PROJECT NAME

A study of effectiveness of highlighting objects (HOBs) in eLearning

systems.

SUBMITTED BY

MR. Ashish Omprakash Thengari.

COURSE:
Diploma In Mechanical

SEMESTER/YEAR:
First Semester/2022

ENROLLMENT NUMBER:
210155159456

SUBMITTED TO
SINGHANIA UNIVERSITY

1|Page
Introduction

Background Gestures, Pictures, and Lectures

According to Moor's law, the computational power has been doubling every eighteen

months. Today, increased information processing power of computers and widespread

reach of the Internet has drastically transformed the learning environments in

educational institutions across countries and continents. Educators are striving to

design and develop new teaching tools and methods that are expected to yield optimal

learning transfer and complex skill acquisition. Cognitive processing capacity of

learners, information presentation format used by teachers, and application of

multimedia technology should be leveraged in order to minimize teaching duration and

costs at the same time maximizing knowledge transfer. Literature on instructional

design indicates that presentation format has direct impact on sustained attention,

mental effort, and information processing quality, comprehension, learner confidence

and satisfaction. Complexity of instructional content has direct effects on sustained

attention, metal effort and information quality. Developments in computing,

communication, neuroscience, psychology, and multimedia technology are

revolutionizing the teaching and learning processes. In fact, paradigm shift in education

is taking place during the last few decades. The Internet has become the backbone of

computer networks which has enabled high speed transmission of eLeaming material

over long distances. A combination of text, graphics, and sound is being extensively

used to create high quality learning experiences for real classrooms as well as virtual

and distributed classrooms across the globe.

2|Page
As static graphics are inherently visuo-spatial in nature, they are effective in

representing structure of information underlying the given problem space. During the

long process of biological evolution, humans have acquired excellent visual and spatial

ability which enables them to interpret graphics quickly and meaningfully. Many problem

spaces contain events such as processes, algorithms, actions, reactions, procedures

which are dynamic and transient in nature. Such events that change over time are

difficult to represent using static graphics. Animation is the natural choice. However,

researchers have found that improper use of animation as part of learning material

imposes heavy cognitive load and thereby impairs the act of learning. Though extensive

research has been carried on static graphics, very little research has been reported in

the literature regarding use of animation in instructional design and classroom teaching.

In this thesis, the investigator has proposed a new way of using animation in

instructional design. Comprehensive studies have been done on non-verbal

communication involving human hand gestures. The taxonomy of hand gestures has

been well developed and documented in the literature (McNeil, 2005). It has also been

proved that use of hand gestures in lectures reduces cognitive load on teachers as well

as learners. Susan Goldin-Meadow said, "externalizing our thoughts can save cognitive

effort that can then be put to more effective use. Gesture can externalize ideas and thus

has the potential to affect learning by influencing learners directly" (Goldin-Meadow S.

&., 2005; Goldin-Meadow S., 2007).

3|Page
The investigator of this thesis has established an analogy between hand gestures and

instructional animations and thereby generalized many of the concepts, typology and

other aspects of gestures over to instructional animations. Based on closer look at

analogy between human gestures and instructional animation, the investigator has

evolved taxonomy and guidelines that are useful for multimedia designers in creating

effective teaching and learning material. The analogical study of gestures and

animations has provided a different perspective of looking at animations as natural

dynamical representational medium.

Visual Communications

Human visual system has evolved over a long period of time and has developed to a

stage where now it can perceive patterns and enable the brain to make sense of them

through recognition and interpretation (Narayanan N. Hari, 1997). Children learn to draw

before they are able to write linguistic sentences on paper. Our early ancestors have left

their mark on the history through their drawings on the walls of caves. Engineers and

product developers communicate design of mechanical, electrical and other systems

using graphics-based documents.

Mathematicians used geometrical figures, physicists use Feynman diagrams, computer

scientists use flow charts, software developers use UML diagrams. Graphics is also

used when Architects communicate specification of civil structures to contractors and

builders. Professionals like scientists, mathematicians, statisticians and technologists

visualize and use variety of graphics to formulate theories and make predictions.

