Framework for using Colour and Graphics

This week’s resource was an eye opener for developing computer designs for educational purpose. It can be recommended as quick reference guide before developing a computer based content. While I thought that colour is an important factor in designing computer graphics this resource helped in eradicating the misconceptions that I had about using colour in developing educational material. Before I start jotting down on what I learnt from the resource I would like to first acknowledge the thoughtful design of the e-book developed by Misanchuk, Schiwer & Boling. The book presents the information in a very neat form. It uses three major colours for its presentation, which are grey, black and white and uses images only where necessary. Most of the images used are explicative in nature. The chapter this week goes beyond the dos and don’ts of graphics and the colour theories by articulating the research material, which is very easy to browse through. It was interesting to know that human eye can only discriminate 32000 colours. I have decided to come back to ---chapter in this book to mix and match the font and the background colour before deciding on one. The map example shows how to emphasize a portion of a visual. “Even the most powerful graphics programs can be used to produce ugly and ineffective graphics” which means using complex software programs does not necessarily empower the author to develop effective graphics. It is rather important to know the practicalities develop effective graphics. It was informative to know the difference between a line and a contentious drawing a bitmap and a vector drawing. Graphics should be used for appropriate reasons “in normal instructional situations, the addition of pictorial embellishments will not enhance the learning of information in the text”. The research on the roles of graphics really makes logic. Duchastel, Lievel and Lentz Dwyer’s functions on graphics can help decide the need of the graphics.
A good test of the germaneness (and hence the desirability of inclusion) of a graphic is to work with potential learners in a one-on-one user-testing situation. Using Graphics pp.4. What did you learn from that picture (or drawing, etc.) that you wouldn't have learned otherwise?" is a good question to ask so as to confirm whether the visual is really needed.
It would be interesting to learn more about Dwyer’s research that determined “student characteristics (e.g., IQ, reading comprehension, background knowledge) were important variables in affecting the utility of visuals.” Moreover his research also elaborates that “the type of instructional objective being addressed by the visuals (e.g., knowledge, comprehension, application) is also a determining factor in the effectiveness of visuals.”

Lastly I feel that everything comes down to KISS “Keep it simple and stupid”