Category: Multimedia Learning

Overview

This week, I completed three Daily Creates on the Today’s Daily Create (TDC) website. I started by taking a video of something unusual during a nature walk. Then I shared a video of something that I think is fast. Finally, I attempted to make the “most boring video ever” by reading a instruction pamphlet aloud. After completing the Daily Creates, I wrote a reflection on how I believe this could align with multimedia learning.

Daily Creates

Something Unusual During Your Walk

For this Daily Create, I was instructed to go on a nature walk and look for something unusual in an obscure place. This weekend, I went on a hike up Spion Kop trail. Along the way, I came across this moth that was sitting in the middle of the trail on a rock. An interesting and unexpected place to sit in the way of the path, but a nice warm sunny spot to rest indeed. It did not move an inch until I got way too close for comfort, then it flew away, revealing its blue wings.

It’s Fast

This Daily Create asked me to share a video of something speedy. I thought of everything from cars to cheetahs, but eventually my mind came to the idea of this video (see below). The video follows an iguana as it races across the sand on the Galapagos Islands, as it is chased by dozens of racer snakes, snakes that are well known to be fast. The iguana was so fast it was able to escape the racer snakes.

Make the Dullest Video Evah

Finally, I attempted to make the dullest video ever. Surprisingly, it was harder to think of how to make this video than I thought. It took a bit of brainstorming to find something boring enough! I eventually came to the decision to read something like terms and conditions, as I think most people can agree that they are boring to read. I found a pamphlet for a cardmember agreement with other important information and saw the first page was a table of contents. I thought to myself, “This is perfect! Not only do people not want to read something like this, but they would not want to hear the table of contents written out loud in full.” I made sure to read it in a monotonous voice for better effect. It made for the perfect boring video − so boring that I started feeling drowsy while reading it out loud.

Reflection

The Daily Creates from this week indicate how information, emotions, and stories can be shared and communicated. Not only do these videos share these contexts, but they also can support information communicated through text. For example, the first Daily Create about the moth shares a story through text about how I came across a moth on the Spion Kop trail, while the video supports this text with visualization of the moth. This allows viewers and readers to better understand and visualize the context. It also relates to the course concept of storytelling. Looking at the video alone does not make the context clear. It simply just looks like a moth on a rock. But this video can turn into a story when accompanied by text. This aligns with the idea that “[s]tories can engage us on a deeper level than simple facts” (Granchelli, 2025b).

The “It’s Fast” Daily Create relates to storytelling in another way. It would be pretty difficult and lengthy to explain the story of how the iguana escaped the snakes, what direction it ran, and every event that happened leading up to it. It would also be less engaging if it were not recorded, unless written very dramatically, nor would it be as believable. This aligns with storytelling in which storytelling helps learners to “imagine situations that they haven’t yet encountered, put information in context and hold on to key messages longer” (Granchelli, 2025b).

Finally, the dullest video ever Daily Create aligned with other concepts. I had to consider several ideas before I finally made a decision on what to record in my video. In this case, I used divergent thinking as it involves exploring and considering multiple options or possibilities in order to think of ideas (Granchelli, 2025a). Also reading through the pamphlet reminded me of extraneous cognitive load. The video of the pamphlet goes against the extraneous cognitive load principle of redundancy, as it is involves word-for-word narration of text. As Granchelli (2025c) states, repeating information in more than one multimedia form should be avoided in order to avoid extraneous load. For example, presenting slides with paragraphs of text and reading that text aloud causes extraneous load and therefore, slides should be simplified while narration provides details (Granchelli, 2025c). I think this is the main reason that the video is considered boring, as it requires high cognitive load to stay focused on what is being presented, with the text-heavy page and the narration which provides no added information that may be more interesting or engaging for the listener.

