Author: rainah

Portfolio Reflection

2026-06-25 / rainah / 0 Comments

Throughout this course, I explored a wide range of media formats through my Daily Creates, and each week pushed me to think differently about how people learn, how meaning is communicated, and how design choices shape understanding. Working with text, images, video, audio, multimedia, and data visualization helped me see how learning theories, specifically multimedia design principles, directly influence the way educational resources are created.

My first week of Daily Creates focused on text, which is one of the simplest and most familiar forms of media. In my post, Week 1- Text (https://edci337rainah.opened.ca/2026/05/22/week-1-text/), I wrote poems and a short story, which reminded me how powerful written language can be in guiding a reader’s imagination. Writing a limerick required me to do some research to remind myself of the structure and think carefully about rhythm, rhyme, and pacing. This process helped me understand how text naturally segments information, which connects to the Segmenting Principle. The First Lines poem gave me more freedom, and I found myself leaning into a conversational tone that aligns with the Personalization Principle. Even though text is simple, it is incredibly flexible, and this week helped me see how written storytelling supports learning by helping readers build mental images and emotional connections.

The next week, I shifted to audio in Daily Creates 2 (https://edci337rainah.opened.ca/2026/05/24/daily-creates-2/). Recording audio felt very different from writing because tone, pacing, and emphasis suddenly mattered in ways that text alone cannot capture. Reading a poem out loud or attempting to pronounce a difficult word made me realize how much meaning is carried through sound. This connected strongly to the Voice Principle, which emphasizes the importance of natural human speech in learning. Audio also helped me understand the Temporal Contiguity Principle, because hearing the pronunciation of a word immediately after seeing it made the learning experience more cohesive. Exploring apps like Wolfram Tones and Visualize the Music pushed me to think about how sound can be transformed into something visual or interactive, which deepened my understanding of how different senses can work together to support learning.

My third week focused on images (https://edci337rainah.opened.ca/2026/05/30/daily-creates-3-images/). Photography and visual representation are incredibly powerful tools for communication because they give viewers an immediate anchor for understanding. As I mentioned in the post, when I coach, I often draw out drills to help players visualize spacing and movement, and reflecting on this helped me see how images reduce cognitive load by giving learners something concrete to reference. This connects to the Representational Pictures Principle, which highlights how realistic visuals support comprehension. Adding labels or drawn elements directly onto an image also relates to the Signaling Principle, because it guides attention to the most important details.

The Monster Art activity reinforced how essential visuals can be; without the image, the description would have been confusing, but the picture provided a clear reference point that strengthened understanding. This week helped me see how images support learning not only in storytelling but also in everyday communication and instruction.

In Daily Creates 4- Video (https://edci337rainah.opened.ca/2026/06/06/daily-creates-4-video/), I explored video as a form of media. Video combines visuals, audio, and sometimes text, making it one of the best formats for learning. My “Explain an Item” video, where I showed and described a dresser, helped me understand how the Multimedia Principle works in practice. Showing the dresser from different angles while explaining its purpose made the information clearer than if I had only described it verbally.

The One Take Tongue Twister prompt helped me see how text can support audio by giving viewers something to follow along with, especially when the spoken words are fast or unclear. This relates to the Modality Principle, which emphasizes balancing visual and auditory channels to avoid overload. Video also made me think about accessibility, like how someone might rely on audio if they cannot look at the screen, or rely on visuals and text if they cannot hear the audio. This week helped me understand how video can support diverse learners by offering multiple ways to access meaning.

My fifth week focused on multimedia, which I explored in Daily Creates 5- Multimedia (https://edci337rainah.opened.ca/2026/06/12/daily-creates-5-multimedia/). This week tied together everything I had learned so far. By layering text, audio, and visuals onto photos and videos, I was able to create richer and more engaging pieces.

Multimedia aligns closely with Mayer’s principles because it uses multiple channels to support understanding. I found myself thinking about coherence, keeping only the elements that supported the message, and about how different audiences might interact with the media. For example, someone might listen to the audio while multitasking, while someone else might rely on the text if they are in a loud environment. This week helped me understand how multimedia design supports accessibility, engagement, and clarity, all of which are essential in educational contexts.

My final week explored data visualization in Daily Creates 6- DataVis (https://edci337rainah.opened.ca/2026/06/22/daily-creates-6-datavis/). This was one of the most abstract forms of media I worked with, and it challenged me to think about how information can be represented visually in ways that are meaningful and easy to interpret. Using sound to generate visual patterns helped me understand how data can be transformed into something more accessible. This week connected to the Signaling Principle again, because effective data visualization relies on highlighting the most important information. It also connected to design thinking, because I had to experiment with different inputs and reflect on how the visuals changed. This experience helped me see how data visualization can support learning by making complex information easier to understand.

Across all six weeks, I engaged in design thinking by experimenting, revising, and making intentional choices to improve clarity and engagement. Whether I was writing a poem, recording audio, filming a video, or creating a data visualization, I had to think about the how to draw interest to the media, match the needs of the audience, and how to communicate meaning effectively. This process helped me understand how design thinking supports multimedia learning projects by encouraging creativity, problem‑solving, and reflection.