4|Page
Diagrams and graphics are drawn on the black or white board when teachers try to

explain some complex concept or a process in a subject being taught. Technical

manuals supplied with industrial goods and domestic appliances incorporate graphics to

explain use and operations of products. Software professionals use graphic tools to

capture client requirements and to design software applications. Project leaders and

managers apply graphic tools to monitor and control various activities in a large scale

projects to meet the time line. To create brand name and promote products, vendors

make extensive use of graphics in their advertisements published in newspapers,

magazines, books, journals, television and World Wide Web. MRIs and electron

micrographs appear in research reports. In fact, in today's technology driven world,

widespread use of graphics is visible in every field of human activity. In short,

development of science, technology, society and the humanities is being boosted

through innovative use of graphics. Graphics is enabling people translate their vision of

the future into reality.

When the image of an object is simplified or generalized properly, it can be used to

convey and share information, concepts and common ideas in the society. For example,

a graphic outlining a person is fairly standard and is used to represent toilet at railway

stations, airports, schools, hotels and at many other places. Placing a detailed

photograph of a person would create cultural biases. Set of signs used in road traffic

signaling are also excellent examples of standard and stylized graphics. Such graphics

need to be drawn meaningfully so that they are interpreted consistently everywhere and

by all. Thus, they need to be coded properly. On the other hand, detailed photographs

5|Page
of physical objects do not require coding and can be easily interpreted but cannot be

shared among large parts of the society because pictures relate to a very specific object

and therefore cannot represent a class of objects are required for conveying the same

meaning across all strata of the society.

The graphical representation of a data set or a mathematical function is better than a

representation by a table containing numbers because graph reveals more

characteristics of the given function. Printed matter in many books is illustrated with

pictures. The illustrations depict concepts visually. This complements the description

given in words or provides an alternative way of representing the information given in

textual form. Visual form makes it easy for viewers to discover relations and

characteristics hidden in the textual representation. When ideas and information are

conveyed using visual aids (graphics) like two dimensional sign, typography, drawing,

graphics, video, illustration, images etc., it is called a visual communication. Visual

communication relies on vision. Visual languages have influence on human

communication, interaction, and reasoning.

Visual Literacy

Much of human knowledge is communicated and acquired through texts. The present

day educational systems create a bias of gaining knowledge by reading text. However,

the world around us is full of visuals and major amount of information and knowledge is

communicated visually.

6|Page
Recent developments in computer and communications technology provide more

opportunities to generate, capture, store, retrieve and transmit information across the

globe. Today, computers and software have become powerful enough to enable

humans to create and display exciting type of graphics to represent and interact with

information captured from problem space. In addition to natural language, increasing

use of graphics in human communications is slowly creating awareness of in visual

language underlying the foundations of graphics. The meaning of literacy in today's

society needs to be expanded to include visual literacy as its important part.

Instructional Multimedia.

Technology refers to the techniques as well as technical contrivances. A systematic way

of applying techniques to achieve goals is important but using technical equipment is

more important. Techniques are referred to as software and equipment is referred to as

hardware of technology. Technology results in new designs and techniques give rise to

new equipment. The same has been true with multimedia technology which deals with,

based on computing and communication processes, multiple media like text, graphics,

animation, audio, video, and simulation. The multimedia technology has resulted in new

kinds of teaching and learning processes. In early days of education, a good teacher

like a good mother always used real objects and real experience in teaching. However,

due to little control on them, teachers resorted to materials including symbols, charts,

maps, posters, chalkboard, models etc . In modem times, computer is included as an

important machine in educational technology to provide individualized instruction.

7|Page
Computer is capable of taking decision about delivering appropriate study material

according to the entering behavior of the learner. With its speed, accuracy, multimedia

capability and storage capacity, it is the most powerful and effective teaching machine

as compared to other class of teaching machines.

