Media and Information
Literacy
Quarter 4 – Module 5:
Manipulative and Multimedia
Dimensions of Information
and Media
1
I have said this before and I will say it again: in this age, information is just right in our
fingertips. Gone are the days when researching involved flipping thick pages of printed materials;
today, a click or a tap brings us information stored from all over the globe. Before, we tend to miss a
movie, TV or radio program if it is out of our leisure time and prayed for occasional replays to get the
chance to see them. But now, content is offered right in front of us, ready to be viewed at our most
convenient time and replayed as long as we wish. And if before, ordering food while seated in our cars
was the most convenient food service we could get, today, we just have to click on the menu from our
restaurants of choice and food will come delivered to our doorsteps. Practically, everything is just a
click away, customized as to how we want them to be.
However, we forget that long before the development of the internet, the world was already in
our fingertips, right from the very start of a person’s consciousness, and the world comes in the form
of toys. Isn’t it that children learn the basics of living while playing, and toys are the most essential
tool that allows them to feel that sense of control, hone their creativity and widen their imagination?
Even a folded paper boat that a child sets afloat in a puddle of water becomes a massive ship sailing
the Pacific Ocean, created by the best engineer in the world. Forgive me for being too poetic, but the
concept of toys is just like any other manipulatives, traditional or digital, for the young or for the old.
They let you hold on to reality, allow you to take control, and gain information.
In this lesson, we will explore the manipulative and multimedia dimensions of information and
how these speed up our way of living and widen our perspectives. I believe you would agree with me
that during the months that we are locked down, manipulatives and multimedia have opened up
opportunities of growth and development. Physically, we might have been quarantined, but virtually,
the sky is our limit.
MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCY
Describe the different dimensions of:
• manipulative information and media
• multimedia information and media
OBJECTIVES
After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. Explain what manipulatives / interactive media are.
2. Compare the different platforms and uses of manipulatives / interactive media software
3. Define multimedia and its characteristics.
4. Summarize the design principles and elements in different forms of information and
media (text, audio, visual, motion and manipulative /interactive).
5. Identify the advantages and limitations of multimedia.
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ACTIVITY9 1: Identify the dimensions involved in the following multimedia content. Check the
corresponding boxes.
9 Text Visual Audio Manipulative
1. “HirayaManawari” an e-
novel by Chris Oca,
accessed through Wattpad
2. Magic Microphone
advertised by a singing
salesperson in a mall.
3. Instructions on how to
cook pancit canton on a
packaging
4. TV advertisement of a
shampoo brand featuring
Sarah Geronimo
5. Textbook for the blind
ACTIVITY 2: This might look like a trip to a toy store, but then, everybody needs time to play. Sort
the toys to their proper bins. Take note, the bins are not labelled, so it is up to you to determine
how you will classify these toys. Enjoy!
IMAGE REFERENCES
1. "Lego ZBlocks" by sayamindu is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
2. "Japan Bisque dolls" by Dressy Doll is licensed under CC BY-NC-
ND 2.0
3. "Rubic's Cube" by faruqseu is licensed under CC BY 2.0
4. "soft toy crocodile and teddy bear" by Steve A Johnson is licensed
under CC BY 2.0
5. "Crayon Fence" by chrismetcalfTV is licensed under CC BY 2.0
6. "Jigsaw puzzle (detail)" by James E. Petts is licensed under CC
BY-SA 2.0
7. "finished puzzle box" by matthewvenn is licensed under CC BY-
SA 2.0
8. "Play-Doh (Flash)" by GIANTsqurl is licensed under CC BY 2.0
9. "Wooden Hammering Toy" by byzantiumbooks is licensed under
CC BY 2.0
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So how did you go with the activity? Were you able to classify the toys well? There may be
various answers here, but let me share how I did it. I classified the toys based on their purpose, which
I categorize as follows:
1. Simulators – those that allow you to practice an actual task (taking care of babies, as in the
case of dolls, and pretending to be a carpenter, as in the case of the toy hammer;
2. Builders – those that allow you to create something out of plain material, as in the case of
clay, and Lego; and
3. Puzzles – those that allow you to solve a code, as in the case of the jigsaw puzzle and Rubik
cube
I hope you can share your work with your teacher. Take note, answers may vary, but everything
points out to one thing: there is so much more in toys than play.
Every child has this particular toy that he/she would go crazy about. My favorite is Lego. Through
these tiny building blocks, my first ambition to become an architect blossomed. (I did not become an
architect, but that is another story). For me, creating Lego houses was a pleasant experience. I got to
design my little dream houses and imitate structures I found in books. It might sound funny, but I
haven’t outgrown my love for Lego, and even to this day, my reaction upon getting hold of these blocks
is automatic. I will build a house.
