Connection to Instructional-Design Models
The website http://www.coolmath.com/algebra/index.html connects to many of the instructional-design models we have previously discussed in this course.
Module 1, Kinds of Learning, defines the purpose of instructional and the jobs of instructional designers. The module states “that an instructional designer's job is to help everyone to learn and be successful” (Reigeluth, 1999). This being said, the website we have critiqued definitely helps everyone to learn and be successful with its vast “methods”, adding to a teacher’s “knowledge base” to help make good instruction for the students. This website supplies the teacher a different method to help students with their cognitive learning, supplying the learner with the means for all three levels of cognitive learning (memorization, understanding, and application).
Module 2 deals with invariant tasks, primarily a concept of memorization. While the website in question does deal with invariant tasks, it does not supply lists, but more of associations as you can associate different parts of Algebra to certain things. For example, if you see 25, you know that stands for 2x2x2x2x2. That would be an association. A principle for teaching invariant tasks, collectively known as "Drill and Practice Model of Instruction" (Reigeluth, 1999) involves presentation, practice, and feedback, all of which are found in the activities on http://www.coolmath.com/algebra/index.html.
Module 3 explains concept clarification and the nature of knowledge. The activities on this website would fall closely under productive (changes) and generalities (Reigeluth, 1999) since they deal with procedures and principles rather than one particular case. Students are able to complete all three levels for concepts as they memorize, understand, and apply the information.
Module 4 and procedure using can be seen via the mental procedures used when solving the problems using a “procedure” since there are certain ordered steps to take to achieve the correct answer. These are done both through branching procedures and linear procedures, depending on the problem and depending on the method of choice by the student. Practice, practice, practice is a great method of learning shown through this website.
Value of the Design
All of “Cool Math’s” websites, http://www.coolmath.com/algebra/index.html included are done to promote the visibility to students and to make it easy to access. This website has a black background with very bright colored fonts, including white, yellow, red, various blues, purple, etc. and transitions to white backgrounds, also with bright colored fonts. All colors are bright and vivid, making them easily seen and allowing them to “pop” off the page. In a study conducted Wichita State University (Chaparro, 2006), studies found that people preferred a sans serif type font for websites, which is what was used on this webpage. The font chosen for the page is a very basic, sans serif font that is easy to read, and even when there are shadowing techniques (like when numbering the lessons), they are done so that the text is still readable with no error.
As far as graphics, the website promotes Algebra and does not have extra, unnecessary graphics within its webpages. The only graphics that are on the page are the examples of Algebra problems within the lesson and an ad column to the right of the topics. Instead of graphics, the website uses a vast amount of text, providing links to activities and lessons using the perfect amount of text (not providing too much or too little with its lessons). According to Jakob Nielsen (Nielsen, 1997), only 16% of people read a webpage word-for-word, making the less amount of text more beneficial. It is clear to see when first opening the website that the focus is learning Algebra. The value of the design of this website is superb and is perfect for the use of helping students become a successful Algebra student.
Value of the Usability
When users click on lesson topic links, they will be directed to a page where learning objectives are displayed at the top. Learning objectives are clear and concise, maybe too brief, but are designed this way so they are suitable for students of that age. Directions to what users need to do are also clear, straight to the point and contain recognizable terms. For example, under Exponents: Lesson 2, there is the following problem:
“Can we add these guys? X2 + X3 No way, dude! Not like terms! So.. Can we multiply them?”
Words such as “guys” and “dude” make it appropriate for the targeted audience. Also, these types of directions prompt students to not only read, but also reflect about the questions asked and then work it out. The learning object provides active engagement because for most lessons it invites users to read and then write their problems out. Coolmath also provides students with math practice problems, games, dictionary, and puzzles to keep them actively engaged. All links in this website work perfectly and there is not a large amount of scrolling needed to get around the page. Olsen discusses these two issues as being responsible for a poor “balance in the visual and structural complexity in the interactive design” (Olsen, 2003). The only thing to note is that this website is a non-profit organization so the website relies heavily on ads. Since many ads are needed to keep this free project going there is small space for content and most content is divided into several web pages. According to Friedman (2008), applying borders, menus, and bullets to organize information makes it an intuitive resource. Provided with this definition, this webpage is intuitive with its organization of topics with borders, menus, and bullets. It is impossible to get confused with this website since the menu located at the top links to all the resources, including lessons, games, puzzles, dictionary, and others. Content is found in the middle of the page while support, if needed, can be found at the bottom of the page. This webpage even contains a title and a designated space for advertisement.Evaluation of the Credibility
Reviewing several of the topics and lessons offered for Algebra, the information appears to be accurate. The topics flow into several mini-topics after clicking the links, making it very maneuverable for students to find exactly what they were looking for regardless if using this site for tutorials or to get ahead.