References

Granchelli, A. (2025a, October 6). Design process. EDCI 337: Interactive & Multimedia Learning. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2025/10/06/design-process/

Granchelli, A. (2025b, September 14). Storytelling. EDCI 337: Interactive & Multimedia Learning. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2025/09/14/storytelling/

Granchelli, A. (2025c, September 5). Theories of multimedia learning. EDCI 337: Interactive & Multimedia Learning. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2025/09/05/theories-of-multimedia-learning/

Overview

This week, I created three images following instructions in the activities on the Today’s Daily Create (TDC) website. First, I turned a photo of my TV stand into an image of a monster using my phone. Then, I created an imitation photogram using my phone camera and a glass table. Finally, I took a photo of an everyday object that appears to be spying or surveilling me, my vacuum.

Daily Creates

Monster Art

For this Daily Create, the instructions asked me to turn a photo into monster art. Long before knowing about this daily create, I noticed my TV stand looked like its cabinet knobs were eyes and the shelf were a mouth. I decided I would take a photo of it and bring to life what I had imagined. It looks like the monster is hungry for DVDs and video game cartridges.

Photogram It

This Daily Create asked me to make a digital photogram without special paper or chemicals, so I placed objects in my house on a glass table and took a photo from underneath it. Then I edited the photo to make it black and white. Usually photograms have a black background with white objects, but some can be made to have a white background with black objects much like this photo I made.

Add a Subtle Bit of Surveillance to an Every Day Object

This Daily Create had instructions stating to create a photo of an everyday object that looks like it has the capacity for surveillance (e.g., with cameras, wires, microphones, or sensors in it). I saw my vacuum cleaner in the corner in the living room and took a photo of it. It sure looks like it’s surveilling my every move.

Reflection

In multimedia, images are often used to communicate ideas, stories, knowledge, and emotions. It also helps viewers grasp a better understanding on what is being communicated by visualizing things that support text. Creating these images for the Daily Creates opened my eyes towards how everyday objects and photos can be transformed to bring meaning, especially if these images are photographed or edited to create or support that meaning. For example, the TV stand monster art helped me to understand how meaning can be assigned to an image. This idea connects to the course concept that “students usually learn better from words and pictures than from words alone” (Schnotz, 2022, p.92, as cited in Granchelli, 2025b). While my Daily Creates are mostly image-based, the explanations and text associated with each image help to provide context that can make it easier for others to understand.

My TV stand monster was edited to give it meaning and text supported it within this blog. Same goes for the vacuum, as the text suggests a story behind the image, where the vacuum is spying on or surveilling me. These Daily Creates can be tied to dual coding theory where two separate parts of the brain process text and visual information (Granchelli, 2025b). The image I made provided meaning while the text explained the creativity and meaning behind it.

Finally, the photogram activity required active processing from my end, as I had to think about the correct angle to use, what objects would look nice in the photo, and how to make the photo look like a photogram. Granchelli (2025a) states that active processing involves “filtering, selecting, organizing, and integrating information”. I researched information online about what photograms are and how they are created, then I selected the objects to include in the photo, and organized them on the table. This contributed to my learning on how to create images, combined with my new understanding on how images can create meaning.

References

Granchelli, A. (2025a, September 5). Theories of multimedia learning. EDCI 337. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2025/09/05/theories-of-multimedia-learning/

Granchelli, A. (2025b, September 11). Text and image: The sum is greater than its parts. EDCI 337. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2025/09/11/text-and-image-the-sum-is-greater-than-its-parts/

Overview

This week, I worked on creating three audio-related media based on the activities on the Today’s Daily Create (TDC) website. I first created an image using Google’s Seeing Music experiment, where I sung into the microphone as the platform transformed my singing into art. I then made an audio recording of me pronouncing the word Floccinaucinihilification. Finally, I recorded an audio of machines and attempted to write about what kind of conversations they would be having with one another if they could speak.

My Daily Creates

Visualize the Music

Pronounce This

Machine Conversations

I imagine these cars passing by like businesspeople who know each other in a neighbourhood or in an urban setting on their way to work − the same way I believe I’ve seen businessmen do in old movies.

Two cars stop at a stoplight and begin to converse.