I also created a wide range of media examples throughout the course, exploring different ways they can be incorporated into stories and media. These included text‑based pieces, images, videos, audio recordings, multimedia edits, and data visualizations. These artifacts allowed me to try different methods of using multimedia, and demonstrated my ability to work with different media formats and experiment with new tools. All of these creations are linked in my Daily Creates posts, making it easy to see how each example connects to the course learning goals and specific medias.

Throughout this course, I didn’t rely on GenAI to create my poems, stories, videos, or other Daily Creates. All of the creative work was my own, which was important to me because I wanted to genuinely explore each form of media. I also just personally do not trust AI to be responsible for any of my work due to the unreliability and environmental factors. Even though I am not the biggest fan of AI use to generate my artifacts, I still learned a lot about its role in education and why it matters to understand how to use it responsibly. As a future teacher, I know my students will grow up surrounded by AI tools, and part of my job will be helping them understand when AI can support their learning and when it might limit their creativity or accuracy. Learning about GenAI in this course helped me see how it can be a helpful tool for brainstorming, clarifying ideas, or refining writing, but also why it’s important to teach students to use it ethically, thoughtfully, and being able to understand its limitations.

Of course, I faced challenges along the way. Writing poetry felt unfamiliar at first, especially the structured limerick as it had been so long since I have had to write any poetry. Recording audio made me self‑conscious about my tone and pacing, especially since I was recovery from jaw surgery and my speech was not the most clear. The video creation made me think about framing, narration, and any distracting visuals/ noise that could impact the message. I also struggled to find a good topic and reliable research for my data visualization prompt. But each challenge helped me grow as a multimedia creator, and working through them gave me confidence to try new tools and formats.

Looking back on this course, I can see how valuable these skills will be in my future career in elementary education. Young learners benefit from clear visuals, simple audio explanations, interactive storytelling, and multimodal learning opportunities. The ability to create engaging multimedia resources will help me support diverse learners and make lessons more accessible. This course also reminded me how important creativity is—not just for students, but for teachers as well. As a future educator, I want to model creativity, encourage exploration, and give students opportunities to express themselves through multiple forms of media. The skills I developed in this course will support me not only in my teaching career but also in future courses and in my everyday life as someone who values clear, thoughtful communication.

Resources

https://edci337rainah.opened.ca/2026/06/22/daily-creates-6-datavis/

https://edci337rainah.opened.ca/2026/06/12/daily-creates-5-multimedia/

https://edci337rainah.opened.ca/2026/06/06/daily-creates-4-video/

https://edci337rainah.opened.ca/2026/05/30/daily-creates-3-images/

https://edci337rainah.opened.ca/2026/05/24/daily-creates-2/

https://edci337rainah.opened.ca/2026/05/22/week-1-text/ Course Outline – EDCI 337

https://educationaltechnology.net/mayers-principles-of-multimedia-learning/

Daily Creates 6- DataVis

2026-06-22 / rainah

Data visualization is a helpful way to share information because it makes complex research easier for people to understand. Scientific studies often come with a lot of numbers, percentages, and technical language, which can be hard to interpret on their own. Using visuals like bar graphs and pie charts helps break that information down into something more approachable. These visuals give viewers a quick sense of what the data is showing without needing to read through long explanations.

What makes data visualization so effective is how clearly it highlights differences and patterns. A bar graph can show changes between groups or categories in a way that’s easy to compare, and a pie chart can show how something is divided up at a glance. Instead of trying to picture the numbers in your head, you can see the relationships right in front of you. This makes the information feel more organized and easier to follow.

Visuals also help keep people engaged. Most viewers process images faster than text, so a simple, well‑designed graph can make the information more memorable. It also helps build trust because the data is laid out in a clear, transparent way. People can see exactly where the numbers come from rather than trying to interpret them on their own.

This connects well to Mayer’s multimedia learning theory, which explains that people understand information better when it’s presented in both words and visuals. Data visualization supports this by giving viewers something clear to look at while they interpret the numbers. Instead of relying only on text, graphs help break the information into a format that feels easier to process. When viewers can see the data laid out visually, it reduces the mental effort needed to make sense of it. This makes the information more accessible and helps people focus on the main message rather than getting lost in the details.

Multimedia Story Reflection

2026-06-17 / rainah

To write my multimedia story Hornby, I tried to follow closely to my story draft. I took the feedback from the peers in my small group and the professor, but the feedback was all positive, commenting that my idea was good and to stick with what I already had. I did end up changing the reason why I wanted to find the special spot in my story so badly. I originally said it was because of the peace it brought me after my dog died, but the way I had written the story, it seemed that it would be too random to bring up the passing of my dog at the end of the story with no mention of it prior. Instead, I just went with needing to escape the chaos of my family and our friends for a bit. I tried to keep the story interesting by not revealing what exactly I was trying to find till the end of the story, that is also why it was then difficult to incorporate my childhood dog into it.

