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Final Application Evaluation of GoNoodle.

For our app evaluation we researched the benefits of GoNoodle based on Mayer’s Multimedia Principles. Check out a quick overview of the GoNoodle site before we begin with sharing our findings. 

GoNoodle allows educators to provide students with extra physical activity opportunities throughout the day and we know that “students do better in school when they are emotionally and physically healthy” (ASCD, 2012, p. 4). GoNoodle uses Multimedia Principles such as temporal contiguity to benefit students’ emotional and physical health as well as improve their learning. By presenting words, music and full body movements, students are engaging in what is known as the “whole child approach” as described by the ASCD. The whole child approach aims to get students “engaged and motivated” (ASCD, 2012, p. 8). We know that the multimedia principles are a great resource to create engaging lessons for all students; therefore, it is evident that the whole child approach should be built off of making use of Mayer’s principles.

 Check out their website for further information and suggestions to create a classroom that teaches to the whole child. 

In a research study on the impact of short sessions of physical activity two positive outcomes were found. In this study they refer to these short sessions as energizers which are typically 10 minutes long, similar to the GoNoodle videos. Through this study, energizers were found to increase physical activity levels in students grades K-4 and improve task behaviour for students in grade 3 and 4 (Mahar. 2011. p. S63). Interestingly, the article states that the effects of such energizers on “on-task behavior were stronger for the students who needed it the most” (Mahar. 2011. p. S63). This refers to the students who were the “least on-task at baseline” (Mahar. 2011. p. S63). For students who are regularly active, or for those who have a difficult time staying focused on task, energizers such as GoNoodle can be a great way to offer them a break and regroup. 

Incorporating movement into the classroom can be a great way to promote healthy physical activity as well as improve the overall understanding and retention of academic material. As the multimedia principles suggest, students may learn better from words and pictures rather than either alone. The same idea can be related to the use of linking movement and information to reinforce key concepts. When movement is used to deliver academic material, the brain may create a mental cue or picture which can allow the learner to easily recall the essential information later on. Furthermore, movement can assist students in their cognitive processes. As the brain begins to process the learned material, it must sort and organize the information through the various stages of memory. The movement can then allow the learner to make connections with previous knowledge and new knowledge, and overall develop a stronger understanding and retain more concepts . Moreover, movement can increase concentration and reboot students’ attention and better their academic performance, which links back to the concept of “brain breaks”(Harrison, 2019).

Here, we have put together a short sample lesson, in which GoNoodle is used. This lesson, titled “Let’s Talk About Patterns”, is intended to introduce the concept of basic patterns to students at the kindergarten level. The lesson begins with an interactive slide presentation where multimedia (in-class narration and text) will be used to introduce the topic and key ideas. For the cultivating activity, a GoNoodle video will be used to reinforce what has been learned. The video will allow the students to hear different examples of patterns, connect movement to those patterns, as well as recognize that patterns can come in many forms. This lesson plan aims to demonstrate how an educator may use GoNoodle in their classroom as a way to enforce and practice new concepts.

Google Slides – Let’s talk about Patterns

GoNoodle has so much to offer in terms of helping students develop mindfulness, healthy lifestyles, and deepen academic understanding, but how effective is it in regards to being an appropriate and efficient educational multimedia application? 

When evaluating any application in terms of the Multimedia principle of Learning, it is important to remember that an application can still be considered effective even if it only ticks off some of the boxes as some of the principles are inclined to contradict each other.

GoNoodle does fill many of the requirements for each multimedia learning principle. While the videos provided may not be fitting every principle at the same time, many can be covered as each video is different and uses various aspects of media. Here are some examples along with corresponding videos:

Multimedia Principle – “Learning with words and pictures is more effective than learning with words alone (Butcher, K., 2014, p.175)” Lines and Angles, Blazer Fresh. GoNoodle follows the multimedia principle as every video contains some sort of combination of video or animation along with text and/or narration.

Modality Principle – Learning is more effective when auditory information and images are given rather than text and images (Low, R., Sweller, J., 2014). Let’s Unwind – Flow | GoNoodle GoNoodle follows the modality principle as some channels provide videos with mainly narration and imagery.

Signaling – Material is more effective when cues are added or highlighted (Van Gog, T., 2014.) Getcha Money Right – Blazer Fresh | GoNoodle. GoNoodle Follows the signalling principle as key words or information are often animated, spoken aloud, or highlighted.

Spatial Contiguity – “People learn more deeply from a multimedia message when corresponding words and pictures are presented near…each other (Mayer, R., Fiorella, L., 2014, p. 280).” Water Cycle – Blazer Fresh | Science Video | GoNoodle. GoNoodle Follows this principle as the text or narration and imagery are often seen or heard side by side.

