Fun in analyzation

The goal was to analyze some learning experiences using the Coherence Principle, which is basically a recommendation for creating educational content that suggests removing material that doesn’t directly support the instructional goal. The idea is to cut out distractions. There are three main rules: no unnecessary words, no extra graphics, and no distracting audio. Designers that create content in this way can make sure the important stuff stands out which helps learners understand and remember better (Clark & Mayer, 2016).

I totally enjoyed thinking about what examples I had seen of good and not so good training or learning experiences in e-learning. When I wrote the Coherence Analysis, I began to think about the Powerpoint blunders or positives that I had seen and it threw me quickly into thinking about how quickly I was unmotivated by the beautiful.ai presentation software that I practiced using a little. However, when I really tried to think of coherence and which learning experiences I could use, I thought about all the training I do at the beginning of each year and had some easy stand-outs!

Luckily, the vast majority of the trainings that we do online in my parish every year are pretty well done. I just counted and it is right at 10 hours of e-learning training that we do through Vector Solutions. Then there is the McKinney-Vento, which I don’t remember quite as well, because I have not done it as often, but I think it was pretty good and then the Ethics training done by the state. The state one has good intentions and some good ideas, but just falls short of the goal to really teach effectively-in my opinion. Hopefully, I do not hurt anyone’s feelings or magically lose my job for saying so, but every year it is the one I have the most trouble making myself do. It is painfully laborious feeling to me. So, I choose the very first vector solution training and found that their adherence to the coherence principle was pretty spot-on. The design was focused and clear, making it easy for learners to follow along and remember the key information about blood borne pathogens.

Then, I found the ethics training from the state and the opening two slides had me giggling! Oh! I wonder if I mentioned extraneous text! If I didn’t before I am about to go add it. Thinking of the coherent principle you start the video and music is playing (a little louder than it should be for someone to be speaking) a flag is waving at you and the woman is reading the title off the screen- although, admittedly by the time I am sure she is just reading the title the slide was changing. All the distraction makes it hard to keep up and every year, I find myself pausing and rewinding just to catch up. I chose the second slide I looked at because I felt it would be easier to see some of the lack of clear and concise educational content the Coherence Principle aims to create. I was hoping that the two pictures and descriptions would show a distinct difference and allow the reader to further understand the coherence principle and its usefulness. To be fair, I know some good reasons the picture of the tree and mention of good roots and good fruit make sense on the slide. They just are not directly related to the instruction of ethics, which makes it directly conflict with the coherence Principle- at least as far as my understanding of it goes.

Overall, I totally enjoyed looking at the training I do every year in this light. It really made it obvious to me why the ten hours of Vector training I do doesn’t really bother me and why the ethics training – well, I never would have guessed it was only an hour! The Coherence Principle is an important consideration for effective instructional design, especially in multimedia learning. If applied with care, it could help keep learners engaged and avoid oversimplifying. Again, trying to mix keeping things interesting and keeping distraction to a minimum is crucial for creating great learning experiences.