11 - Personalization Principle #3

Brief Definition

The third Personalization Principle suggests that having interaction (or perceived interaction) with the author of the material is beneficial to learning (Clark and Mayer, 2011). This visibility of the author can be accomplished through the first-person thoughts of the author’s personal experience and opinions. It can either be spoken or written and is effective as long as other multimedia principles are applied.

An Artifact

This video that teaches a short lesson about Equations With Variables on Both Sides hints at Personalization Principle #3 because the author inserted a silly introductory scene applying the math concept to real life - something the author may have actually used the concept for. However, it misses the Personalization Principle #3 mark since it isn’t the author personalizing the discussion - the author places himself as a shop lady conversing with Spiderman in the midst of a pastry purchase. While the introduction and final scene are entertaining and would capture the audience, the effectiveness may have increased had the author put himself in the scene and portrayed it as a real-life example (even if the customer was Spiderman!).

References

Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2011). E-learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.