Based on the plan in my draft, I ended up doing a day trip to Hornby Island. I drove my car over and brought my dog along for the adventure. To incorporate the multimedia, I brought my phone which took photos, videos, and audio recordings. I also brought my camera to take photos as well, but I didn’t use it too much due to the simplicity of using my phone. I ended up forgetting my sketch pad in my rush out the door to catch the ferry, and I decided I didn’t need sketches in the end because the photos and videos covered everything and I was meeting the requirement of 4 types of media (at least I thought at the time- text, images, videos, and audio…).

For the forms of media I used, I incorporated text, images, videos and some audio. I had difficulties adding the audio recordings to my blog post (as mentioned at the bottom of my story post), but the videos do incorporate audio that I believe add to the information I had in the story. In the draft, I also mentioned potentially incorporating drawings, but I did not do this for my final story. I forgot to pack a sketchbook in my rush to catch the ferry, and I ended up feeling like the photos were able to portray everything in the story (also I am not a very good artist, so I am not sure how much the drawings would have added).

To incorporate the Mayer’s Principles, as I mentioned in my draft, I included multiple forms of media to make the story more engaging and memorable for readers/ viewers. To do this, I added visuals like photos and videos, as well as audios (which just ended up being the videos due to difficulties with the voice recordings) to add to the text, following the modality principle. When writing the story, I used casual language like I stated in my draft. This matches the Mayer’s Principles of “personalization” making the reading more engaging with more interesting script than stiff, formal text. I tried to follow the spatial and temporal contingency principles by placing my photos and videos directly after the text that explains the setting/ experience. Following the segmenting aspect of Mayer’s Principles, I also tried to keep my paragraphs relatively short and specifically spaced based on the plot and information given for that segment.

(If the videos do not cover the audio aspect, and a fourth type of media is required, please let me know and I will figure out something else to add asap! I figured I would post the story first due to the deadline just to show that I have finished it)

Multimedia Story

2026-06-17 / rainah

Hornby

By: Raina Hagel

As the ferry docks, I am jolted forward slightly from the impact. I sit in my car with the window cracked, listening to the loud hum from the boat and seagulls squawking. The salty, ocean air wafts into my car. I watch as the vehicles beside me unload, a clank every time another vehicle goes up the ramp.

Each person has come to the island for their own reason: a local coming home, visiting a friend or family, a relaxing beach day, a mountain bike trip– people coming for the day, a weekend, or home. I think about why I’ve come back. All the memories.

It has been years since I’ve visited with my family. The last time I was here, we came for a weekend just after my 11^th birthday. It was the start of summer and we rented a little cottage with our family friends. We spent the mornings mountain biking and the afternoons at the beach. It was nice. Simple, island life: everything a short bike ride away, spending the days outside in the sun, and the nights by a fire. Life has gotten so busy that I haven’t really had a chance to come back since then.

Hornby is a small island off of Denman Island, which is just off Buckley Bay. With the two short ferry rides, it takes about an hour to get to Hornby from Comox, my hometown, depending if you’ve timed the ferries right. It isn’t some huge trip to get there, but I never really have a reason to go, so the idea always gets pushed off for another time and it just never ended up happening. So this year, I’m home from university and decided that I will get back to Hornby this summer. So here I am. And once again, I think of the reason why I have come here today.

Finally, it is my turn to unload, so I turn my car on and put it into drive. The radio comes on and blasts a random ad before I can connect to Bluetooth. I drive onto the ramp, and there is a soft rumble as I roll over the metal grates.

Finally, I reach pavement, driving past all the cars lined up to take the ferry back to Denman. My music connects and Stubborn Love starts playing from my summer playlist. I drive up the hill from the ferry, towards the town square. The windows are down, wind blowing my hair and providing a nice breeze in the hot car as I pass all the homes. I pass properties filled with trees and wild grass, many with horses and goats. I pass flower stands, local art galleries, the small elementary school and community hall; everything is so wholesome and naturally beautiful. Finally, I reach the far end of the island where the local grocery store, gas station and some small shops are. I turn into the gravel parking lot and park my car. It’s 12:18, so I will buy some lunch before the long day ahead of me. I decide on a fresh pepperoni pizza and I sit in the shop square.

It isn’t very busy on this Wednesday in June. As I eat my slice of pizza, there are only a few people who walk by. The square is simple: a few picnic tables, some games that people can play, and a nice garden, all in the middle of the shops. I finish my pizza and walk around the square for a minute before heading back to the car. Now that I have eaten, I can focus on my mission– the reason I’ve been wanting to come back to Hornby for so long, the reason I’m here today.

The first place I decide to explore is Tribune Bay, which is a quick walk from the town square. With white sand, crystal clear water, and moon-like rocks, it’s a nice place to escape to. Hornby is known for this beach, it’s often called “Little Hawa’ii” and is super busy during the summer.

Today, only one corner of the beach has a couple young families playing catch, and an older couple walking their dog. I walk along the beach by the edge of the water, towards a quiet edge by the moon rocks. As I’m walk, I listen to the rhythmic sound of waves crashing on the shoreline. This corner is a bit more secluded from the main part of the beach. It has a great view of the bay and I can sit right by the water, but it isn’t the most peaceful spot. The people from the beach’s voices echo across the water. We are half the beach away from each other, but I can still hear what they are saying, word for word, as if they were right next to me.