Educators design and develop instructional material for their learners focusing on the

ideas, concepts, skills they want their learners to acquire. The main thrust of using

multimedia is on creating understanding of subject domain among its learners. Armando

Cirrincione (2008) has said, "Multimedia technologies (MMT) are all that kind of

technological tools that make us able to transmit information in a very large meaning,

transforming information into knowledge through stimulating the cognitive schemas of

learners and leveraging the learning power of human senses". Understanding is an

ability to make connections and bind together human knowledge into something that

makes sense of things without which humans may only see unclear and isolated facts of

little use (Wiggins & Mctighe, 2005). The word 'understanding' implies the ability to

perform certain tasks as noted by Bloom (1956) in his Taxonomy of educational

objectives. To understand is the ability to wisely and effectively use i.e., transfer what

humans know. They should be able to apply their knowledge and skills in accomplishing

intended tasks in realistic settings and should feather be able to show evidence of being

able to transfer their knowledge and skills. Understanding is the ability to use knowledge

effectively in new situations and diverse contexts. Understanding leads to fluent and

fluid grasp of the domain knowledge. Humans without understanding have rigid and

formulaic grasp of the subject and can only recall the facts and concepts which they

8|Page
have learned. The use of multimedia and animations in instructional materials is being

used to provide deep understanding of various knowledge domains. Extensive use of

graphics in teaching and learning processes are bringing new perspectives on learning

with technology. Earlier research indicates that use of graphics in learning can facilitate

understanding because information in graphics is visually explicit and therefore can be

easily understood. By constraining inferences (MIKE Scaife, 1996), graphics is

supposed to guide cognitive processing.

Similarly, like static graphics, visual explicitness of motion irdierent in animation should

also reduce cognitive processing and aid understanding of dynamic events and

processes of the problem space. The dynamic nature of animations is supposed to

make learning objectives of complex learning material obvious. Although some of these

properties may apply to animation, research suggests that underlying differences in the

fundamental form of an animation may generate different cognitive outcomes, making

these benefits less visible.

A facilitation of understanding results from structure and relations (Tversky B., 2008)

which are inherent in static graphics representation but difficult to implement in

animation because of their transitiveness. Though graphical representation of dynamic

system helps in comprehension of the study material, the transitiveness of animations

poses challenge in managing the limited cognitive resources of learners who are new in

the domain. Our understanding of how dynamic, interactive and multimodal information

is processed and integrated into a learner's mental model is limited. The research

9|Page
studies have failed to establish advantages of animated pictures over static graphics in

regards with teaching and learning processes. In fact, processing of animated pictures

is complex and time intensive which results in requirement of high cognitive resources.

Research suggests that animation should be used with care because multiple

simultaneous animations sometimes cause attention to unintended areas (Faraday

P.M., 1997).

Research Questions

Looking at the well-developed typology of human hand gestures in communication and

instructional situations, the investigator explored the analogy between specific kind of

animafion (called as Highlighting Objects) and human hand gestures to evolve

guidelines for helping in designing of effective instructional and learning material using

highlighting objects to facilitate dynamic processes. The main focus of the research was

to identify components of a cognitive processing model of static graphics superposed

with highlighting objects. The research investigated the effectiveness of highlighting

objects in facilitating learning and understanding of engineering drawing (also called

Engineering Drawing) which contains three-dimensional objects and their spatial

transformations. The current research started its quest to solve some of the following

important questions related to the teaching and learning activities:

• How do learners read information from complex graphics?

• What pieces of information do they pick out from the graphics?

10 | P a g e
• How animated graphics and static graphics are cognitively processed? Is animated

graphics more advantageous in learning than static graphics?

• Does use of animation improve learning engineering drawing by enabling learners in

visualizing three dimensional objects and spatial transformations?

• What type of animation is useful in designing instructional material?

• Does animation designed on the basis of analogy derived from gestures (coined here

as HOB) is effective in improving student learning?

• What kind of meanings do they infer from the highlighting objects?