“Why hello Ms. Mercedes, how do you do?” said the black Volvo.

“Oh I am exceptionally well, Mr. Volvo! How are you on this fine morning?” said the blue Mercedes.

“Never better, ma’am! Just heading down to the office to drop off my human at work. Beautiful asphalt we’re having!”

“Marvelous pavement indeed! Brand new blacktop, not a single pothole. Say hi to the Missus for me! You both should stop by for a quart of oil one of these evenings.”

Reflection

The first Daily Create I did this week was creating an image of art using Google’s Seeing Music experiment, where I sung into the microphone as the platform transformed my singing into art. I first used Merrill’s First Principle of Demonstration to read/watch a tutorial on the platform so I knew how to use the tool. I then used Merrill’s First Principle of Application as I applied my new knowledge to using the tools and creating art from my voice. I noticed that the lines of art drawn on the page followed the pitch of my voice as I sang. It took a few tries to be able to screenshot the art being created, as the created art did not stop when I stopped recording − instead, the page simply kept rolling until the canvas turned onto a blank piece of paper and the art went off the page. However, practicing and trying again allowed me to use active learning, both in my singing and using the tool.

The second Daily Create I did was pronouncing the word Floccinaucinihilification. I had to practice this a few times before pressing record because I was utterly confused as to how to pronounce the word. I did not watch or listen to a demonstration of the pronunciation as I wanted to guess how to pronounce it based on reading it alone. I recorded it and attached it to this blog post. Unfortunately, I was not that close to pronouncing it right as I later found out that the word was spelled incorrectly on the Today’s Daily Create (TDC) website. The actual word is Floccinaucinihilipilification. Perhaps I pronounced it correctly if Floccinaucinihilification were the correct word in another world? Either way, after multiple attempts I think I put active learning into practice until I believed I was pronouncing the word to the best of my ability.

Finally, I recorded an audio of machines − that is, cars − and attempted to write about what kind of conversations they would be having with one another if they could speak. These cars were passing by outside my partner’s house on a busy street. It was hard to think of a conversation that they would be having, but my previous experiences with creative writing during last week’s Daily Creates helped. This allowed me to apply Merrill’s First Principles of Application and maybe even Integration as I applied my learnings and continue to integrate it into my work at university.

One thing I had trouble with during these Daily Creates was turning my M4A audio files on my Macbook into MP3 files to upload onto this blog. I did some research which required passive reading online, and then put it into practice only to find out certain things did not align with what I found online. For example, I could not find an option to download the M4A file from the Voice Memos app to the files on my computer, although it stated to do so online. However, I did eventually figure out that I could drag and drop it into my desktop, and then go online to an M4A to MP3 converter and download the converted file. This ultimately required quite a bit of active learning.

Overview

Hello everyone and welcome to the first post of my blog! This week, I explored creating texts based on challenges found on the Today’s Daily Create (TDC) website for my course, Interactive and Multimedia Learning (EDCI 337).

I spent time going through three of the Writing Daily Creates, which led me to create a poem on a lost sock, a story where words and phrases are built in alphabetical order, and a thought-provoking description of what silence is, as can be found below.

Creating these texts allowed me to explore my creative side, gain insights on the challenges, and learn how to create engaging texts, and I would like to share them with you!

My Daily Creates

National Lost Sock Memorial Day

Write an Alphabet Story

At night,
Beatrix the witch went into the yard where her
Cauldron could be found. Her witch friends shortly joined her, bringing
Dreadful objects for their midnight spell, including bats, frogs, jars of flies, and snakes.
Each witch gathered in a circle around the cauldron.
Finally, they chanted their spell:
“Goblins and trolls,
Harrowing souls,
Illness and pain, don’t come again.
Joy shall be brought,
Kindness shall reign, and
Love and life will be brought once again”. Then the witches threw in the ingredients, and
Mashed up a soup
Night turned to day,
Owls fell asleep,
Packing up the soup into a covered bowl, the witches went to the
Queen, who lay ill in bed. As they fed her the soup her cheeks turned
Rose once again, and life returned to her eyes.
She delightedly drank the soup, and
Thanked her friends.
Upon her wake and healing, she
Vowed to protect the witches from inquisitors and return their favour
With gratitude everlasting.

