Peer Review

Noba Student Videos: Memory

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Reviewed:: Oct 11, 2015 by Psychology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

The Noba project hosts contests for multimedia development to impact learning. The 2014 Noba Student Video Award contest focused on memory, and the website highlights three student multimedia project winners and eight honorable mention videos. The three top winners created educational videos covering various topics relevant to memory (misinformation effect, flashbulb memories, rehearsal, memory process, chunking, capacity). This review will reference them as 1st place Misinformation Effect, 3rd place Misinformation Effect, and 2nd place Flashbulb Memories.

Type of Material:

The learning material consists of video/multimedia presentations that are organized by theme. The 2014 theme of video/multimedia presentations was memory. All presentations are informational multimedia presentations that are displayed as tutorial videos.

Recommended Uses:

Any of the videos would make a nice supplement to a class discussing memory (ranging from general psychology to more advanced memory/cognition classes). They are brief and would be excellent discussion starters. The videos would be particularly valuable for use in an online course as instructional supplements.

Technical Requirements:

Two reviewers successfully accessed the presentations with Mozilla Firefox and with Google Chrome on a PC with Windows 7. Viewing the presentations requires a video player (hosted through the website) and audio capabilities.

Identify Major Learning Goals:

By watching any of these videos, students will learn more about specific memory effects regarding long term memory.

The specific goals of the various multimedia video presentations are: 1) understand the misinformation effect 2) apply an understanding of memory processes and memory errors to everyday use of memory 3) overview the three-box model of memory 4) highlight factors that influence memory and/or memory errors.

Target Student Population:

The presentations are appropriate for high school (AP psychology courses) through college age students studying memory.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

There are no prerequisites, but it would be beneficial to have first studied long term memory.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: Overall, the videos provide a nice, brief overview of certain long term memory effects. These are high-quality instructional videos that incorporate a range of multimedia tools. Because the presentations are created by students, they are designed with a younger, dynamic student in mind. The videos go far beyond a “talking head” to engage the viewer and increase interest in the presentation.
Concerns:: The 1st place Misinformation Effect video presents images to help one understand the original Loftus studies regarding the effect; however, they display the critical stop sign in full view whereas the original study has the stop sign partially occluded. The 2nd place Flashbulb Memories video clearly explains flashbulb memories including that these can be positive or negative, but does not clearly explain that they are not all common. Flashbulb memories can be personal; research studies tend to focus on common events so we know the comparison material. Students often assume they are only common events from such explanations. Excellent job, otherwise.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: The videos are useful as stand-alone tutorials on long term memory effects. As short, dynamic instructional modules, these supplements have a high likelihood of student viewing based on length and format. The videos require no additional introduction or follow-up, and the material is presented with clarity.
Concerns:: Instructors may find it useful to integrate some interactive components as such videos are most useful (for class activity purposes) when included with a discussion of long term memory.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: These are short, easy to follow videos that can be viewed without logging in to Noba (though accounts are free). The videos are interesting, modern and dynamic. All play on a single click with no additional downloads required.
Concerns:: No ADA compliance or alternative format information is available.

Other Issues and Comments:: The Noba videos are very interesting presentations that effectively target an undergraduate student population. The videos are geared toward the interest level and format amenable to college students.
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