• How do they integrate these pieces of information with previous knowledge and with

the material they are currently using?

• There is well defined relation between hand gestures and speech. Can analogy

between hand gestures of teachers and animation objects help in classifying and

defining systematic behaviors of instnictional animations?

Aims and Objectives of the Research

The major aim of this thesis was to study effect of instructional animation in teaching of

engineering drawing. The study also included detailed study of literature on human

hand gestures and comparison of gestures with animations so as to transfer knowledge

and understanding gained in gesture research to the field of animation. As the first step

to find out guidelines for design of effective instructional material using animation, the

scope of the study includes research on Engineering Drawing. The objectives of the

research studies were:

11 | P a g e
• To study literature on gestures and graphics

• To study and compare learning theories and find out which principles are usefiil and

provide explanation regarding effect of animations on teaching and learning processes.

• Conduct experiments to verify the hypotheses and predictions of learning theories

• To study literature on recent developments in neuroscience and cognitive theory to get

explanations for hypotheses of this thesis

• To study and compare static graphics and dynamic graphics i.e. animation 10

• To carry out content analysis of the subject, Engineering Drawing, to be taught with

instructional animation and find out the most difficult and complex topics to be included

in the research

• Based on the literature studies and experimental results, transfer the knowledge,

taxonomy, and methods used in human gestures to field of instructional animations.

• The objective of the analogical studies (between gestures and animations) is to evolve

a set of guidelines for the teachers to design effective instructional material and

techniques for creating enhanced learning experiences in their classrooms

12 | P a g e
Operational Definitions/types

Independent Variables

Considering analysis of Solomon Four Group Experimental Design, this study assumes

two independent variables namely: Teaching Method and Pre Test. They as defined as

follows:

• Treatment consisting of teaching method having two levels: teaching using highlighting

objects (HOBs) and teaching in traditional way.

• Treatment consisfing of pretest conducted on the study groups having two level : test

conducted and test not conducted.

Dependent Variable

The score obtained in the achievement test (posttest) to measure performance of

learners.

Highlighting Object (HOB)

Highlighting Object (coined here as HOB) is a visual cue used to guide the attention of

user to a salient feature in the visual scene. From educational perspective, Highlighting

Object is defined as a short and transient animation that appears in the scene whenever

attention of the user is to be attracted to the important or interesting part of the

13 | P a g e
instructional multimedia presentation. In rich multimedia applications Highlighting

Objects are synchronized with audio narration. HOB can also be called instructional

animation.

Statement of the Research Problem To study the effect of instructional animation i.e.

highlighting objects(HOBs) on the achievement of students studying Engineering

Drawing with respect to the traditional method of teaching the same subject matter.

Hypotheses

Null Hypothesis

There is no difference between performance of students who were taught Engineering

Drawing using highlighting objects (HOBs) and the performance of students who were

taught Engineering Drawing with the traditional method.

Alternative Hypothesis

The performance of students who are taught Engineering Drawing using highlighting

objects (HOBs) is higher than the performance of students who were taught

Engineering Drawing using traditional method.

Studies conducted

Several studies were undertaken by the investigator to explore the effectiveness of

instructional animation (highlighting objects) on the learners and their performance in

Engineering Drawing. A research using Solomon four-group method was conducted to

14 | P a g e
explore effectiveness of highlighting objects for teaching of Engineering Drawing. The

thesis has devised an analytical framework for interpreting the results of the study in

light of cognitive theories. The thesis also reports the details regarding analogy between

gestures and instructional animations.

Significance and Scope of the Study

Saving valuable human time spent in learning

The review of literature indicates that proper computing tools and pedagogy techniques

when used in instructional design lead to effective teaching and learning activities which

will subsequently reduce time spent in completing subject matter of a given course of

studies. Certain concepts such as orthogonal projections in Engineering Drawing are

difficult to visualize and also time consuming to visual draw on the blackboard. In such

cases, use of multimedia should reduce the teaching time drastically. However, the

overall outcomes of multimedia education are not very encouraging though some

research studies show quite positive results. There is lot of scope as well as challenges

in conducting further research in instructional multimedia field. Hence, a need was felt to

conduct thorough studies to find out effectiveness of multimedia in instruction and

learning.

