Enhancing educational software with audio: assigning structural and functional attributes from the SSF model

Abstract

Forty-five years of intuitive combinations of audio-visual information have produced only mixed results. This paper proposes a conceptual, case-based method for adding audio to software. This method, unlike the intuitive approach, requires the researcher to assign structural and functional attributes from the SSF Model to specific software activities.

Focusing Attention with Temporal Sound

“…This fmding supported the results of Unit 1 in a previous study (Mann, 1995(Mann, , 1993, and the assumption that temporal sound affected attention to critical information. The results on the highlights data indicated that the positive fmding in that previous study may be related to achievement in Unit 1.…”

“…The integration of clues with personal experience to create responses defines a crucial tenet of generative learning, a central concept of Wittrock's (1992) functional model, and of constructivist learning from educational software (Jonassen, 1991;Reigeluth, 1991;Salomon, Globerson, & Guterman, 1989;Scardamalia, Bereiter, McLean, Swallow, & Woodruff, 1989;Tobias, 1991;Winn, 1991). This view is consistent with current constructivist theory about learning with computer-based speech (Higginbotham-Wheat, 1991;Loughner, 1987;Mann, 1992Mann, , 1993Mann, , 1995. The fourth factor that seemed to affect the conclusions was that elaboration was used by the learners to generate relations.…”

“…Sounc subjects tended to adopt the first strategy while text and sound/text subjects adopted the second. Results on the highlights data indicated that the positive finding in a previous study (Mann, 1993(Mann, , 1995 may be related to achievement in Unit 1. The highlights results also confirmed previous studies (Halliday, 1987;Hildyard & Olson, 1982) that reported that listeners tended to process information largely at the level of meaning (or highlights) rather than at the word level (or details).…”

“…Under casual inspection, the positive results from sound in a previous study (Mann, 1993(Mann, , 1995 could be attributed to this seemingly "mindless use of information" by the sound groups. An alternative, more likely, interpretation was that the equivalent of "scanning the text" and of "initial access" raised the segments in this category.…”

“…Unit 1 from a three-unit computer program (Mann, 1995(Mann, , 1993 was used in this study with a new sample of inservice educators. The content was Richey's ( 1986) conceptual model of instructional design.…”