Learners' Cognitive Load When Using Educational Technology

2010 ◽  
pp. 169-188
Author(s):  
Renae Low ◽  
Putai Jin ◽  
John Sweller
Keyword(s):  
Educational Technology ◽  
Instructional Design ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Human Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Secondary Information

Taking advantage of the rapid evolution of educational technology, simulations and games have been embodied in a variety of teaching and learning procedures. To a large extent, their effectiveness, in common with the effectiveness of all instructional design relies on how material and activities are optimally organized. That organization should be determined by the nature of human cognitive architecture when dealing with complex, biologically secondary information. Cognitive load theory has been devised to deal with such knowledge. Therefore, embodied simulations and serious games should take evidence-based cognitive load principles into account in both design and implementation.

Learners’ Cognitive Load When Using Educational Technology

2011 ◽  
pp. 1787-1806
Author(s):  
Renae Low ◽  
Putai Jin ◽  
John Sweller
Keyword(s):  
Educational Technology ◽  
Instructional Design ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Human Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Secondary Information

Taking advantage of the rapid evolution of educational technology, simulations and games have been embodied in a variety of teaching and learning procedures. To a large extent, their effectiveness, in common with the effectiveness of all instructional design relies on how material and activities are optimally organized. That organization should be determined by the nature of human cognitive architecture when dealing with complex, biologically secondary information. Cognitive load theory has been devised to deal with such knowledge. Therefore, embodied simulations and serious games should take evidence-based cognitive load principles into account in both design and implementation.

Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design in a Multimedia Context

2009 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renae Low
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Design ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Cognitive Load Theory ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
The Core ◽  
Load Theory ◽  
Human Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Natural Information

Our knowledge of human cognitive architecture has advanced dramatically in the last few decades. In turn, that knowledge has implications for instructional design in multimedia contexts. In this chapter, we will analyse human cognitive architecture within an evolutionary framework. That framework can be used as a base for cognitive load theory that uses human cognitive architecture to provide testable hypotheses concerning instructional design issues. Human cognition can be characterised as a natural information processing system. The core of such systems can be described using 5 principles: (a) information store principle, (b) borrowing principle and reorganizing principle, (c) randomness as genesis principle, (d) narrow limits of change principle, and (e) environment organizing and linking principle. These 5 principles lead directly to the instructional effects generated by cognitive load theory. Some of these effects are concerned with multimedia learning. The particular ones discussed in the chapter are the split-attention, modality, redundancy, element interactivity, and expertise reversal effects.

Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design in a Multimedia Context

2011 ◽  
pp. 496-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renae Low
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Design ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Cognitive Load Theory ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Processing System ◽  
Human Cognition ◽  
The Core ◽  
Load Theory ◽  
Human Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Natural Information

Our knowledge of human cognitive architecture has advanced dramatically in the last few decades. In turn, that knowledge has implications for instructional design in multimedia contexts. In this chapter, we will analyse human cognitive architecture within an evolutionary framework. That framework can be used as a base for cognitive load theory that uses human cognitive architecture to provide testable hypotheses concerning instructional design issues. Human cognition can be characterised as a natural information processing system. The core of such systems can be described using 5 principles: (a) information store principle, (b) borrowing principle and reorganizing principle, (c) randomness as genesis principle, (d) narrow limits of change principle, and (e) environment organizing and linking principle. These 5 principles lead directly to the instructional effects generated by cognitive load theory. Some of these effects are concerned with multimedia learning. The particular ones discussed in the chapter are the split-attention, modality, redundancy, element interactivity, and expertise reversal effects.

Instructional Design in Digital Environments and Availability of Mental Resources

2013 ◽  
pp. 81-104
Author(s):  
Renae Low ◽  
Putai Jin ◽  
John Sweller
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Design ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Human Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Digital Environments ◽  
Welfare Workers ◽  
Mental Resources

In this digital era, the gap between the elderly and younger generations in their use of computer-based technology is wide, and many researchers in behavioural and social sciences, along with educators, welfare workers, and policy makers, are concerned about this disturbing phenomenon. However, it is not clear whether this discrepancy is due to a lack of previous access to information technology or declining mental ability in the course of aging. The purpose of this chapter is to consider the aged subpopulation’s needs and their ability to use digital technology from the perspectives of human cognitive architecture and the principles of instructional design guided by cognitive load theory. The authors focus on the following critical issues: a) the evolution and formation of human cognitive architecture, b) cognitive functioning as influenced by aging, c) compatibility between elderly people’s available mental resources and the cognitive requirements of digital equipment, and d) guidelines for human-computer multimedia interactions derived from the accumulated experimental evidence on effective instructional design and delivery.