15 | P a g e
Reducing Cognitive Load on learners

With accelerated growth in technological developments, the stage has come where

computer can produce very high-quality multimedia output consisting of text, graphics,

pictures, animation, sound, video and simulation. Thus, computers including notebook

computers have become multimedia enabled. At the same time, the Internet in the form

of broadband connections is spreading fast and at reaching every comer of the globe.

This powerful educational delivery platform has transformed human thinking and also

the way people teach and learn various domains of knowledge. Certain theories of

learning, such as Cognitive Theory of Learning, have claimed that proper presentation

of instructional material reduces the mental resources required by learners in

comprehending and deep understanding of the subject matter under study. Hence,

there is a need to explore effects of multimedia on instructional design and use the

recent computing and communication technologies to deliver the eLeaming contents to

the students who are learning in the classrooms as well as students who are learning

through the Internet.

Providing Deep Understanding through "engaging learning"

When deep understanding occurs during learning of a subject, learner is able to transfer

the knowledge gained in learning a given problem to solve another problem in a total

new situation.i.e., students are able to transfer their knowledge from one situation to

another. Students are also able to generalized concepts and procedures learnt in

domain to another domain. In order to create deep understanding, the learning

16 | P a g e
experience needs to be engaging which can only be provided consistently with the help

of technology. Therefore, there was a need take up the research to identify features of

multimedia (in particular instructional animations) and find out their effectiveness in

creating engaging learning experience.

Scope of the Study

It was decided to study the analogy between gestures and animations in detail and use

the knowledge and taxonomy available in gestural science for the classification and

design of instructional animation (HOBs). Multimedia based instructional design using

HOBs is applicable to complex subject matters of any domain of knowledge. However,

keeping in mind the limitations of resources at hand, the scope of the research was

limited to the design and development of instructional material for Engineering Drawing,

a subject prescribed for first year engineering students, using HOBs and finally

conducting experiment to actually find out the effect of HOBs on performance of the

students.

Advantages of E-Learning

Flexibility

The first advantages of e-learning is flexibility in terms of the time and place. Learning

content is usually made available in short modules and can be passed at any time.

Whether you log on while commuting, at work or during free time- the learning material

be easily made part of your daily routine. Even if you miss a live online workshop,

written summaries or a video of the session is usually available to be downloaded E-

17 | P a g e
learning is therefore ideal for people working or in education, or simply people who want

to know more about their favourite hobbies or interest.

Availability

The organization of teaching content at universities is almost unimaginable without

platform such modele and blackbord, but online courses also save vast amounts of time

in the private sector without physical limitations, anyone with internet access can

simultaneously access learning opportunities provided that servers are stable to

withstand.

Efficiency

Since e-learning packages adapt to the individual learner, the time required to complete

a course is significantly reduced. Conventional courses are designed to meet the needs

of the entire group. But rarely does a single person need everything that is offered to the

group and, of course, there is no need to travel to the course.

Low Cost

An e-learning package can be reused as often as the user wishes without additional

costs. In addition, there are numerous free course offer as well as “freemium access”.

Since e- learning usually allows more course participants at the same time, it is often

less expensive than conventional learning offerings.

18 | P a g e
Movable eLearning Assets

E-Learning takes place whenever you want! All you need is an internet connection.

Learning material, tutorials, transcripts- everything is stored in digital cyberspace and

cannot be lost with a good backup.

These advantages alone show the near- unlimited potential of e-learning. Nevertheless,

there are also numerous reasons why traditional learning methods are far from

obsolete.

