Sanja Kišiček

CROVALLEX: Croatian verb valence lexicon

The goal of this paper is to present CROVALLEX - the first Croatian Verb Valence Lexicon. It contains 1739 verbs with 5118 valence frames. It also contains 173 syntactic-semantic classes (72 classes with two further levels of subdivision). Functional Generative Description (FGD) is used as the background theory for the description of valence frames. Syntactic-semantic classes have been derived from VerbNet and modified for Croatian language. Lexicon has the robust and explicitly defined XML data structure which enables browsing through designated levels. CROVALLEX is available at http://cal.ffzg.hr/crovallex/index.html.

A Rationale for Multi-modality in Multimedia Instructional Design

This paper describes a multi-modal approach to multimedia instructional design in a virtual learning environment. The research was conducted within an online course offering multimedia and multi-modal lessons, each of which was comprised of three different types of resources, specifically designed for the acquisition of computer literacy skills. The resources vary from textual resources, pictorial resources accompanied by text and video resources. All the resources are designed by the course lecturers, i.e. the authors of this paper. The purpose of the research was to investigate user perceptual modalities in terms of their preference towards educational multimedia for the acquisition of computer literacy. The methodology of this research is based on data mining techniques through log data which represents user navigation and behavior within the learning management system. The approach fosters self-regulated technology enhanced learning where the end user has control over the choice of learning resources according to personal preferences. The results of cluster analysis show that there are consistent user preferences in selecting a particular type of resources representing particular modality. The results provide a rationale for a multi-modal approach in designing a learning system based on multimedia instructional design and developed specifically for the acquisition of computer literacy, as a requirement for information literacy of the 21st century.

Multimedia Resources in an Online Course: Access and Usage with/Multimedijski resursi e-kolegija: pristup i upotreba s obzirom na osjetilni modalitet

Abstract In this paper we present a research on students’ perceptual modes and their learning activity with respect to use of multimedia learning resources in a virtual learning environment within an online course. The course content is offered in the form of lessons designed in the Moodle course management system. Lessons contain three different types of resources: textual, pictorial resources accompanied by text, and video resources. Considering the results of the VARK questionnaire, which labels the students’ learning styles, i.e. perceptual modes, as visual, aural, read/write and kinesthetic, we investigate the relation between the students’ perceptual modes and their learning activity regarding different types of resources. The results show that two out of three students are multimodal regarding their perceptual modality, and that students prefer pictorial resources accompanied by text. The research findings on learners’ preferences lead to more effective instructional design in an online learning environment. Key words: multimedia learning; perceptual modality; VARK. --- Sažetak U radu je prikazano istraživanje odnosa osjetilnog modaliteta i aktivnosti studenata s obzirom na odabir multimedijskih resursa e-kolegija. Sadržaj kolegija prezentiran je upotrebom lekcija izrađenih u sustavu za upravljanje nastavnim sadržajima Moodle. Lekcije sadrže tri tipa resursa: tekstualni, slikovno-tekstualni i video resurs. Upotrebom upitnika VARK utvrđeni su nacini ucenja utemeljeni na senzornom modalitetu (vizualni, auralni, tekstualni i kinesteticki), zatim istraženi odnosi modaliteta studenata i aktivnosti s obzirom na odabir razlicitih multimedijskih resursa. Rezultati pokazuju da su dva od tri studenta multimodalni i da su u ucenju skloni odabiru slikovno-tekstualnog resursa. Kljucne rijeci: multimedijsko ucenje; osjetilni modalitet; VARK.