Trends from SITT 2020 | Part 4 of 5: Multimodal, Multitasking
This entry is Part 4 of the 2020 Summer Institute on Teaching and Technology five-part blog series, which includes write-ups on (1) Equity & Accessibility, (2) Community & Connection, (3) Video, (4) Multimodal, Multitasking, and (5) Breakout Rooms.
Part 4. Multimodal, Multitasking
Shorter attention spans and constant multitasking are frequent topics when discussing perceptions of how many students in today’s world consume information. This is especially relevant in conversations about pedagogy and course design. As instructors, we must find a balance between asking our students not to multitask (e.g., multiple browsers and apps open, or devices displaying distracting notifications), while at the same time, understanding that the modes and manners in which we now deliver content are no longer linear, and that effective instruction may demand the use of several different modes.
The truth is that some scholars do suggest that attention spans are shorter than they used to be (Hicks, 2011; Anderson & Rainie, 2012), and the way many people absorb information, such as through news stories, articles, prose, and educational material, is changing. As consumers of news and media, we may be getting more accustomed to brief bursts of information or entertainment, such as list posts or short videos on mobile devices. Depending on what the consumer seeks, such as a student looking for an authentic promotional flyer for a foreign language course, or an instructor searching for a biology video breaking down the process of germination, both students and instructors can find mode and media types that are brief but well-suited for their teaching and learning goals.
Information is abundantly available in both audio and visual modes. Audio modes include voice capture like podcasts or phone recordings, while visual modes can include images or text. Additionally, combining both audio and visual is becoming more popular, with consumers seeking videos as a primary source of information and entertainment. Furthermore, in a world where technology-mediated communication (TMC) is increasingly the norm, the number of media types available to embed in communication is vast, including text, audio, images, and video, as well as animations, emojis, and GIFs.
Dr. Narine Yegiyan, UC Davis Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, uses the notion of foraging theory to illustrate the behavior of moving from source to source for gathering sustenance. In regards to how animals gather edible sustenance, foraging theory suggests that animals will stay on a patch of food (a source of sustenance) until they have depleted the patch of its supplies (food), and then switch to another patch. In the natural world, and metaphorically, how long we stay on a single patch depends on how far away it is and how much “food” is available. Dr. Yegiyan applies foraging theory to information processing because it reflects the behavior of those seeking information in a digital world, as the theory describes how the user makes decisions to move from one source of information to another. For example, a student (the consumer of information) will stay on a single source (TV, book, journal, news app, or video), as long as it provides new and relevant information.
“I think about patches of information as being sources (Google, newspapers, academic journals, videos, etc.) from which students can access information about your course material...now we have a multilayered fountain of ways to deliver your information.” - Dr. Yegiyan
Watch Dr. Yegiyan’s presentation “Applying foraging theory to on-line education design: The case of multitasking” to learn more about her application of this theory.
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The good news about the Internet is that it has everything, but this can also be bad news, when it comes to learning. At our fingertips, we are supplied with an astounding supply of information and sources of information. With these many modes concurrently supplying different types and lengths of information, it shouldn’t be surprising that our brains are becoming rewired to constantly bounce back and forth from patch to patch, searching for the one that is going to provide us the most and best information that we seek.Further, instructors are tasked with getting students to absorb new information; process, analyze, and think critically about it; as well as produce new ideas and apply the newly acquired knowledge. This is no easy feat, especially in an era saturated by shiny patches of quick bytes of data. Thus, this is why much of the conversation during the 2020 Summer Institute on Teaching and Technology (SITT) centered around how faculty can leverage this multitasking back-and-forth behavior, as well as the abundance of multimodal resources, in an intentional way to best support their learners. A few examples examined during SITT are listed below:
- Online news sources
News articles can be used for a multitude of reading and writing tasks, and for activities of different lengths and across various disciplines. Faculty can draw from credible national newspapers such as the New York Times or Wall Street Journal, or more local news sources such as the UC Davis News, Davis Enterprise, Sacramento Bee, and San Francisco Chronicle. Google News is also an easy way to get a collection of news stories catered to a student’s or instructor's preferences, specifically regarding the course topic, personal interests, and geographic location. Online news sources help learners stay up to date on current affairs, and gain content and linguistic comprehension through both audio and visual modes of news absorption.
