Development of the Abbreviated Technology Anxiety Scale (ATAS).

The purpose of this research was to develop a short measure of technology anxiety and provide validity and reliability evidence for its use in a variety of studies in the social sciences. Technology anxiety is an emotion oriented towards a negative affect leading to the avoidance of information and communication technology (Wilson, 2018). We developed the Abbreviated Technology Anxiety Scale (ATAS) and applied measurement theory to provide validity and reliability evidence. We implemented the study in multiple phases that included expert panel reviews on the content and quality of the items, and three rounds of data collection and analyses to provide the needed evidence. The scores from the ATAS were found to have an internally consistent structure, as well as to correlate with other known measures of technology and anxiety. Our results support the use of the ATAS for low-stakes purposes in research studies and evaluations. A general discussion is provided looking at the potential applications of the ATAS and its relation to other existing measures.

The influence of the multimedia and modality principles on the learning outcomes, satisfaction, and mental effort of college students with and without dyslexia.

The purpose of this study was to examine the application of the multimedia and modality principles on cued-recall, recognition, and mental effort of college students with and without dyslexia. The study used a Multimedia (Image Present vs. Image Absent) × Modality (Narration vs. Onscreen Text) × Dyslexia (Dyslexia vs. Non-Dyslexia) 3-way factorial design with each independent variable serving as a between-subject condition. A total of N = 148 participants (73 with dyslexia and 75 without dyslexia) were recruited from five different institutions of higher education in the Southeastern United States and systematically assigned to one of four multimedia learning conditions. After assessing our data for statistical assumptions, we employed factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) models on each dependent measure. Our findings show a reverse modality effect for students with dyslexia who performed better than their peers without dyslexia in Onscreen Text conditions. Although performance was better across groups and conditions when images were present, there were no significant interactions related to the multimedia condition. Similarly, there were no significant interactions related to mental effort even though learners with dyslexia exhibited high instructional efficiency in the Onscreen Text-Image Present condition while learners without dyslexia exhibited low task involvement in the Onscreen Text-Image Absent condition. Our results provide theoretical implications and important avenues for future research and practice as related to how multimedia learning influences students with dyslexia. We also suggest studies that could inform the eventual design of adaptive and personalized multimedia learning solutions for learners with dyslexia.

Transformation of a face-to-face workshop into a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC): A design and development case.

The purpose of this design and development case is to share our experiences in the transformation of a face-to-face workshop into a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for a prominent MOOC platform. The goal of the workshop and MOOC is to teach learners how to conduct appropriate power and sample size analysis for multilevel and longitudinal studies in social and behavioral health research. Learners include people from across the biomedical research spectrum, from students to full professors. We first describe the design and development frameworks and processes used to create the three-day, face-to-face workshop. Then, we detail the design and development approach to transform this face-to-face workshop into a MOOC. At a macro-design level, we employed backward design (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998) as an instructional design framework. At a micro-design level, we used a combination of the first principles of instruction, the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, the nine events of instruction, and design recommendations for MOOCs found in the literature. We report the results of a formative evaluation of the MOOC. Finally, we provide closing remarks, lessons learned, and the next steps for the instructional program.

Psychological norms for simple three-line graphic shapes.

There is a longstanding tradition in psychological research for norming lists of words that are used in experimental studies. The present study extends this practice to graphic imagery by obtaining norming data on 24 simple abstract graphic shapes composed of three straight-line segments. The attributes obtained in the norming procedure were the shapes' familiarity, describability, associability, availability, and potential for word association. Results from rating data indicate significantly different, yet reliable, responses by participants to the various shape configurations. Multidimensional scaling analysis of shape ratings identified two underlying dimensions of perceived differences: the continuity of a shape's linear direction and the consistency or regularity of its interior angles. By contrast, performance in generating word associations for figures appeared to be linguistically driven, with initial responses related to the similarity of shapes to letters of the alphabet. The norms and the computer program used to collect them can be downloaded from www.psychonomic.org/archive.