Thoughts on Message Design

Before the reading, my first ideas on message design were inspired by my experience working with firms known for their branding in the information technology sector. It was a message intended to convey the need for a product or service and what the brand stood for to a specific audience. For instance, PepsiCo advertised "You Got the Right One, Baby" in the early 1990s. Uh, Huh!". The business hired Ray Charles and female backing singers or performers to sing Uh, Huh! The message aimed to influence your decision to choose Pepsi over other Cola products. Well, I should give Pepsi a try since I've always preferred Coca-Cola. Pepsi is just as popular as Coca-Cola. The message was delivered via a well-known celebrity and a lively, upbeat tune. I later discovered that PepsiCo frequently changes its slogan or statement to reflect the most recent trends after I worked there in the early 2000s. From the Gatorade sports drink to the Quaker Oats commonly used for oatmeal and baking ingredients, each product had its message since it was customized for a particular audience based on demand, not to mention all the well-known Frito-Lay chips with their branding messages.

I learned more about message design in the previous semester's LTEC 6210, Theory and Design of Interactive Multimedia Systems course. The article by Lambert & Cuper (2008) explores nonlinear thinking abilities for the twenty-first century and how multimedia integration might increase engagement and motivate learning involvement. When communicating ideas, multimedia is used in various ways, including text, music, images, animations, and videos (Lambert & Cuper, 2008). Teachers in the classroom nowadays have access to a variety of multimedia technologies because of the transition from a mainly linear to an increasingly nonlinear learning environment. As they move from one screen to the next, teachers frequently use linear multimedia technologies as extra teaching aids (Lambert & Cuper, 2008). Conversely, nonlinear multimedia give the audience control over how the presentation unfolds (Lambert & Cuper, 2008).

After reading about message design, my understanding changed. Hence, according to Chapter 1 by Ramlatchan (2019), instructional learning design is about designing instructional messages to practically apply learning theories to create tools that effectively communicate, disseminate knowledge, and transfer information. A critical perspective of instructional message design is to be guided by learning theories to effectively transform your message to learners through technology (Ramlatchan, 2019). According to Ramlatchan (2019), Gestalt, Cognitive Load, and Multimedia Learning theories guide our message design. When selecting a tool or piece of technology to deliver the design message content successfully, efficiency and effectiveness are of greater importance (Ramlatchan, 2019). Using message design techniques and methods for students' motivation and being engaged, message design can impact students with indirect or direct learning experiences. For example, learners can use text, illustrations, photographs, modeled graphics, augmented reality, animation, video games, simulations, and virtual reality in some form during learning activities (Ramlatchan, 2019).

According to Mayer's article from 2021 on evidence-based guidelines for creating engaging educational videos, it is grounded in cognitive theories of learning and instruction, and multimedia messages offer great potential for improving communication effectiveness. I selected this article because Richard Mayer was passionate about how students learn and founded the cognitive theory of multimedia learning. His research insights and principles have added valuable knowledge to message design theories. In this article, he demonstrates his principles, for example, how to utilize words and images, use appealing voice techniques, and avoid using a static image of the instructor's face while developing instructional videos (Mayer, 2021).

I hope to learn from this course the need to develop curriculum instruction with research-based methods to help students achieve learning objectives. I need to study more about learning theories in depth through this course.

References:

Lambert, J., & Cuper, P. (2008). Multimedia technologies and familiar spaces: 21st century teaching for 21st century learners. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 8(3), 264-276.

Mayer, R. E. (2021). Evidence-based principles for how to design effective instructional videos. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 10(2), 229-240.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jarmac.2021.03.007

Ramlatchan, M. (2019). Instructional Message Design: Theory, Research and. ODU Digital Commons, 1(1). https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/instructional_message_design/