I play other games too, and now, I have a confession to make: I was an addict – a Pokemon Go
addict. I just could not help it. Pokemons are cute and plenty and I just couldn’t resist catching them
all. I did not engage in Pokemon battles (even if there was an arena a walking distance away from our
house), but I spent so much time and money loading my smart phone, walking and commuting to
reach PokeStations, gain mileage to hatch eggs, and search for wild Pokemons together with my
trainer-avatar in the augmented world. Unfortunately, (but fortunately) my phone hanged, thus
ending my Pokemon quest and my addiction.
Why don’t you share your experience on your favorite toys, both traditional and digital? Here is a
matrix for you to fill up:
MY FAVORITE MANIPULATIVE
TRADITIONAL DIGITAL
(A childhood toy or non-digital manipulative) (A game spp and the likes)
WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THESE ON ME?
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Manipulative Media
Manipulative media are tools or devices used for
hands-on developmental, educational, information,
leisure, therapeutic, and other purpose that require
kinesthetic sense. Manipulatives, toys in particular, are
essential in early childhood development, where the
concept of play is a great factor for the child to grow
physically, mentally and emotionally. Manipulative
models allow simulation of processes and explanation of
abstract ideas. Moreover, they supplement information
for the visually impaired, as in case of Braille materials
with raised dotted code that allows reading through
touch.
Ancient civilizations used manipulatives as aid in concretizing abstract ideas, such as in
mathematical computations. The Incas and other ancient civilizations who lived in the Andes
mountains of South America, used the quipu, a device with numerous colored and knotted strings,
in order to keep records and communicate
information about dates, statistics, accounts, and
even folklore during the time when an alphabetic
writing system was not yet used. Although many
quipu records have been lost in time, this device is
still being used today by shepherds to keep count of
their herd. (Cartwright, 2014). The abacus, on the
other hand, is a beaded device used for mathematical
computations, and was used in ancient Rome, East
Asia and Russia. These manipulatives are still being
used in some areas, and is still taught in school,
such as in Japan, where it is called the soroban.
The idea that manipulatives can be used for educational purposes dates back to the 18th
century, when Swiss educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi asserted that learning takes place through
the use of sense and physical contact. Friedrich Froebel, the creator of the world’s first kindergarten
in 1837, supported Pestalozzi’s idea and made sure that his school are filled with play objects for his
pupils. These objects that Froebel packaged as a set of “20 gifts” were designed to help children
recognize and appreciate patterns and forms found in nature. Maria Montessori developed this
concept and came up with materials to help children develop their sensory abilities, put them in
control of the learning process, enable them to learn through personal investigation and exploration.
Lastly, Jean Piaget theorized that children must first construct knowledge through concrete
operations before moving to formal operations. (Resnick, Martin, Berg, Borovoy, Colella, Kramer, and
Silverman, 1998)
Classification of Manipulatives
Manipulatives can be classified into two: the traditional and the digital.
Traditional Manipulatives are those that does not require any digital component to function.
Digital manipulatives, on the other hand, are computationally-enhanced versions of traditional
manipulatives. In a product development paper that discussed the enhancement of traditional
kindergarten educational toys, Resnick (1998) termed these as the “new manipulatives” and are
designed to enable children new sets of concepts that were considered before as too advanced. These
system concepts, such as feedback and emergence. (Resnick, Martin, Berg, Borovoy, Colella, Kramer,
and Silverman, 1998). An example digital manipulative is Lego bricks embedded with robotics
technology, which students can program to move and perform certain functions.
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Digital manipulatives may also be classified into two, concrete and virtual. Concrete
manipulatives allow actual hands-on manipulation. On the other hand, virtual manipulatives are
“interactive, web-based, visual representation of a dynamic object that provides opportunities for
constructing mathematical knowledge (Moyer et al, 2002 on Hunt, 2008).
Interactivity, or the responsiveness one experiences from another entity, be it a computer
system or person (Lew, Walther, Pang, and Shin, 2018), is the most important characteristic of digital
manipulatives. Take note that in this age, people need to establish wide connections and demand
quick responses, and today’s websites, apps and video games answer to this demand.
In 1996, a Japanese invented the Tamagotchi, a virtual pet simulation game. It was meant for
leisure, but the effect went beyond its goals. This is one clear proof of the power of manipulatives to
“manipulate one’s behavior.”
Read this article from the New York Times, published in 1997. As you go along, think about
your personal engagements with similar apps. Have you ever felt the same way the “Tamagochi
parents” felt, or are virtual pets today designed differently?