Describe in Writing for Someone Who Cannot Hear, the Feeling of Silence

Silence is the absence of a particular sound of importance.
You may hear noises in the background, the whirring of the lights above you, the sounds of cars outside a window, the sound of your own breath.
But these sounds are unnoticeable as your mind focuses on finding a sound of importance, perhaps a voice of a friend or family member, or the sound of the telephone ringing as you wait for an important call.
Not noticing the unimportant background sounds is as easy as not noticing that you are blinking every few seconds. But once you become aware, it is no longer silent.

Reflection on My Daily Creates

General Observations

This week in the Interactive and Multimedia Learning course (EDCI 337), I started with the poem of a lost sock for “National Lost Sock Memorial Day”. Upon first glance of the instructions on the website, I felt a little overconfident, thinking this would be super easy to finish. Five minutes in, and I barely had three lines on the page! I found myself contemplating too much on what to write about, and eventually decided to just wing it and make it up as I go. I found the less I stressed about what to write, the more fun I had and the easier and better the poem came out to be. To me, this is interesting because the more I actually started to enjoy the work and not perceive it as a chore, the “easier” the task felt.

The next thing I started working on was writing an Alphabet story, as specified under “Write an Alphabet Story” on the TDC website. Here, I wrote a story where words and phrases were formulated in alphabetical order at the start of each line. Surprisingly, I found this activity to be slightly less challenging, as I think I started to get into the flow of writing things. I happened to be writing each of the texts on the same day which allowed me to have a continuous learning experience. However, one thing to note about this task is that I did spend a bit more time on it overall as I started to enjoy the activity and got a bit carried away. Nonetheless, I think as I started to get more into the flow of writing, my mind shifted from extraneous cognitive load and intrinsic cognitive load to more germane cognitive load.

Alignment with Theories of Multimedia Learning

During the first task (the lost sock poem), I found difficulty in deciding how to structure my poem. Since I had little to no experience in writing poems, it required more intrinsic cognitive load for me to figure out what to write in the poem. I also had to think about answers to the questions, which were very open-ended, such as “Who lost the sock? Where did it go? Who found it? Is there a happy ending?” (The DS106 Daily Create, 2026). Additionally, there were no instructions in the activity as to how to structure the poem. The design of these questions and lack of instructions in this Daily Create required more extraneous cognitive load from my end.

As I transitioned to working on the Alphabet story, not only did I already have prior practice in writing after the first task, but I had a laid out template to follow the alphabetical order. This reduced extraneous cognitive load for me along with a bit of intrinsic cognitive load. While it was a bit tricky to piece together words starting with letters and connect them, I could make the lines as long as I wanted until I thought of a word that worked with the next letter. This suggests that intrinsic load was not fully eliminated, as the task was still fairly challenging, but it was definitely easier than the previous task. For this task, I used more germane cognitive load as my learnings from both writings became more integrated into my long term memory. I say they became a part of my long term memory because this was one of my first experiences with creative writing in a long time and I really enjoyed it, ultimately leading this to be a more memorable experience for me.

The final writing activity I did was writing a description of what silence is. In this activity, I had to describe silence as if I’m describing it to someone who cannot hear. I found this activity to be the easiest because the instructions were quite straightforward and at this point I had a lot more practice with creative writing. I made it up as I went along and ended up going from a simple description of silence to a thought-provoking message of how “silence” is not always exactly silent as it is easy to tune out background noise. I think by the time I got to this final writing task, I used the least amount of extraneous cognitive load as I was more familiar with the activity style.

References

The DS106 Daily Create. (2026, May 9). tdc5230 #ds106 #dailycreate National Lost Sock Memorial Day. https://daily.ds106.us/tdc5230/