9 Applying the Personalization Principle ELearning and the

9 | Applying the Personalization Principle E-Learning and the Science of Instruction | Clark & Mayer Tom Castagna, Cynthia Lipsig(Straw), Bradley Schoch, and Margaret (Megan) Tucker

Principle 1: Personalization in E-learning Hi! We are the MISTfits* and we are here to tell you about personalization in E-learning. *Not to be confused with the Misfits from the Island of Misfit Toys!

Conversational Style • Research has shown that conversation, rather than formal style is more effective for instructional delivery. You should use: • Active, not passive voice • Second person ("you" and "your" rather than "people") • friendly, polite voice • provide hints

Why use conversational style? • Increases active cognitive processing o You will work harder to understand a conversational partner rather than simply receiving information o Studies showed improved learning transfer Including social cues in your instructional message activates a social response in the learner. This increases active cognitive processing which leads to an increase in the quality of learning!

Ways To Promote Personalization • Research has shown increased learning with: o Voice Quality § § § Human voice rather than machine voice Standard accent rather than foreign accent Preliminary research leans toward female rather than male voice (but more research is needed). o Polite Speech § "Let's click ____" or "What about using _____? "

Principle 2: On-Screen Coaches On-screen coaches can be: • cartoon-like • video talking heads • virtual reality avatars Remember me? Clippy? I was an early pedalogical agent! On-screen coaches (or pedalogical agents) guide learners through the e-learning material. If you are interested in more information on pedalogical agents, see: http: //ldt. stanford. edu/~slater/pages/agents/main. htm

On-Screen Coaches: Considerations Preliminary research shows: • Better transfer of learning with On-Screen Coaches. • On-Screen Coaches do not need to look real, but there is evidence that they should behave in a human-like way. • On-Screen Coaches should sound real, using a conversational style, and using speech rather than text. • It is unproductive to include animations and images that have no instructional purpose. • Remember: do not overdo the personalization style and distract the learners! Sadly, I was universally hated because I was too distracting and annoying!

Principle 3: Visible Authors As opposed to formal instructional text, Elearning with visible authors: • • reveals information about the author reveals authors' opinions Tom: do you agree with Clark & Mayer, that visible authors increase student motivation? Yes, Bradley, because learners work harder when they feel they are in conversation with the author.

In Closing According to Clark, more research is needed to support the personalization principles. But preliminary research indicates the effectiveness of: • • Conversational content (including "you, I, we") Coaching from on-screen characters who exhibit human behaviors using audio narration Voice quality and script that are natural and conversational Visible authors who express their point of view or experience in ways that are relevant to course

Media Sources Slide 2 and 8 Retrieved on June 1, 2012 from http: //www. schcounselor. com/2010/12/rudolph-red-nosed-reindeer-and-bullying. html Slide 3 Retrieved on June 1, 2012 from http: //kuplramblings. blogspot. com/2011/12/rudolph-red-nosed-reindeer. html Slide 4 Retrieved on June 1, 2012 from http: //www. notsoraggedyacre. com/misfit. htm Slide 6 Retrieved on June 1, 2012 from http: //ohinternet. com/Clippy Slide 7 Retrieved on June 1, 2012 from http: //www. computerweekly. com/photostory/2240108594/Photos-The-7 -sins-Microsofts-worstinventions-ever/3/Microsoft-Clippy-Looks-like-you-are-trying-to-annoy-me Slide 8 Retrieved on June 1, 2012 from http: //exquisitelyboredinnacogdoches. blogspot. com/2009/12/island-of-misfit-toys. html