Having completed Photography Foundations: Composition, I believe it is a good course for learners who are relatively new to photography, but have an interest and also some background knowledge as well. With some research into cognitive load, I have found that the course fulfills the balance between cognitive load and dynamic delivery. The group TEDdy Bears (specifically Stuart Reed) mention three best practices for video-based learning that I would like to assess here for the Lynda.com course.<\/p>\n
Diagrams and Visuals – This is a very simple practice for the instructor to adopt as the course is about photography. Still photos and videos of scenes are used heavily to introduce concepts and prove points. Some compositional methods may be new to learners and showing an image may be the best way to get the thought process across.<\/p>\n
Text – Text is actually not used for the most part and this may be because there were not any concepts that were self-explanatory. There were instances where the ability to be able to reference text might have been useful, but concepts are reinforced as you progress in the videos.<\/p>\n
Audio\/Narration – The instructor taught almost all the way through with narration and explaining what the learner saw throughout the videos. There were also videos of other learners learning in a classroom and discussing what they learned. Pacing of audio was very appropriate as the videos themselves were not too long (~5-10 minutes on average).<\/p>\n
It looks like from a cognitive prospective, Lynda.com is fairly successful. As I mention in the beginning, some interest and background knowledge will help a learner complete the course. Interest and background knowledge are necessary for not just cognitive load purposes, but motivation. The cognitive load will be higher for a student who knows absolutely nothing about photography and has no interest as well. If that is the case, why would they be motivated to take the course? The onus is then on the learner to take a course that interests them and that they feel they can be successful in. If the course is marketed properly, then I think both learner and Lynda.com can benefit greatly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Having completed Photography Foundations: Composition, I believe it is a good course for learners who are relatively new to photography, but have an interest and also some background knowledge as well. With some research into cognitive load, I have found that the course fulfills the balance between cognitive load and dynamic delivery. The group TEDdy… Continue reading Critical Academic Reflection #2<\/span>