For the purpose of this multimedia critique I chose to review the website BrainPopJr. (https://jr.brainpop.com/), which is geared for grades K-3 and used by many elementary schools throughout the nation. This website is recognized as a valuable resource and currently is available through DISCUS, a resource provided by the SC State Library. BrainPopJr. is a subscription based website, however, there is also a free movie of the week option as well that many parents utilize. The site utilizes videos on various topics to provide instruction along with an easy and hard quiz to check for understanding. The quizzes can be printed or taken online with oral administration as a self-checking quiz. There are games, graphic organizers, and links to other related topics. The main characters are Moby, a robot, and Annie, a young student. BrainPopJr. covers Science, Health, Reading and Writing, Social Studies, Math and Arts and Technology. A bonus for teachers is that it has the option to search for movies by the standards the teacher is addressing. When looking at the website with students in mind, there are several features that make it an excellent multimedia source for students. The first feature that I would like to look at is the familiar, real world situations that Moby and Annie deal with. In dual code theory according to Clark and Paivio (Clark 1991), imagery processing is affected by instructions, the value of the material being studied, and the ability and tendency to use imagery (Clark, 1991, pp. 155-156). The real world situations that Moby and Annie face give value to the material that is being studied. It allows the students to imagine themselves in similar situations. The dual-coding explanation for the effect imagery has on learning states that the use of imagery and verbal codes combined is better than using verbal code along (Clark, 1991, p. 165). The second feature is the graphics and audio; both are of excellent quality. The movies have the capability to be close captioned so that emerging readers can read along with movie. All questions/text can also be read aloud by hovering over the text which is also of aide to emerging/struggling readers. The Dual-Coding Theory of Multimedia Learning refers to students using more than one sense modality to learn new concepts (Mayer, 1994, p. 390). Research supports the idea that presenting text and illustrations together positively affects student learning (Mayer, 1994, p. 389). According to Clark and Paivio’s look at dual coding theory, students will make mental representations that are connected to nonverbal and verbal symbolic nodes and that they retain properties of the events they are based on (Clark, 1991, p. 151). Research has also shown that students learn better when text and illustrations are presented next to each rather than separately in textbooks and when using computer generated lessons, that presenting the animations and narrations simultaneously rather than one after another is more beneficial (Myer, 1994, p. 391). Having the graphics and audio both offer students properties to make connections to. The third feature is how the movies will review vocabulary previously learned and will help students to learn new vocabulary by having it written on the ‘notebook’ to the side of the movie. Essential questions are also written here as well so that students can key into them. According to the direct initial instruction principle of cognitive load theory, instruction that gives direct explanations and guidance by using worked out examples will give students a model to refer to until they are able to move the information into their long term memory. This is more effective than students trying to problem solve on their own. (Kalyuga, 2010, p. 57). Having the vocabulary reviewed and explained along with examples, in addition to the modeling that Annie gives, helps gives students a reference to refer to until they are able to move the instruction from their short-term memory to their long-term memory. When considering the type of cognitive load most students would face when receiving instruction through BrainPopJr., extraneous cognitive load is at a minimum based on Kalyuga’s view (Kalyuaga, 2010, p. 54). The intrinsic cognitive load experienced as learners build connections between information given by Moby and Annie and new knowledge in their working memory should not be overly taxing at the level that this material is delivered. In my personal experience, my students love to use BrainPopJr as both an initial form of instruction and as a review. The site is easy enough for my second through fifth graders to maneuver and they ask frequently to use it. I enjoy the quiz feature as it gives me a quick and easy way to gauge the understanding of the concepts presented by my students. If asked to redesign the website, the only change that I would make is to simplify the initial page so that it is not as cluttered with the games, draw about it, write about it, pop a joke and other buttons and so that it is not as distracting to my youngest students.
References Clark, J.M., & Paivio, A. (1991). Dual coding theory and education. Educational Psychology Review, 3, 149-210. Kalyuga, S. (2010). Schema acquisition and sources of cognitive load. In J.L. Plass, R. Moreno, & R. Brünken, Cognitive Load Theory (pp. 48-64). New York: Cambridge. Mayer, R.E., Sims, V.K. (1994). For whom is a picture worth a thousand words? Extensions of a dual-coding theory of multimedia learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 86, 389-401.