Although this beach is beautiful, it’s not the place I have come to find. The spot I remember was quiet. Somewhere you can sit for hours and feel totally alone, just me and the nature around me. It had this incredible view at the edge of a forest, overlooking the water.

I walk back to my car, and head to the next location: Helliwell Park. It’s about a 5-minute drive from Tribune Bay, down a skinny road with overgrown grass on the sides and trees hanging over the road making a tunnel. I drive up a steep hill and pull into a dirt parking lot basically in the middle of a forest. It is a lot busier than I expected in the middle of the day on a Wednesday. I slip my sweater on and jump out of the car, heading for the trail entrance. I walk along a wide trail, passing a few locals and tourists. I come to a fork in the trail with a beautiful totem pole, I admire the work for a moment before choosing to take the trail to the right.

I walk along the forested trail for a few more minutes before the trees completely clear to an open field overlooking the water. As I walk towards the ocean view, the steep drop-off of a cliff becomes clear. I look around the open space and see quite a few people wandering the space, some just heading out, some coming back, and some doing some photography; all walking in different directions. I pick a small deer trail in the grass that doesn’t look to have anyone on it. The small dirt trail is right by the cliff’s edge, it has a great view of the water and Denman Island across the channel.

As I continue to explore, a small beach at the bottom of the cliff comes into view, it looks really peaceful; not a person down there, a line of driftwood perfect to sit on, and some light waves crashing on the shoreline. I venture towards the small bay, trying to find a way down. I walk along the cliffs edge to where the small bay ends, but I can’t find a way down.

I continue on the trail till it basically ends at the edge of some trees and shrubs. I turn back and head towards the parking lot. This place has an amazing view, but it’s too busy and there isn’t a good place to just sit and look out at the water. There is still one more place I have in mind to check out, I passed it on the way in, so I’ll stop there before I need to get back to the ferry.

—————————————————————————–

I pull into the small, empty parking lot. There’s a small cemetery at the edge of the forest. I hop out of the car and check out the cemetery from the parking lot, before starting on the trail.

I find a map of the forest, finding a good lookout point and deciding my path. I decide to follow a fairly easy trail called “Northwind” that is supposed to lead to a nice view.

The walk takes about half an hour to get to the spot, there were some big hills to get here, but the lush path with the sounds of birds all around were very peaceful, and the view was worth it.

This is an amazing look out, but it still doesn’t seem like the place I’m looking for; it is right off a trail that people walk and mountain bike, and there isn’t a good spot to just sit and zone out while looking at the view. This is a spot you can stop for a moment, catch your breath, maybe take a photo or two, then continue on your way.

I head back down the trail. By the time I reach the parking lot, there is roughly an hour before the last ferry leaves, back for Denman for the night. I have a bit of time before I need to get there, but not lots, and I’ve explored all the places I had in mind. I don’t know where else I could go and I don’t have enough time to explore the island randomly. So I pull out of the parking lot and turn left towards the ferry. The drive along the quiet country road is peaceful, the sun is beginning to set and it is right at that bright, golden hour lighting. My summer playlist is playing in the background as I enjoy all the scenery passing by with the wind in hair. As I take the final bend just before the ferry, I spot something I recognize. A small side street, the sign labeled Mount RD partially covered by leaves from an overhanging tree branch.

I contemplate checking it out; I am just around the corner from the ferry, I check my car’s clock and there’s a little bit of time to kill, otherwise I’ll just be sitting in the terminal for 45 minutes. Quickly, I check my surroundings and make a sharp U-turn on the skinny road. I turn onto Mount Road and drive through a neighbourhood. As I continue up the road, the concrete ends and a steep, gravel road continues. I drive up into a cul-de-sac and spot a hidden trail entrance.

I park the car out of the way, and rush onto the trail. I only have a short moment to explore this area before the ferry comes. A hundred feet into the trail, there’s a warning sign for a cliff drop off.

I continue with a fast pace towards a small clearing in the trees. As I get closer, I see it opens up into an incredible view of the channel and Denman. There’s a bench just off the trail, I sit and take in the view.

This is the spot. The bench, the lookout, the quietness. Flashes of memories come back from when I was 11; all the frustration I had from being around all the chaos of my family and our friends for 48 hours straight. Long days, late nights, and little rest between activities. I came here to escape. Here, I finally got a moment to breath, to just sit in the calmness of nature, listening to the birds sing and admire the view. I sat there for an hour or two, completely losing track of time while I watched all the boats pass through the channel and the birds and butterflies fly around me, the sun setting behind the mountains beyond. I get the same sense of peace now as I did back then; I’m so happy I found this place again.

I check my watch and realize there is only 15 minutes before the ferry is supposed to leave. I need to go now, otherwise I’ll have to spend the night on Hornby in my car. I jog back to the cul-de-sac and waste no time starting up my car and heading back down the steep, gravel road. It only takes 5 minutes to get into the ferry line-up and there’s only a handful of cars in the terminal. I park my car and watch a few kids play soccer in the empty space in the lot. As I sit in my car, waiting for the ferry on this beautiful evening, I think about the reason I made this trip today. I’m so happy I finally came back to Hornby and got to explore all the amazing spots on this island. And I completed my mission! The reason that motivated me to follow through with this plan. I found the spot I have continuously been thinking about for 9 years. Anytime I felt overwhelmed or just wanted to escape and be by myself for a little bit, my thoughts would always bring me back to this lookout. I tried to find a spot similar in Comox, then in Victoria when I went to university, but nothing ever compared. And when I finally made it back to this special place today, it brought back that same feeling of complete serenity I’ve been searching for since I was 11. At last.

