Appealing to Spatial and/or Naturalist Intelligences

When explaining complex concepts, especially in networking, I have found that the more multimedia the better. I always aim to appeal to as many students learning styles as possible. Below is an example of a Thinglink that takes an otherwise flat theory, like the OSI model, and presents it with different images and videos to help students. Spatial intelligence is the concept of being able to perceive and derive insight from visual data. The goal of this multimedia project was to take the theory of the open systems interconnect model and share various videos about the different parts of the model to help students visualize what is going on at each of the 7 layers. The image by itself is an example of taking a theory and presenting it in a multimedia way but with tools like Thinglink, we can take that a step further! 

In the figure below, you can see the path that information that we are presenting makes its way to the long-term memory. Utilizing the different levels of multimedia we are able to make this process even easier for the students. 

One of the key principles at play here is the redundancy principle and the segmenting principle of multimedia learning. Trying to understand the entirety of the OSI model can seem like a daunting task. To combat this we can use the two principles mentioned above. I can share this Thinglink in my classroom so my students can visualize the OSI model as I am explaining it during my lecture. By putting together a self-paced activity like this one, students are able to gain mastery of one level of the model before moving on. As an activity, I ask them to review the multimedia product so they can understand it more clearly and from a different viewpoint (the other videos that I share). Finally, my plan is to ask them to create their very own Thinglink and present it to the class so they get multiple passes at the information thus cementing its place in their long-term memory. 

When it comes to designing multimedia learning modules it's important that we take the work of Richard Mayer under advisement. Richard Mayers shares a few good assumptions such as the idea of limited capacity when it comes to long-term memory. When designing this product I made sure not to overwhelm the students with a ton of content and only focus on the important stuff. My goal was to give them just enough to work through at their own pace so they could have a good understanding of the content. Secondly, there is the assumption that students actively create their own models in their brains so they can process information in their long-term memory. It is our goal to help them build these models with our multimedia products. Finally, Mayer talks about how the words and pictures that we choose for instruction must be important and impactful. As I mentioned earlier, I, as the subject matter expert, have found what I believe is the best.