Static Multimedia Tutorial

Purpose:

The purpose of this tutorial is to assist current classroom teachers utilizing Schoology in learning how to import a pre-created resource in a group folder into a course they are teaching. This tutorial will show teachers, step-by-step how to locate the resource within their course, add due dates and grading categories to the assignment, and post the assignment for students to be able to access it for completion. The assumption made is that the teacher following this tutorial has already created a resource in a group folder or is accessing one created by a colleague. It is also assumed that the teacher has a basic understanding of the Schoology platform and how to interact with the site to complete the desired task.

Learning Outcomes:

1. The teacher will be able to import a group resource into a course in Schoology.

2. The teacher will be able to align due dates and grading categories to the assignment they have imported.

3. The teacher will be able to make any necessary edits to the assignment if required.

Tutorial:

The tutorial for importing a group resource into a Schoology course can be accessed HERE.

Multimedia & Contiguity Principles:

The multimedia principle states that people learn better from text and graphics than from text alone, which impacted how the tutorial I made was created through the combination of text for each step and a screenshot graphic of the steps needing to be followed at that time (Mayer & Clark, p.67). Mayer and Clark also assert that the pictures used in a multimedia presentation should not be an afterthought, they should be a meaningful part of the educational design (p. 70). In my presentation, I purposefully took screenshots with the available menus displayed and certain buttons and links that user will interact with highlighted by the cursor to assist the user in finding the desired area of the webpage and draw their sight and attention to the area of the site they will be working with. By doing this, the multimedia principle confirms that the integrated words and graphics will better allow the learner to grow their knowledge in working with Schoology and have better recall for the next time they need to import a group resource into their course(s).

The contiguity principle discusses the need for the text and graphic to be integrated so that the user does not have to move their eye sight and adjust their attention while viewing the tutorial. The thought behind this principle is that when a user has to adjust their attention to find text or graphics that accompany the other, more of the users limited capacity is being used up and therefore the transfer of information is not as great because more information is being stored in the working memory (p. 90). This tutorial also utilizes colored arrows to connect the section of text referencing a button or step the user will follow with the location of that button/menu on the screen so the user can quickly find what they need. The arrows help the reader to unconsciously allow their eyes to track from the text to the focal point they need on the website. Studies of eye tracking show that students who view integrated text and graphics, as provided in this tutorial, have greater engagement in making connections between the words and the graphics (p. 104).

The tutorial I created ties together the multimedia and contiguity principles by combining text and graphics through highlighted directions, colored arrows, and screenshots of the site as the user completes the step-by-step tutorial to import a group resource into a Schoology course.