ADDITIONAL
NOTES:
P REPARATION
AND E VALUATION OF I NSTRUCTIONAL M ATERIALS
What is in this course? Selecting your instructional material Guidelines to consider in selecting, preparing and using instructional materials Tips for teachers in preparing, using and developing instructional materials Other definition of instructional material These are materials that are use to aid in the transference of information from one to another. • These instructional materials could include power point presentations (visual aids), oo!s, • articles, materials for pro"ect development. #ontent that conveys the essential !nowledge and s!ills of a su"ect in the school curriculum • through a medium or a comination comination of media for conveying conveying information to a student. student. The term includes a oo!, supplementary materials, a comination of a oo!, wor!oo!, and supplementary materials, computer software, magnetic media, $%$, #$&'O, computer courseware, on&line services, or an electronic medium, or other means of conveying information to the student or otherwise contriuting to the learning process through electronic means, including open&source instructional material 'O*S O+ -ST'#TO-/ /T*'/S ass nstruction, ndividuali0ed earning, Group earning $elivery vehicles for instructional lessons or in a constructivist way as partners in the learning process. t helps the learner uild more meaningful personal interpretations of life and his1her world. Serves as a medium in representing what the learner !nows and what he1she is learning. s are made to comply with the following re2uirements3 o o o o o o
+unctional 4iotechnological /esthetic *conomic Safety 5ygienic 'e2uirements
sing chal! or mar!er oard
6eep it clean Write or draw large enough for everyone in the group to see. se colored chal! or mar!er for emphasis. se a pointer when appropriate. *rase all irrelevant material. Stand to one side of the oard to avoid hiding the essential information.
sing and *valuating The 7roper se of aterials 7& prepare yourself (!now the lesson o"ective1s) 7& prepare your student (set class e8pectations 9 learning goals)
7& present the material (rehearse and carefully planned performance) +& follow up (it is mean to an end) *ducators are generally well versed in managing content, and it is li!ely that instructional materials will reach their production stage with the content issues clarified 5owever, there are production issues that have to e considered for their educational impact on any material. These are illustration, the relationship of illustration to words, and colour, particularly in the printing process. Wat Illustrations are !est"
The following guidelines apply to instructional material for participants who may not have a high level of visual or pictorial literacy3 • • • • •
/void pictures with depth. There should e a moderate amount of detail. *liminate ac!ground and unnecessary detail. The important o"ects should have enrichment of detail3 te8ture, gradients of te8ture, shading, etc. 7ortrayal should e realistic, no impressionism or e8pressionism.
The following are ran!ed in order of usefulness3 •
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loc!ed&out photographs (photographs with the ac!ground eliminated). They provide good contrast, realistic cues and details for identification of the o"ects portrayed, and the neutral ac!ground eliminates distracting details photographs silhouettes line drawings, especially in the form of diagrams or cartoons, are visual shorthand impoverished of all details
7ictures can e more e8pressive and informative using some features of *gyptian art. That is, drawing in two dimensions rather than using perspective to create three&dimensional effects. Other tips include the following3 • • • •
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se consistent physiognomy, clothing, comple8ion, etc. in depicting people. /ction should e simplified. 4ehaviour should e depicted in accordance with the viewers: and not the producer:s traditions. 7ictures of people and places should e relevant to daily life and environment for proper recognition (e in the correct cultural conte8t). #olours and shapes must e carefully chosen ecause of symolic meanings attriuted to colours and shapes which can distort the intended meaning. *specially the use of colours in the conte8t of an election as some colours may e associated with political parties. The use of symols, themselves, can also e tric!y and ma y e est avoided.