The End.

(once again, I can’t seem to put the voice recordings I took on my phone into this post. I am able to share the file and download it to my computer but when I try to add the audio into my post on WordPress, it says “This type of file cannot be imported” and I don’t know how to fix this. I have tried many times to change the file type and with different audios, but it still won’t work. I’m not able to get any different recordings now with a different app/ method, as I won’t be back to Hornby soon enough. I hope the audios from the videos will work well enough! My apologies)

Proof…

Daily Creates 5- Multimedia

2026-06-12 / rainah

Multimedia use is a great method to attract a variety of audiences. It adds depth to the message or story you are trying to share by adding more context, providing a mix of text, visuals and/ or audio. This can be done in many ways: a text heavy document with images/ videos added in, an image or video can have audio dubbed on top, text can be put overtop of an image or video, or all three can be incorporated together. A good example of this would be news channels. The news has a news anchor to audibly share the detailed story, and is supported with visuals specific to the information and text headers to catch viewers attention with a brief hook description. Another example would be how-to videos on youtube. Creators often post videos of how to do the task, focusing on the item and the person’s hands. To have a clear and detailed description of what they are doing, they add audio over top of the video that can also be written as subtitles. To add more clarity to the video, creators often add symbols and text to emphasize the key steps or details such as arrows and labels.

For my daily creates, I did not follow any prompts from the website because all of the ones I looked at didn’t incorporate the multimedia aspect. Instead, I went through my camera roll and added audio and text to a photo and a video. I also drew on top of another photo. I was just exploring some fun ways to incorporate multimedia into everyday photos and videos, adding depth to the photos/ videos to make them more interesting. As I mentioned in the paragraph above, there are more practical and useful ways to incorporate multimedia, but I wanted to focus on more day-to-day, average use of multimedia.

My use of multimedia in these daily creates connects directly to Mayer’s principles, especially in how different forms of media can work together to strengthen meaning. By adding audio and text to my photos and videos, I was applying the Multimedia Principle, combining visual and verbal information to create a clearer, more engaging message than either mode could provide on its own. I was also mindful of keeping each piece simple and focused, which aligns with the Coherence Principle, including only the elements that supported the main idea of the image rather than adding unnecessary decoration. Pairing visuals with spoken explanations reflects the Modality Principle as well, since distributing information across both visual and auditory channels helps reduce cognitive overload. Even though my goal wasn’t instructional, these small creative edits show how Mayer’s principles can enhance everyday media by making it more meaningful and easier for viewers to interpret.

Daily Creates 4- Video

2026-06-06 / rainah

Explain an Item- Dresser

The One Take Tongue Twister

The Most Dull Video Ever

Videos are a great style of media that connect visual representation with audio and/ or text. This format of using multiple senses in one file makes videos an extremely useful method of media. The one difficulty with videos is that it needs technology to function, unlike photos and written text, videos cannot be printed to make a book or a poster. This issue is not too pressing, as many people have access to technology today, but it does still limit viewing from various audiences.

From the Daily Creates prompts, the Explain an Item video is a great example of how videos can make things easier to learn and (potentially) more engaging. In my video explaining the dresser, I was able to show viewers what a typical dresser looked like, showing different angles and opening the drawers, while providing audio to explain what the purpose of the dresser was and what the drawers were.

The One Take Tongue Twister prompt is a good example of how someone could incorporate text into a video. By adding an image or text of the tongue twister I was reading, it would help viewers follow along with what I was trying to say. This would be helpful, especially for this video where the words were maybe a bit jumbled and blending together, to be more engaged and better follow along to the audio. This makes sure content is clear, specifically when the text is used to highlight key information from the video. The dresser video for example, I could use text to highlight the name of each part (dresser, drawer, handle) and have a written list of the uses of dressers/ what they can hold.

Having these multiple modes of media available in one video can be extremely beneficial to grasp viewers attention. A person may not be looking directly at the video to see the visuals, but they are still able to hear the explanation or other audio that goes with the video. Vice versa, if someone is unable to focus on or hear the audio (in a crowded/ loud space or deaf), they can still see the visual aspect, potentially watching the step-by-step process. If there is text, they can also read along to the video and grasp what the audio is trying to say/ explain.

Videos connect strongly to Mayer’s principles because they can naturally combine visuals, audio, and sometimes text, which makes them an effective tool for communicating information clearly. For example, in my “Explain an Item” video, showing the dresser from different angles while describing its purpose reflects the Multimedia Principle, since viewers receive information through both what they see and what they hear. Adding text or labels, like in the One Take Tongue Twister prompt or even in the dresser video, aligns with the Modality Principle by balancing visual and verbal channels so the viewer isn’t overloaded. Keeping the video focused on only the necessary visuals and explanations also follows the Coherence Principle, ensuring that every element supports understanding rather than distracting from it. Even though videos require technology to access, their ability to offer multiple modes of meaning with visuals and audio (and optional text) makes them accessible to a wider range of viewers and demonstrates how Mayer’s principles can enhance clarity and engagement in everyday media.