Temporal Contiguity – “People learn more deeply from a multimedia message when corresponding animation and narration are presented simultaneously (Mayer, R., Fiorella, L., 2014, p. 280).” Melting – Flow | GoNoodle. GoNoodle follows this principle as animation and narration are consistently delivered at the same time.

Image – “People do not necessarily learn more deeply from a multimedia presentation when the speaker’s image is on the screen (Mayer, R., 2014, p.346).” Bring it Down – Flow | GoNoodle. GoNoodle follows this principle as some channels exclusively use animation and narration with no speaker on screen.

Embodiment – “People learn more deeply when on-screen agents display humanlike gesturing, movement, eye contact, and facial expressions (Mayer, R., 2014, p.346)” Strengthen Your Focus-Empower Tools. GoNoodle follows this principle as some channels incorporate speakers on screen or animations that generate humanlike movement.

Redundancy – Providing the same information in too many formats at the same time can interfere with learning (Kalyuga, S., Sweller, J., 2014). GoNoodle does not follow the redundancy principle as many videos often include text, narration, as well as imagery to accommodate the needs of all learners; however, this could be overwhelming to some.

Coherence – “People learn more deeply from a multimedia message when extraneous material is excluded (Mayer, R., Fiorella, L., 2014, p.280).” GoNoodle does not always follow this principle as many videos also include extra information or narration such as jokes or “one-liners” that are intended to engage students.

Principles and chapters retrieved from Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (Mayer, 2014)

To dive further into our evaluation of GoNoodle we examined several reviews on the software and gained an understanding of student perspective. We made a Google Slide with our findings. 

Lastly we used the University of Western Ontario rubric for evaluating multimedia apps. To show our thorough evaluation we made a Canva presentation.

 

References 

Anstey, L. M., & Watson, G. P. L. (n.d.). Rubric for eLearning Tool Evaluation. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://teaching.uwo.ca/pdf/elearning/Rubric-for-eLearning-Tool-Evaluation.pdf

ASCD. (2012). Making the Case for Educating the Whole Child. Alexandria, Virginia: Retrieved from: http://www.wholechildeducation.org/assets/content/mx-resources/WholeChild-MakingTheCase.pdf

 GoNoodle, Inc. “‎GoNoodle – Kids Videos.” App Store, 2015, apps.apple.com/ca/app/gonoodle-kids-videos/id1050712293.

GoNoodle | Get Moving. (Jan 31, 2017). Getcha Money Right – Blazer Fresh | GoNoodle. [Youtube] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMSAzl6V95M

GoNoodle | Get Moving. (Aug 22, 2016). Strengthen Your Focus- Empower Tools. [Youtube] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vuaCHEAs-4

GoNoodle | Get Moving. (Aug 24, 2016) Bring it Down | Flow | GoNoodle.  [Youtube] Retrieved from : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRkILioT_NA

GoNoodle | Get Moving (Mar 9, 2020). Melting – Flow | GoNoodle. [Youtube] retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTzX

GoNoodle | Get Moving. (May 29, 2017). Water Cycle – Blazer Fresh | Science Video | GoNoodle. [Youtube] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM-59ljA4BsFPh6CPI

Longinos, J. (Sept 22, 2019). Let’s Unwind – Flow | GoNoodle. [Youtube] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4gkvyZYxb0

Mahar, Matthew T. “Impact of Short Bouts of Physical Activity on Attention-to-Task in Elementary School Children.” ScienceDirect, 31 Jan. 2011, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743511000545?casa_token=32vm2kqoPCMAAAAA%3ACjwB63x973cHy3MFgCjULoSzOgsjmbeEdUhYE75nL-JI5I3tnQJTu9bEtMtVg0i4-aVlfcKFog. 

Mayer, R. (Ed.). (2014). The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139547369

Sorenson, K. (May 20, 2020). Lines and Angles, Blazer Fresh. [Youtube] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndu7zkbQVoc

 

Group Vote for Evaluation of a Multimedia Application

We chose…

GoNoodle!

 

@GoNoodle on Twitter

After some quick discussion, our learning pod decided to go with the application GoNoodle for our group evaluation.

  GoNoodle is a free application for educators to use within their everyday classroom. This program revolves around the use of videos to promote healthy activity and mental wellness in young students. The videos provide engaging narration and pictures to grab the attention of students and lead them through different exercises. There are many different channels and categories to choose videos from and there is something for almost every focus. Educators can choose videos based on what they need for their class whether it be for relaxation, to cover academic subjects, for brain breaks, or to practice mental and emotional well-being.