Illustrations #ersus Wor$s
llustrations are interesting in their own right, compared with words that are not particularly interesting as things in themselves & it is the ideas conveyed y the words that matter. Thus, illustrations may attract or distract the reader. •
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llustrations are good for conveying concrete images and providing support material when teaching a concept, as a way of avoiding technical "argon, and for conveying visual and spatial concepts (e.g. relative si0e of o"ects). Words are good for conveying astract ideas and for communicating concepts that have already een learned and for conveying propositional concepts. llustrations and diagrams are good for conveying ideas that have to e considered simultaneously. They allow learners to ma!e multiple discriminations easily. Words are possily etter for conveying ideas that have to e treated se2uentially when the order in which the ideas are encountered is critical (a poem or set of instructions) though cartoon strips are useful for instruction. The positioning of illustrations is very i mportant and should e tested if necessary. 7ictures should not e used when the information can e readily conveyed in words. &dimensional representations of three&dimensional o"ects cause some difficulty in some cultures. Translation of time into space includes learned conventions3 authors must either teach the code or e sure readers !now it. (This is a crucial point in teaching the mechanics of voting). llustrations of a process involving separate steps or actions should have at least as man y individual pictures or frames as there are main steps or actions. llustrations of things (especially line drawings) are more easily rememered than their names. llustrations are usually etter with captions. aelling of illustrations aids classification and helps long term recall. Simple line drawings are est for instructional material particularly for signifying general concepts (a stic! figure ;man;), while highly detailed illustrations can e used for particular concepts (;a foreign election monitor;). 7eople are attracted y relative comple8ity and change. 4eware of prolems of amiguity, literal or figurative meaning, depth cues, action, changes in scale, etc., especially for illiterate people. 'eading illustrations, tales, diagrams, graphs and symols has to e taught. 7eople have to learn to interpret the conventions of illustrations in much the same way as they have to learn to read. /uthors and designers must therefore have !nowledge of the ac!ground e8perience of their potential readers. 7lace diagrams and illustrations where readers will see them and r epeat them if necessary.
Colour
n some cases, colour may e unnecessary and can cause prolems. Some points to consider are3 •
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$o not use too many colours or too few (e.g. when using it to depict or represent several functions). #olour codes must e understood and these are culturally constructed although there appears to e some more universal constructs. <.= percent of all men and >.= percent of women are colour lind. f the material refers to a colour, it should have a name in the language of the learner. se the general name of colours as opposed to colour variations that may not e very popular (for instance, purple is more popularly !nown than lilac)
Colours an$ Printin%
The following happens with certain colours when printed3 • • •
7ale colours are almost invisile for words or fine lines. $ar! colours appear almost lac! for words or fine lines. 4right colours da00le for words or fine lines.
+or contrast, lac! on white is est. egiility of printed te8t suffers on coloured paper or when used over illustrations or photographs. Strong colours or lac! and white patterns distract if too close to te8t. aterials producers should allow for what will happen to the page if it is photocopied, unless they are ale to control whether it is copied or not. *ducational materials are li!ely to e copied, and it may e that this will e encouraged to e8tend their usefulness and range of distriution.
General Suggestions for Developing/Evaluating Instructional Materials /) a!e it #oncrete i. illustrate astract concepts ii. use active vers iii. include e8amples 4) #ontrol the Step Si0e i. use consistent terminology throughout the material ii. ma!e e8plicit references to what has already een learned iii. consider learner characteristics when planning for step si0e #) se /ppropriate 7acing i. include an appropriate numer of e8amples or e8ercises with each idea $) aintain #onsistency i. terms (e.g., inde8 vs. dataase, "ournal vs. maga0ine) ii. spelling *) se #ues i. o"ectives ii. overviews iii. headings iv. type face v. layout Source: Morrison& Ross& ' (em) *+,,-.
Criteria /or E#aluatin% We01!ase$ Instructional Materials •
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The instructional design is pedagogically effective, i.e. it teaches well according to the scope and stated learning o"ectives The technology used to create the material enhances the learning e8perience This material provides instruction using technology in an innovative manner The content and language of the material are clear and effective /ll information included within the material is accurate Organi0ation of the material is clear and easy to use This material demonstrates uni2ue or creative use of graphics, e8amples, interactive elements such as programmed feedac! and fle8ile learning paths
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This material is relevant to those outside of the developers institution ecause it presents a model for other developers Source: PRIMO: Peer1Re#ie2e$ Instructional Materials Online Selection C riteria *+,,3.
