Message Design for High school instructors

1. Message Design for High school instructors Mary Kobusingye

2. Definitions • Instructional message design refers to the manipulation and planning of signs and symbols with the purpose of modifying behavior in cognitive affective and psychomotor instructional domains • Media has been defined by as a carrier of messages from the transmitting source to the receiver of the message

3. Why Instructional message design • Improve student learning • Improve readability • Decrease student questions http://www.slideshare.net/plowenthal/instructional-message-design

4. Designing instructional materials Consider these factors while creating instructional materials : • Text considerations • Typographical factors • Make text easy to understand • Text navigation • Use of rich media

5. Topographical factors • Use color appropriately • Use consistent spacing and reference areas not to confuse the reader • Page sizes must enable readers scan ,read and focus on fine details • Use standard type faces that are easy to read, capital letters and italics might impair reading • Use simple tables and graphs

6. Navigating text • Itemizing lists: skeleton outlines for each chapter, use headings, glossary for new technical terms • Numbers clarify a structure of a piece of text • Use signals as they emphasize organization of passage • Short chapters and short paragraphs within them make reading easier • Use short sentences and vocabulary • Use summaries, headings, questions and lists to organize and sequence text

7. Text easy to understand • Its easier to understand short words than complex ones • Use simple tables and graphs • Use meaningful short sentences but not many of them as it results in ambiguity

8. Use of rich media Rich media is defined as instructional programs that incorporate high end media such as animations, videos and audio. (Richard E.Meyer) • The use of cartoons might enhance motivation,(Hartley1985). Also, visual added to text was found to promote better learning, (Richard E.Meyer).

9. References • Chapter 17 in Anglin’s BOOK 2nd EDITION: Message Design-Issues & Trends by Grabowski • Chapter 32 in Resier & Dempsey’s BOOK: Using Rich Media Wisely by Clark & Mayer. 3. Hartley, J. (2004). Designing instructional and informational text. http://www.aect.org/edtech/34.pdf