Understanding Cognitive Processes in Educational Hypermedia

2006 ◽  
pp. 648-651
Author(s):  
Patricia M. Boechler
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Instructional Design ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Cognitive Load Theory ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Load Theory ◽  
Educational Hypermedia

Cognitive load theory (CLT) is currently the most prominent cognitive theory pertaining to instructional design and is referred to in numerous empirical articles in the educational literature (for example, Brünken, Plass, & Leutner, 2003; Chandler & Sweller, 1991; Paas, Tuovinen, Tabbers, & Van Gerven, 2003; Sweller, van Merri¸nboer, & Paas, 1998). CLT was developed to assist educators in designing optimal presentations of information to encourage learning. CLT has also been extended and applied to the design of educational hypermedia and multimedia (Mayer & Moreno, 2003). The theory is built around the idea that the human cognitive architecture has inherent limitations related to capacity, in particular, the limitations of human working memory. As Sweller et al. (pp. 252-253) state: The implications of working memory limitations on instructional design cannot be overstated. All conscious cognitive activity learners engage in occurs in a structure whose limitations seem to preclude all but the most basic processes. Anything beyond the simplest cognitive activities appear to overwhelm working memory. Prima facie, any instructional design that flouts or merely ignores working memory limitations inevitably is deficient. It is this factor that provides a central claim to cognitive load theory. In order to understand the full implications of cognitive load theory, an overview of the human memory system is necessary.

scholarly journals Collaboration, collation, and competition: Crowdsourcing a directory of educational technology tools for teaching and learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 41-55
Author(s):  
Enda Donlon ◽  
Eamon Costello ◽  
Mark Brown
Keyword(s):  
Educational Technology ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Project Design ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Technology Tools ◽  
The Republic ◽  
One Year ◽  
Geographical Locations

This paper reports on a distinctive one-year online open crowdsourcing initiative which originated in the Republic of Ireland with a view to compiling an A–Z directory of educational technology tools for teaching and learning. Through analysis of multiple sources of data, the paper presents an intrinsic case study which outlines the design and implementation of the initiative and offers critical insights into engagement and participation in the project. The study found that participants from across the spectrum of educational sectors contributed to this project from a range of geographical locations, with significantly greater numbers engaging with the directory of educational technology tools that resulted from the crowdsourcing activity. It concludes that the creative project design, combined with a novel crowdsourcing methodology encompassing elements of collaboration, competition, and gamification, were strong motivational factors for participation. The case study provides a valuable context for considering the wider potential of this particular crowdsourcing format (and crowdsourcing applications in general) for teaching and learning purposes.

Understanding Cognitive Processes in Educational Hypermedia

2011 ◽  
pp. 3280-3284
Author(s):  
P. M. Boechler
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Instructional Design ◽  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Cognitive Load Theory ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Cognitive Activity ◽  
Human Memory ◽  
Load Theory ◽  
Educational Hypermedia

Cognitive load theory (CLT) is currently the most prominent cognitive theory pertaining to instructional design and is referred to in numerous empirical articles in the educational literature (for example, Brünken, Plass, & Leutner, 2003; Chandler & Sweller, 1991; Paas, Tuovinen, Tabbers, & Van Gerven, 2003; Sweller, van Merri¸nboer, & Paas, 1998). CLT was developed to assist educators in designing optimal presentations of information to encourage learning. CLT has also been extended and applied to the design of educational hypermedia and multimedia (Mayer & Moreno, 2003). The theory is built around the idea that the human cognitive architecture has inherent limitations related to capacity, in particular, the limitations of human working memory. As Sweller et al. (pp. 252-253) state: The implications of working memory limitations on instructional design cannot be overstated. All conscious cognitive activity learners engage in occurs in a structure whose limitations seem to preclude all but the most basic processes. Anything beyond the simplest cognitive activities appear to overwhelm working memory. Prima facie, any instructional design that flouts or merely ignores working memory limitations inevitably is deficient. It is this factor that provides a central claim to cognitive load theory. In order to understand the full implications of cognitive load theory, an overview of the human memory system is necessary.

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