 The choice to evaluate this application was an easy decision for our group. After reviewing each other’s individual application evaluations, we quickly decided to go with GoNoodle. Each of us have had our own experiences using GoNoodle in various settings and all have been positive. We have had the chance to observe students of various ages participating and engaging in the active videos during field experience opportunities, classroom volunteering, or even our own classes. From what we have observed, these active videos have been received positively by the students and educators. However; we want to explore this program further. To what extent does this program benefit students physically? Mentally? Academically? How secure is it in terms of privacy and security? How accessible is it for use in varied settings?

 We see GoNoodle as a positive and engaging educational tool that can be beneficial to the physical and personal well-being of students as it promotes active movement and healthy thinking. We are looking forward to looking at this application more in depth and discovering how effective it is for students’ growth and how much it benefits their development and learning.

Retrieved from: www.tes.com

 

Individual Evaluation of GoNoodle

Personal Experience

When it was time for me to begin this project, I wasn’t quite sure which EdTech Application to evaluate. Fortunately, as I was scrolling through lists of various educational applications, I came across one of my favourite programs GoNoodle. I have used this application frequently while teaching various programs but I never quite connected it to multimedia. But now, knowing what I know about multimedia from our previous topics, I can see how it would classified as social media.

GoNoodle provides videos which include demonstrations, pictures, narration, and text to engage students of many ages in physical activity and promote the importance of mental and emotional well-being. I use this program often in my dance classes or summer camps with young students when they are need of a change in pace or need some structured relaxation. I am looking forward to learning more and I hope to explore this program more through this assignment.

 

How it works

GoNoodle is an educational program that provides short interactive videos for various types of classrooms and is geared towards students in Kindergarten and Grades 1 through 5. Physical Activity and personal wellness are promoted through engaging videos provided by multiple channels. Videos are organized based by channel (who the videos were created by) or by categories such as academic subject, areas of mindfulness, various physical skills, or types of movement. These videos can be used by teachers throughout the day for any reason including action breaks, breathing break, or regrouping. I find this to be a great source of engaging physical activity especially when time or space is limited within the classroom and there is a need to get students moving.

 

Accessibility/ Design

 This education application is free for all educators and is available to parents and students in their own home which makes it very accessible for everyone. However, some technical elements are required to engage in this program such as a computer, a large screen to view, or internet. This may make it less accessible to those who do not have access to these items.

This program was largely designed to promote healthy activity and mindfulness in young children. The goal of each video provided is to focus attention, benefit the brain and exercise the body. The program is also design for long term engagement. To provide motivation for completing more active videos, the classes are able to choose a virtual character and levels up as points are earned and videos are watched. It is also possible for Educators to set up more than one class under their account so each class can measure their own progress.

 

Privacy

In regards to the privacy of this application this app appears safe to use. Educators are asked to create an account with minimal personal information being collected. The program asks for a name, email, a school name, and name to ensure that you are of age to register. Students are not able to create accounts or access the services themselves and there is no collection of students’ personal data (GoNoodle, 2020).

Watch this video to find out more.


 

Connection to Multimedia Learning Principles

I think that this program has the potential to fit every multimedia principle. As every video is created differently, depending on which video is selected, the multimedia principles within the media may be different. Saying this, most videos (but not all) follow the modality principle in which narration is used with video and picture rather than text as well as the spatial and temporal contiguity principles as images and words are presented simultaneously and close to each other (Mayer, 2014).

 

Evaluation

 

Image Modified from Original by Lefflerd’s on Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved from:https://www.schoology.com/blog/samr-model-practical-guide-edtech-integration

Based on my reading regarding the SAMR model for evaluating and integrating EdTech, I believe GoNoodle falls under the category of Augmentation. In this model, augmentation means that a technological tool acts as a substitute for a traditional style of learning but their is improvement in students learning and productivity (L., 2017). GoNoodle fits this description as the active videos may substitute traditional command style learning or physical education but they allow students to work on and improve their mental and physical wellness.

 

References:

GoNoodle. (2015, September 1). GoNoodle 101. Youtube. Retrieved from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgY9nzm1hpk

GoNoodle. (2020, June 12). About GoNoodle. GoNoodle. Retrieved from: https://support.gonoodle.com/article/241-what-is-gonoodle

L, H. (2017, October 30). SAMR Model: A Practical Guide for EdTech Integration. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from https://www.schoology.com/blog/samr-model-practical-guide-edtech-integration

Mayer, R. E. (2014). The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning. doi:10.1017/cbo9781139547369

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