- Polling
Polling during class is a fun and quick way to break up segments in a long lecture and activate engagement and discussion, with opportunities to ask students for their feedback about a particular course topic or preference for information delivery. Polls are often preferred for more sensitive subjects since they can be conducted anonymously. At no cost to UC Davis faculty are the video conferencing software Zoom that includes a polling feature, and the interactive video platform PlayPosit that includes a polling question type. Also an effective polling tool, iClicker Cloud is now included in the Equitable Access program developed by UC Davis Stores.
- Images
Today instructors have access to photos, pop-culturally embellished images like memes, and super quick snippets of videos in loops or GIFs. The variety of images available to instructors allows them to provide authentic material to their students in a meaningful and memorable way, while also catering to learners who prefer visual content. For example, in a design drawing class, the instructor might show multiple pictures back-to-back to represent various drawing techniques like cross-hatching and stippling. In another example, a communications instructor may use a trending meme to discuss cultural appropriation or linguistic trends and language change. A visual representation of a concept is likely to remain with the learner longer than simply reading text, especially for a highly visual discipline like the arts. For two recent faculty presentations that involved drawing instruction and practice in remote settings, check out the summary and recording of the October DOLCE.
- Video (input)
Video is quickly becoming a common method for younger learners to consume information. Creating and integrating videos of various types and durations can reach a wide variety of learners across disciplines and learning styles. Some examples of video genres to include in university classes are TedTalks, documentaries, docuseries, news clips, fictional films, commercials, portions of full-length features, and discipline-specific educational videos. Centering a lesson around a video is an effective lesson planning strategy because the instructor could assign a short pre-video task (such as reading a worksheet individually then discussing it with peers), the video itself (audio and visual stimulation), and then a post-video activity (like a comprehension quiz or a class discussion).
*Pro tip - use AggieVideo as a starting place to find already-made content available for UC Davis faculty.
- Video (interactive)
Videos created using apps such as PlayPosit, which allows for built-in pauses and interactive quizzing, are a useful educational tool encompassing segmented visual and audio learning as well as student interaction with the content. Watching short spurts of video, while also reading and writing, creates a space for student engagement with multimodal, multitasking educational material.
- PowerPoint presentations
PowerPoint presentations do not have to be linear and one-sided (with the instructor lecturing for the entire class, supported by text-only slides). Faculty may use a traditional lecture-style PowerPoint, but they can easily add video, audio, and images to support the content, keeping students’ attention and offering a variety of information patches from which students can graze. Microsoft Office PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Prezi are all effective platforms to deliver information through interactive and multimedia presentations. *Pro tip - all UC Davis students have no-cost access to Microsoft Office 365, and a basic version of Prezi is available for free for students and educators.
- Chatting
Using the chat feature during a class lecture hosted in Zoom as a backchat channel can be a powerful way to encourage student interaction, such as asking and answering questions. In larger classes, it can be helpful for a lead TA to manage the chat, fielding questions in the moment or saving and organizing them for a Q&A segment of the class. Additionally, if faculty need students to access another source of information during lecture, such as video, form, or article, pasting the link in the chat allows students to easily copy and paste it into their browsers. Further, chat history is saved in Zoom and can allow students to go back and review questions and answers after class ends.
“We must focus on multitasking strategies and non-linear modes of deliverable content” - Dr. Narine Yegiyan
Multimodal patches of information are ample in today’s world, offering sources of educational material in the form of auditory and visual learning, and supporting a variety of learner preferences and skills. Shifting back and forth between multiple modes of communication and information, does not signal a fault with the student. Rather, we can view this behavior as an appealing and effective learning mode that will hold the attention and interest of our students.Any faculty member can invest the time and attention to developing lessons that effectively incorporate multimodal, multitasking learning experiences. Are you up to the challenge?
In the comments below, we invite you to share your thoughts on multimodal, multitasking teaching and learning strategies in the remote learning space.
Stay tuned for Part 5 of this blog series, Breakout Rooms!
Post Event Resources:
- Keep Teaching Student Resources
- Keep Teaching Faculty Webinars
- Center for Educational Effectiveness
- Email Instructionaldesign@ucdavis.edu for consulting and advice on how to implement instructional technologies in your specific UC Davis course.
- Find SITT snippets from Twitter by following @ucdaviswheel and @Lily_Jones20, using the hashtag #UCDavisSITT.
References
Anderson, J., & Rainie, L. (2012). Millennials will benefit and suffer due to their hyperconnected lives. Washington DC, Pew Research Center, 18.
Hicks, S. D. (2011). Technology in today's classroom: Are you a tech-savvy teacher?. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 84(5), 188-191.