(Videos have been cropped to fit within the size requirements to share from my phone to my laptop, so I apologize if the videos seem short and missing information i.e the dresser video)

Daily Creates 3- Images

2026-05-30 / rainah

International Plant Day

The three flowers, I have received after jaw surgery from friends and family. The plant is a gift from the elementary class that I completed my 3-week practicum with.

Be Shady or Shadowy

Monster Art

Backlight it

Exploring the media of photography and images, a visual representation can provide a lot of detail and context to a story. A photo can help the viewers understand what a character looks like or the setting. This can be helpful when a specific detail is important, as memory retention is better when there is a visual provided. When a person can picture the scene that a writer is trying to set, the reader will be more connected to the story.

Visuals are not just useful in storytelling, visuals are extremely helpful in day-to-day life, in learning and giving direction. When trying to explain something in the written or spoken word, information is often misunderstood. Providing an image to visualize information can help clarify and highlight important details.

When I have coached, it is extremely beneficial to include a visual representation. I normally I draw out the pattern of the drill when I am explaining it, then do a demonstration with a few of the players, so everyone has an idea of what the drill should look like. I don’t usually have this available, but having an image of the drill set up that can be drawn on would be more helpful to provide spacing and more specific details to the explanation. This provides more depth to the explanation, so the drawing isn’t just a whole bunch of lines overlapping.

This is just one example of how an image can provide more context, but there are many other examples in real life where this benefits. Images are also useful in storytelling, written or oral. A good use of images when storytelling would be when trying to describe a very specific location or character that will be mentioned throughout the story (especially if it is infrequently mentioned). Adding an image of this thing or place the first time it is mentioned will provide a visual that they can reference or picture in their head now, anytime that this is referenced in the story. A good demonstration of this would be the Monster Art activity; if I tried to explain the thing that I made only using words, it would not be very clear and readers may become confused, but providing the image gives a clear visual that they can now use throughout the book.

Photography connects well to Mayer’s principles because images help viewers build a clear mental model of what they’re learning or reading about. Photos also tie into the Signaling Principle when certain parts of the image are emphasized, these cues guide attention to the most important information. The Redundancy Principle relates as well; a single clear image often communicates spacing, structure, or appearance more efficiently than repeating the same details through long verbal explanations. Activities like the Monster Art example show how essential visuals can be: without the image, the description would be vague and hard to picture, but the photo gives readers a concrete reference that strengthens understanding throughout the story. Photography, whether it’s used in coaching, storytelling, or everyday communication, helps provide clarity by giving people something concrete to visualize and remember.

Multimedia Story Draft

2026-05-25 / rainah

The plan:

Where: I plan to do a trip to Hornby Island (maybe Denman or Quadra instead). The island is so close to my hometown, the Comox Valley, but I hardly visit because I don’t ever have a reason to, and life gets busy so the idea is never followed through with a plan. I hope to use this assignment as my motivator to actually make the plan and visit the island. I will not scout the location beforehand because, one, it is too big of a commitment to just pop over to scout, two, I have been there before and have a relative idea of where and what I could go/ do, and three, I plan to make my story about the spontaneity of the trip- no big plan, just see where the wind takes me throughout the day.
Equipment: I will need my car to get me to the island and to explore different locations. I may spend the night in the back of my car to have more time to explore the island, so I will probably bring a foamy, blanket and pillow. To incorporate various types of media, I will need my phone to take photos, videos, and audio recordings. For photos, I might bring an actual camera as well to get higher quality photos. I will also bring a sketch pad in case I would rather draw a scene instead of taking a photo, or in case I don’t have the opportunity to photograph or film the scenario but I feel it is necessary to provide a visual representation for the story. To keep me company and maybe add to the story, I will potentially bring my brother and/ or dog along with me.

What will be the shape of the story?