Conclusions

The research presented here indicates that the instructional method in which HOB

based animations were used for teaching Engineering Drawing resuhed in higher

performance of students than the performance of students who were taught the same

subject using conventional method. In this thesis, theoretical framework was evolved to

establish analogy between hand gestures and instructional animations (HOBs) and

thereby transfer the exhaustive knowledge available in gesture research onto

instructional animations. By strong analogy, many of the properties and functions of

gestures were adopted to HOBs. The analogical study of gestures and animations has

provided a different perspective of looking at animations as natural dynamic

representational medium.

Instructional explanations being considered the core activity in teaching, literature was

surveyed to study various types of explanations used by teachers. The knowledge

gained during these studies was to evolve mapping between explanation types and

HOB categories. The mapping enables teachers to design coherent instructional

19 | P a g e
animations for their lectures. Similar mapping was also evolved between types of

elements (knowledge) in educational content and instructional graphics. The

consideration of mapping between gestures and animations; mapping between

explanation types and graphics; also the mapping between content elements and 177

graphics implies close relationships between hand gestures, instructional animations,

static graphics, and instructional explanations. The knowledge of important features and

functions of gestures, explanations, static graphics, cognitive architecture, and HOBs

provides deep insight and means to design effective instructional materials and

methods.

Through elaborated biological evolution over long period of time, cognitive development

of humans has resulted in a unique cognitive architecture which has provided excellent

visual and spatial ability to interpret graphics quickly and meaningfully. Recent

developments in neuroscience and cognitive science have started to reveal models of

human mind and thinking. It is through the understanding of these models that teachers

would be able to fine tune their processes of teaching and develop effective instruction

materials and methods. Many theories of learning targeted towards use of multimedia

have been developed recently. The major theories of learning related to multimedia are

discussed in this thesis: Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), Cognitive Theory of Multimedia

Learning (CTML), Integrated Model of Text and Picture Comprehension (IMTPC), and

Integrated Model of Multimedia Effects on Learning (IMMEL). The detailed study of

these learning theories and the analogical study of gestures provide a conceptual

framework on the basis of which guidelines are evolved for designing appropriate HOBs

20 | P a g e
useful for creating effective eLeaming material. The effectiveness of highlighting objects

was confirmed by using Solomon four-group experimental design.

Recommendations for Further Research

As developments in technology continue, instructional designer will be able to design

and develop new tools and techniques which they can use for instruction in traditional

as well as virtual classrooms on the Internet. The recent developments in neuroscience

and learning 180 theories has resulted in cognitive revolution which has resulted in

emergence of important models and principles that are expected to enhance teaching

and learning processes. The new development in hardware and software is enabling

researchers to combine new cognitive models and principles into instructional design

and development of multimedia study material. The literature review and the results of

this research study support the following generalizations and recommendations for

extending the research in the following directions.

• Despite strong support of various multimedia instructional theories for instructional

animation in improving learning, research sometimes shows negative effect of

instructional animations on student learning. There are many reasons for this. One of

the reason that researchers have found is that "improper use of animation as part of

learning material imposes heavy cognitive load and thereby impairs the act of learning".

Though extensive research has been carried on static graphics, very little research has

been reported in the literature regarding use of animation in instructional design and

21 | P a g e
classroom teaching. Hence, it is recommended to take more research projects on

instructional animations to study their effects on teaching and learning processes.

• Research can be extended to separately study the effectiveness of HOBs with

reference to retention and transfer of knowledge and skills. • The research to find out

effectiveness of HOBs in fields other than Engineering Drawing can be taken up. 181

• The sound cues that help the learner guide and monitor their attention can easily be

defined as HOBs. In addition to instructional animation, the research of HOBs can be

extended to include sound modality.

• Measurement of cognitive load for learning through HOBs can be carried out. •

Graphical instructional graphics and animations can be developed to take care of

individual learning differences of learners.

• Constructionist theories of learning posit that learning is deeper when students

develop and share their own diverse understandings of a concept. Therefore, using the

power of multimedia to provide multiple representations, studies can be pursued to find

out effect of HOBs on deep understanding of learners.

• Taxonomy of instructional explanations and corresponding graphics and animations

can be made more comprehensive.

22 | P a g e