could unclick the English subtitles if they wanted to focus on only hearing the language. When a learner leaves the English subtitles on the screen they are forced to split their attention between the episode itself and the text below. Instead of listening to the characters they are reading the text. In addition, this feature allows many students to “game the system” (Renkl 400). The learners have found a way to make learning “easier” but not meaningful. Students can also “game the system” by simply clicking the next button. The program does not require you to complete the task suggested by the dictionary before hitting the next button. A learner can hit the next button whenever they want and thus miss out on essential knowledge.
The series also violates the coherence principle and the expertise reversal principle. The coherence principle proposes that “seductive details such as background music and nonessential video clips [should be] excluded from a training program” (van Merriënboer and Kester 125). The video series uses music to engage the learners during each episode. An example of the music can be heard on the home page. The music often distracts students from essential information. They often become too wrapped up in the mystery of the story that they forget to attend to the key information and vocabulary. The series is used by many Spanish learners in addition to their assigned course work and its primary focus is to help learners hear and speak the language. Since it is used in addition to other resources there a parts of the series that demonstrate the expertise reversal principle. The expertise reversal principle states that learning should “depend on the expertise (or prior knowledge) of the learner...” (Kalyuga 578). Some of the material introduced in later issues is typically introduced the first few weeks of a Spanish I class. For example, episode seven introduces times and days, episode fifteen introduces months and episode twenty one introduces weather. The episodes contain information other than what is listed on the titles but expert learners often become disinterested and lose their focus during them. This causes them to miss out on vital information.
If asked to re-design this series each episode would be accompanied by a required pre-training exercise and a comprehension check. Students would engage in the pre-training exercise before watching the episode. This would guarantee that learners had the necessary pre-requisite information before viewing the episode. Learners would not be able to open the actual episode until they successfully completed the pre-training exercise. Next, learners would engage in a comprehension check. Successful completion of the comprehension check would be required before moving on to the next episode. In addition, within each component students would still have the ability to self-regulate but would not be allowed to go on to the next segment before successfully completing the previous one. Also, to help students focus their attention on the essential information I would remove the subtitles at the bottom of the page. This will allow the learners focus only on listening and repeating key vocabulary.
Overall, in my opinion, Mi Vida Loca is a great resource for any beginning Spanish student. It is the only free program I know of that provides the learner an opportunity to be immersed in an authentic interactive learning environment. This idea of a real world environment is supported by the physical-fidelity principle (van Merriënboer and Kester 120). However, in terms of cognitive theories and principles this series is poorly designed. The website was designed with theories and principles in mind but it fails to organize or sequence them in a way that best suits the learner. As mentioned previously the website allows the learner to “game the system.” There are too many opportunities for the learner to simply click the next button without experiencing meaningful learning. It also provides learners with the necessary prior vocabulary and grammar knowledge but does not require that learners engage with it before watching the video. Finally, if the main goal is for learners to be engaged with the language then the subtitles at the bottom of the screen make it difficult for the learner to attend the essential information.
Works Cited
Ayres, P & Sweller, J. (2014) The split-attention principle in multimedia Learning. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.),The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. (pp. 206-226). New York: Cambridge.
(e.g. Chapter 8)
Kalyuga, S. (2014) The expertise reversal principle in multimedia learning. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. (pp. 576-597). New York: Cambridge.
(e.g. Chapter 24)
Mayer, R.E. & Pilegard C. (2014) Principles for managing essential processing in multimedia learning: segmenting, pre-training, and modality principles. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. (pp. 316-344). New York: Cambridge.
(e.g. Chapter 13)
van Merriënboer, J. J., & Kester, L. (2014). The four-component instructional design model: Multimedia principles in environments for complex learning. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. (pp. 104-148). New York: Cambridge.
(e.g. Chapter 5)
Renkl, A. (2014). The worked examples principle in multimedia learning. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. (pp. 391-412). New York: Cambridge.
(e.g. Chapter 16)
[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/syllabus.shtml
[2] http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/ep01_pb.shtml
[3] http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/ep01.shtml