My story will be based on the main character, me, trying to find a location that I went to when I was younger, a lookout cliff that brought me this immense feeling of calmness and escape after my childhood dog died. Now, I want to revisit this spot since I am older and have different issues that are causing stress in my adult life, the only problem is I don’t remember the name of the place that I went or how I got there; all I have is the memory of what it looked like from when I was younger, and the feeling that it brought me while I sat alone looking out at the view. The story will go through the adventure of me trying to find this location while I explore the island, finding different cool places along the way, and sharing my emotions throughout the process. I want the readers to go through the suspense of trying to find this meaningful location, reading the experience of making the decisions of where to go, where to start, how I got there solely based on the memory from when I was there when I was 11. The story will start when I am getting off the ferry, feeling excited for this adventure, and it will follow along the adventure as it happens in real time, going through the decisions made, the results that occur, and the emotions, and seeing where the day takes us (hopefully to the intended destination). Throughout the story, there will be flashes of my memories from when I was on Hornby at age 11, and sharing the meaning of the places and the emotions I felt when I was there last.
I love exploring and going on adventures with no destination in mind, just seeing where I go and what views I find, preferable the ones that aren’t easily accessible by the public. So when I read the details of this multimedia story assignment, that was my idea of an adventure. For the purpose of the story, I felt there needed to be more connection to the story, a ‘why’ for my exploration, so I chose a location with some meaning to me. I had to sit and think for a moment as to where I could go that would allow me to go on an adventure that had meaning that was also accessible to do in the next two weeks. Eventually, I decided on Hornby because it checked a lot of the boxes, and I have been looking for a reason and opportunity to go. I want my readers to go through the experience of this adventure and feel like they are with me making these decisions to find my intended destination. This is why I have decided to make this one of my exploring adventures with no set plan of where I will go and what I will do, I just have a general goal to find this place and we will see if I will be able to find it on my own; no help from maps or people really, just off my memory and maybe some signs. I hope to narrate this process as closely to my actual experience for my story and I will incorporate multimedia to add depth to the experiences and feelings that occur on this trip (images of the places I find, videos of the options I have to make, sketches of the people I interact with- or any locations that I am not able to photograph-, and audio recordings of the sounds I hear). The plan of incorporating my memories into the story is to provide context and meaning into the story and the places I go, providing more emotional connection to the readers. This will also hopefully provide suspense for the readers to uncover the location that has so much meaning to me and finally see what I have been trying to describe throughout the story from my memory and feelings from that day when I was 11.

What kind of media will you produce? How do you plan to integrate the media in alignment with Mayer’s Principles of Multimedia Learning?

Using multiple modes of media, incorporating textual, visual, and audio, makes the information given more memorable to readers/ viewers, as mentioned in Mayer’s Principles of Multimedia Learning. I plan to use text, images, videos, audio, and potentially drawings to incorporate all key aspects of multimedia to make my story memorable. With the textual portion of my story, I plan to keep the language casual, following the Personalization Principle, to engage readers more and make the story more memorable. As well, I will use narration in my text along with image, using the modality principle to make the story be effectively memorable. The audio will be used to put the readers into the moment, listening to the sounds that were around me in the moment that the story was occurring. Adding images/ videos will add a visual to allow the readers to better picture and understand the scenarios.

Daily Creates 2- Audio

2026-05-24 / rainah

This week, I explored methods of using audio as a form of media. To record the audios, I used Voice Memos on my iPhone, which was a simple and convenient way to document the audio for my Daily Creates. The four Daily Creates that I did this week are: Poetry Reading, Pronounce This, Wolfram Tones, and Visualize The Music.

From these audio examples, I found that this form of media can be a very beneficial format to add depth to a perspective. For example, in Pronounce This, I had to read a long word out loud and guess how it is pronounced solely based on the spelling. In the English language, there are many words that are not pronounced the way that they are spelled, so having the audio to hear how the word is pronounced is useful. Audio is also useful to hear the tone of what someone is trying to say and what the sentence or story is emphasizing; this is demonstrated in the Poetry Reading.

Wolfram Tones and Visualize The Music were both interesting experiments to try, exploring the apps. It was cool to see how the noises I made translated into art/ images when I did Visualize The Music. I also enjoyed playing with the Wolfram Tones app to create my own music.

Exploring audio as a form of media this week showed me how sound alone can shape understanding in ways that align with several of Mayer’s principles. In activities like Pronounce This and Poetry Reading, audio supported the Voice Principle, since hearing a natural human voice made the content clearer and more engaging than reading the same words silently. The Temporal Contiguity Principle also relates, because the timing of the spoken explanations, such as hearing the pronunciation immediately after seeing the word, helps listeners connect the information more effectively. Audio tasks like Wolfram Tones and Visualize the Music relate to the Personalization Principle as well, since creating my own sounds or interpreting them through art made the experience more interactive and meaningful. Even without visuals, audio adds meaning through tone, pacing, and emphasis, offering depth that text alone can’t always provide.

P.S I apologize for any unclear pronunciation, I am recovering from jaw surgery and am unable to speak super clearly.

Also I am having difficulties uploading the voice memos, so I have just included the video of the Visualize The Music. I will see if I can figure out how to add the audio and update my post later, if I can.

Daily Creates 1- Text

2026-05-22 / rainah

National Limerick day (May 12):

Trees in the breeze,

Pines on the brink of freeze.

Critters burrow,

The dying plants make furrows,

But the cold doesn’t seize.

National lost sock day (May 9):

Drawers pulled out, laundry basket scoured, all corners of the house checked; no sock found. How is this possible? I have looked everywhere in this house, top to bottom, and nothing. All I am left with is this one green sock decorated with trees and string lights. It would have been perfect for my work Christmas party, but I can only find the one sock. I guess I’ll have to make a quick stop at the dollar store before the party to get a new pair of Christmas socks. That means I have to leave right now, since the only dollar store open on Christmas eve is 10 minutes out of my way.

I slip on my red kitten heels, grab my keys, and run out the door. It is a brisk evening in the small town of Comox. The wind tangles my soft curls slightly; the slush caused by the wet snow splash up my ankles. I make it to my car, and immediately get in, twist the key and blast the heat. I connect my phone to the Bluetooth, start my Holiday Hits playlist and pull out of my driveway.