The level of content provided for the audience was broad allowing for free range of this site for almost any user. Each mini-topic had an intro, examples, and extended learning opportunities color-coded with explained steps. This design allows the user to choose the difficulty of level needed.
The vibrant and eye-catching lessons were enjoyable and would definitely draw the attention of younger students (Chaparro, 2006). However, more consistency with the black background would have been a great addition; changing between black and white background tends to hurt the eyes (AgeLight LCC, 2001). The color-coded steps in the mathematical equations gave a great visual connection (Olsen, 2003). As far as the business portion of the website (About Us, Fair Use, etc), it was professional enough in keeping the theme of the website and explained opportunities in regards to classroom usage (Copyright Office, 2009).
One small grammatical error found on the homepage was: “Bored with Algebra?...What to get ahead in Algebra?” The highlighted word What should actually be Want in this question. Nevertheless, this grammatical error is minute in relation to the seven other websites ran by Coolmath and the thousands of pages of mathematical content.
The incredible, kid-at-heart, creator of Coolmath.com is Karen. The creator has a BA and MS in Mathematics from California State University along with 14 years of teaching experience at community college level teaching Algebra and K-8 math teacher training. Coolmath was “designed for the students who just need to get through this stuff so they can reach their academic goals” (Coolmath Algebra, 2012). Karen’s goal is to “change the world...one kid at a time.”
Incorporation of Learning Process
While investigating the tool http://www.coolmath.com, the lessons were clear in their instructional nature, format, design, and even independent practice. As far as the content standards for mathematics, they are not specifically stated. However, the site does post links to the national mathematics standards websites, which were difficult to find through the website. These were found at: http://www.coolmath4teachers.com/rules-curriculum-standards/curriculum-standards.html. Unlike other math help websites, like http://www.mathxl.com, this site does not have specific standards explicitly addressed and linked to its content. This is less than helpful when considering the site’s potential from a middle/high school math teacher’s perspective.
While the skill/objectives within each category are listed in a systematic way in order to help the student comprehend the information, they are not linked. This makes it hard to see if there is a scope or sequence for the objectives or if it is just a list.
There were opportunities for the students to practice each skill within each task/objective category, but they were not very engaging and the application only gave the answer. Since there was no explanation as to where the student faltered in their figuring, there is no way for the student to adjust their work and learn from mistakes. In mathematics especially, just because the answer is wrong does not mean the entire problem is wrong, and with this website that is the case.
If the objective is to rote teach a skill and have opportunities to practice the skill, then this object meets the objective. However, if the objective is to get the student to the higher levels of cognitive learning engagement (i.e. understanding and application), then it does not. According to Charles M. Reigeluth and http://www.indiana.edu/~idtheory/methods/m1d.html, “Too often we teach at the wrong level or test at the wrong level (inconsistent with our goals).” With the added rigor of statewide assessments, this tool can only be considered to help struggling students attain a level of cognitive skill that will allow them to complete specific tasks, not be able to use it in a real life situation.
References
AgeLight LCC (2001). Interface Design Guidelines for Users of All Ages. Retrieved from
http://www.agelight.com/webdocs/designguide.pdf
Chaparro, B. (2006). Perception of Fonts: Perceived Personality Traits and Uses. Software Usability Research Laboratory – Wichita State University. Retrieved from http://psychology.wichita.edu/surl/usabilitynews/81/PersonalityofFonts.asp
Coolmath algebra. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.coolmath.com/algebra/index.htmlCopyright Office, Library of Congress. (2009). Reproduction of copyrighted work by educators and
librarians. Retrieved from The Library of Congress website: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf
Friedman, V. (2008). 10 Principles of Effective Web Design. Smashing Magazine. Retrievedfrom http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/31/10-principles-of-effective-web-
design/
Nielsen, Jakob (1997). How Users Read on the Web. Retrieved from Olsen, H. (2003). Balancing visual and structural complexity in interaction design: How visual
simplicity can harm usability. The Interaction Designer’s Coffee Break. Retrieved from http://www.guuui.com/issues/04_03.php
Reigeluth, C. (1999). Basic Methods of Instruction. Instructional-Design Theories Site. Retrieved
Excllent detailed review!
ReplyDeleteFor me the hardest part of this assignment was keeping to the five page limit. There were some very detailed guidelines for writing, but the limit forced me to keep things as concise as possible. My rough draft was a page and a half double spaced and I had to cut out half the work to make it fit in the allotted space. After receiving feedback, I rewrote my entire section as I'd cut too much the first time.
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