EXPOSITORY REFLECTIONS

Research question

1.-How could Digital Media improve students experience in the classroom to reduce the

dropout rates at schools?

2.-Does the lack of visual stimulation affect the students motivation?

3.-Do students show improvement in their classes when they are presented to multimedia

educational methods?

4.-Why do some professors stand against the inclusion of new technologies in class?

Exploring the potential role of visual reasoning tasks

among inexperienced solvers

According to Natsheh and Karsenty, students and teachers that are not directly related

with visual interactions in their study fields dont notice the importance of visual reasoning. This

was discovered by making studies on twelve students and ten teachers where they make the test

subjects use different methods from the conceptual processes they are used to work with to get

them out of their usual way of thinking. By making this the researchers could analyze the

responses of each student and teacher to observe the differences. This was made with a construct

named visual inferential conceptual reasoning. The Authors believe that in fields such as

mathematics and calculus, students and teachers do not find necessary the use of images or visual

reasoning because they are not comfortable using visual methods and rather stay on the

conceptual side, but this research showed that even though some participants were not

comfortable at the beginning, they eventually developed new solutions. This shows that once the

students and professors get out of their comfort zone they start experiencing new ways of

teaching and learning that work for them.

 The Effect of Visual Variability on the Learning of Academic Concepts

Bourgoyne and Alt claim that the experience a person has in an area affects drastically

the way he or she perceives information. Novices tend to find it more difficult to identify

conceptual features that are a key to understand better a subject, while experts on the area,

having already an increased experience, get all the important much rapidly. Implementing

learning principles based on the way each person finds it easier to learn will be helpful for the

students that find it more difficult to learn and understand concepts. The authors explain that

most teaching methods used today dont pay enough attention to how each person has their own

way of learning things more rapidly, but implicit learning, which is the method they are

analyzing, will make learning much easier.

A Picture is Worth What? Using Visual Images to Enhance Classroom Engagement

According to Ulbig, students tend to process information more effectively when they find

interesting what they are learning and the way it is being taught. One of the issues that professors

face most frequently is teaching subjects that are not related to what the students are interested in

learning, so keeping the engaged becomes a challenge, because students do not feel motivated to

enjoy the course, all of this over the fact that students tend to feel isolated when they are not

receiving proper attention from their professors, especially when they are in courses with a large

number of students. To help students develop interest in these courses there are studies that have

shown that including visual stimulation in class can enhance the learning experience in the

classroom. The author mentions that including multimedia educational methods increases the

students motivation and makes it easier to present information because using different methods

and elements leads to a complete different experience.

 Exploring Effects of Media Type and Delivery Technology on Facilitating Critical

Thinking Among College Students

According to the authors of this article, developing a proper critical thinking requires a

vast knowledge about a certain area and deep learning. Having the ability to make deductive

reasonings leads to making better choices when choosing arguments, which helps keeping the

credibility of the person intact. In order to develop this critical thinking, the use of media and

technology is being promoted to help students approach this goal. Although text-based teaching

is effective, studies have shown that including videos and the use of tablets and personal

computers leads to a greater learning behavior from students in different stages of learning. The

authors mention that the including of these devices in different courses showed a great

improvement motivation from students and engages them into the learning process.

Digital natives and digital media in the college classroom: assignment design and

impacts on student learning

Watson and Pecchioni claim that many professors find it hard to adapt their educational

methods to the new technology that is rapidly getting included in students everyday life. Even

though multimedia methodologies have shown to be great tools for teaching and helping students

getting engaged in their courses, there are still doubts about its effectiveness coming from

traditional educators that do not trust these methods. Educators face the great challenge of

experimenting different methods to incorporate these technologies in their classrooms with the

intention of motivating students and improving their experience in class. The authors mention

that although these technologies have long been included in classrooms, most of the assignments

that students get done are oral or written, and that persuading students into using these

technologies themselves could improve their learning experience.

 El problema del lenguaje, la realidad y la ficcin en los medios audiovisuales y su

incidencia en la educacin

According to Rossi, the digitalization of information turns reality into a different concept

and changes the original idea. This derealization is what makes educators doubt about the

effectiveness of multimedia educational methods, and makes them rely mostly on a more

traditional teaching. New technologies are having a great impact in sensibility and critical

thinking, and the way students perceive reality and even though these technologies can be of

great help in classrooms, one must be careful about the way they sometimes distortion reality.

Rossi also mentions that going back to the traditional way of teaching is no longer an option, and

educators must appropriate of these new technologies to renovate the way students think and

learn.

The Flying Man: The Power of Visual Media in Social Education

Pearcy claims that the media and art based on a traditional method of education used by

educators helps students develop their own critical thinking. There are many researches about the

way films in classroom help students develop their skills on a critical scope and a wide

compilation of material to help educators help their students in many disciplines is available for

them to create a more pleasing learning experience. Films, video games and visual media play an

important role in the way students experience and perceive the world, and its important that

professors take advantage of this in their classrooms. Pearcy mentions that visual art can

sometimes also create obstacles, but also empowers students to become more critical, think

historically and analytically.

 References

Bourgoyne, Ashley, and Mary Alt. 2017. "The Effect of Visual Variability on the Learning of
Academic Concepts." Journal Of Speech, Language & Hearing Research 60, no. 6: 1568.
Complementary Index, EBSCOhost (accessed October 12, 2017).

Natsheh, Intisar, and Ronnie Karsenty. "Exploring the potential role of visual reasoning tasks
among inexperienced solvers." Zdm 46, no. 1 (February 2014): 109. Complementary
Index, EBSCOhost (accessed October 12, 2017).

Ulbig, Stacy G.1, ulbig@shsu.edu. 2010. "A Picture is Worth What? Using Visual Images to
Enhance Classroom Engagement." International Journal Of Instructional Media 37, no. 2:
185-200. Applied Science & Technology Source, EBSCOhost (accessed October 12,
2017).

Rossi, Mara Jos. 2010. "El problema del lenguaje, la realidad y la ficcin en los medios
audiovisuales y su incidencia en la educacin." Educacin, Lenguaje Y Sociedad 7, no. 7:
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PEARCY, MARK. 2015. "The Flying Man: The Power of Visual Media in Social Education."
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EBSCOhost (accessed October 24, 2017).

Watson, Joseph A., and Loretta L. Pecchioni. 2011. "Digital natives and digital media in the
college classroom: assignment design and impacts on student learning." Educational
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EBSCOhost (accessed October 27, 2017).

Reychav, Iris, Merrill Warkentin, and Roger McHaney. 2015. "Exploring Effects of Media Type
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