User:Skylarkphd
Testing My Skill at Using Wikimedia
General Observations
Ease of Use
Setting up an account for a new user is not intuitive unless you are familiar with computer programming terms. I had to resort to looking for help online, and even this required some drilling down to find what certain terms referred to. I did manage to find a helpful tutorial source, but a less motivated person might give up long before reaching the source that I found helpful. A straightforward glossary of terms with examples or links to the YouTube video resources I also found might be helpful to new users.
Why Engaging Multiple Learning Modalities Enhances the Learning Experience
Over the past 60 years a large body of research has accumulated concerning learning styles and using multiple perceptual modalities to facilitate learning.[1] Research about learning modalities has identified four distinct sensory pathways leading to the retention of information (auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and tactile). Although studies have identified 70 different "learning styles", researchers currently view learning styles as personal preferences about the presentation of information rather than as true cognitive differences in how information is stored and retrieved (the hallmark of learning). Recent cognitive research fails to support the idea that teaching methods designed to accommodate learning styles have any reliable impact on learning success. It has even been suggested that identifying learning styles may be detrimental to the learning process, as students may use their individual learning style as a way to escape responsibility for failing to learn ("I'm a visual learner, and the class was nearly all lecture.").
On the other hand, recent research has found support for incorporating content that engages multiple perceptual modalities rather than focusing on individual learning styles.[1] For example, presenting textual information with a picture may help the learner retain information, but this approach may be perceptually overwhelming if too many modalities are engaged at once. It is also important to note that learning is contextual and situational, and that no single approach or combination should be considered the most effective teaching method in all cases.