The drive to the dollar store is quiet. Only the soft music playing and the occasional swipe of the windshield wipers make any sound. I quietly hum to Walking in a Winter Wonderland as I pull into the parking lot of the dollar store. I park the car and rush into the store. There is only me and one sole worker in the store, Last Christmas plays from the store speakers. I quickly go to the aisle with the Christmas socks and find a nice pair of socks that are white with Santa and his sleigh of reindeer, perfect! I grab them and walk right up to the till to pay. The transaction goes through and I am the door.

I make it to my staff party just in time. I put my new Christmas socks on and head in. By the end of the night, I am exhausted. I say goodbye to my friends and boss, and head out. I get home at 11:30, a bit late for me, but I’ll survive the one late night. But I am really looking forward to crawling into bed. I get into my pjs, brush my teeth and cozy into bed. As I am settling into sleep, my dog, Ranger, comes to my bed to say goodnight and fall asleep beside me. As he approaches, I see a green sock hanging from his mouth. My missing Christmas sock! Of course, Ranger stole it.

First Lines (May 6):

I am a bowl, chipped at the rim.

Still kept but hardly used.

The signs of wear show my age,

Scratches from the metal utensils,

My once bright colours dulled,

And of course, the chip on my rim,

Caused from years of mistreatment.

Carelessly tossed into the dishwasher,

Being placed on the counter too forcefully,

The hard utensils constantly banging my edges.

Slowly weakening my structure,

Till one day, I cracked,

My old frame couldn’t take it anymore.

It was only a small chip on the rim,

But the small imperfection has rendered me a discard.

Summary

For this week of daily creates, we were asked to focus on the format of text. Text is one of the most common and simple ways to document a person’s thinking. It can be used in all areas of life, taught to us all throughout school and incorporated into our day to day, needing the skill to work and communicate. To start of the first week of Daily Creates, I chose three of the writing prompts: National Limerick Day, National Lost Sock Day, and First Lines.

For Limerick Day and First Lines, I was asked to write a poem. It has been several years since I have had to write a proper poem, so it was interesting to go back to that style of thinking and writing. I had to google what a limerick poem was because I had completely forgotten. I discovered that a limerick poem is a five-line poem that follows the rhyming pattern AABBA. I had the freedom to choose the topic for this poem, so as I was sitting in my living room trying to decide what to write about, I was looking out the window, watching the branches of the trees behind my house sway slightly, which became the first line of my poem. I decided on this topic before I knew the structure of a limerick poem, so I sat there thinking of different ways I could take this poem. When I discovered the limitations to my poem, it made me brainstorm new ideas to connect my topic into a proper limerick poem. In the moment, I was struggling to come up with words that rhymed well, so I searched online to provide me some ideas that would go well with what I had. Overall, I had a lot of fun making this poem and having the opportunity to explore this kind of creativity again. Limerick poems are short and follow a simple pattern, but it takes thoughtful time to create something that flows.

The First Lines poem, I had a bit more freedom for the format of my poem, but I was given a list of prompts I had to choose from. For me, this made the process of writing a poem faster and easier. I wasn’t constrained to a certain rhyming pattern, I could write down whatever came to mind, and I had some inspiration on what to write about. One of my biggest struggles with creative writing is coming up with a good topic to write about. I chose the prompt “I am a bowl, chipped at the rim” and I found lots of ideas coming to mind. The sentence could be seen as something random, but I found a lot of meaning behind the simplicity and was able to continue with the metaphor easily. I found the freedom of this creative writing super fun, the storytelling behind a chipped bowl had me thoughtfully analyzing ways to share the perspective of a chipped bowl.

The prompt of National Lost Sock Day gave me the choice to write a poem or a short story, so I decided to switch it up from the poems and write a story instead. I started the story with describing a sock, and I figured a distinct pattern would be useful for the purpose of this story. I decided on the colour green for the sock and immediately thought of Christmas, so that became the theme of my story. I thought it would be funny to find the sock at the end of the day when the character wouldn’t need it anymore (Murphy’s Law!). I also needed a reason for the sock to go missing and I immediately thought of how my dog always likes to carry a shoe or a sock in his mouth, especially when he gets excited, like greeting people at the door. Since I had my idea set, I began typing and really tried to include some small details to add to the storytelling of this short story. The process of writing the story took me a bit, trying to connect all the details to the conclusion that I had decided on.

I found this Daily Creates exercise engaging to explore. It had me working on my storytelling and creative thinking. I haven’t had to use this creative way of thinking and storytelling since high school, so it was fun to try it again. Text is a simple media, but it is so accessible to people and is fundamental in our day to day lives. Writing and text are great skills to continuously practice.

Working with text connected well to several of Mayer’s principles, especially in how written language shapes understanding and guides the reader’s thinking. Text-based prompts like the limerick and First Lines poem relate to the Segmenting Principle because writing naturally breaks ideas into manageable pieces like lines, stanzas, and sentences that help readers process meaning step by step. The Personalization Principle also fits, since creative writing encourages a conversational, human tone that makes the content more engaging and easier to connect with.