Tamagotchi: Love It, Feed It, Mourn It
By Carol Lawson
May 22, 1997
A dog may be man's best friend, but a virtual pet can be a child's worst nightmare. Children
who are nurturing the tiny Tamagotchi cyberpet, a popular Japanese digital toy that went on sale in
the United States three weeks ago, are discovering that virtual death can be nearly as traumatic as
the real thing.
Christine Glickman said her son, Keith, 9, "cried hysterically and went crazy" when his
Tamagotchi expired. Susan Gliedman described her daughter Mia, also 9, as "extremely sad and
depressed" over the demise of her cyberpet.
The pet hatches from an egg on a liquid-crystal screen the size of a watch face, set in a case
like an egg. It requires continuous care, feeding and attention, much as a real pet does. It expires if
left unattended for more than five or six hours during the day. Bandai, the manufacturer, says the
toy does not actually die. Instead, its life cycle ends when it sprouts wings and, the packaging says,
"returns to its home planet" millions of miles away.
Try telling that to a teary-eyed child who has spent days caring for the toy, who has watched
it hatch from an egg and then assumed responsibility for helping it to grow into a lively, healthy
digital creature.
The toy can be reset to hatch a new creature, but the
one that has sprouted wings is gone forever. (The Japanese
version shows the pet's demise with a gravestone and a cross -
- the angel wings are for Americans.)
"The toy creates a real sense of loss and a mourning
process," said Dr. Andrew Cohen, a psychologist at the Dalton
School in Manhattan. "Kids want to nurture and take care of
pets -- it gives them a feeling of empowerment and self-
importance -- but here the consequences are too high. It's out
of control."
For teachers, too, Tamagotchi is creating unpleasant
side effects. Joanne Emery, Keith's third-grade teacher at Dalton, has banned Tamagotchi from class,
and so have teachers at other schools in the New York area. "It became very disruptive," Ms. Emery
said. "The children were checking it every five seconds."
The Greenville Elementary School in Edgemont, N.Y., banned Tamagotchi last week after third
graders who were taking a standardized test put down their pencils to feed the pet. "The children
were more concerned with the toy than with succeeding in the test," said Andrea Silverman, a
special-education teacher.
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The toy has three control buttons and numerous icons for the many kinds of care it needs.
The creature must be fed, played with and disciplined. It needs medicine when it is sick, and the
caretaker must clean up its droppings. It sleeps during the night, and it beeps during the day when
it wants attention. There is even a happiness meter to give feedback on the owner's parental skills.
Dr. Sylvia Rimm, a psychologist and author of "Dr. Sylvia Rimm's Smart Parenting" (Crown),
said, "We try to bring up kids to be caring and loving, and those are the ones who are hurt the most
by this toy."
Tamagotchi, which means "cute little egg," entered the world last November in Japan. Bandai,
which also makes the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and knows something about mass marketing,
says more than four million Tamagotchis have been sold in Japan.
The toy was introduced in the United States at F.A.O. Schwarz on May 1 and is now at Toys "R" Us
and other stores. F.A.O. Schwarz said it sold 30,000, at $17.99 each, in its stores in the first three
days. QVC, the television retailer, says it sold 6,000 in five minutes.
In Japan, where mothers tend to stay home, they often look after the Tamagotchi during the school
day.
Ms. Glickman baby-sat for Keith's Tamagotchi when it became cyberpet non grata at Dalton.
"Keith gave me a one-hour lesson, but I didn't do such a wonderful job," Ms. Glickman said. Two days
later, the pet sprouted wings.
Will Tamagotchi become a post-Beanie Babies craze? "It's safe to say it's going to be very
successful, but we don't know yet if it's going to be a megasuccess," said Sean McGowan of Gerard
Klauer Mattison, a securities research and brokerage firm in Manhattan. "To be up there with
Beanie Babies, kids will have to collect them." (The Tamagotchi is on a key ring, another hot item
with schoolchildren.)
Gene Morra, the vice president of marketing for Bandai America, in Cypress, Calif., said a
carefully nurtured Tamagotchi can "live" about 30 days, but in Japan some are said to have lasted
nearly three months.
Dr. Cohen called Tamagotchi a breakthrough of sorts. "It's the most powerful product I've ever
heard of, in terms of what it demands from a child," he said. "I never heard of a toy that makes you
stay engaged with it all the time."
But some children get disillusioned. In the beginning, said IlyssaMeren, 9, a third grader in
Manhattan at the Nightingale-Bamford School (which has also banned Tamagotchi), the toy was easy
to take care of. But now it beeps constantly, and one morning it woke her at 4 a.m. "I want it to die,"
she said. "It's driving me crazy." But Ilyssa will not commit virtual murder. "When it dies, I won't reset
it," she said.
Courtney Glickman, 13, also said it was too much. "It beeped every five minutes and was
getting on my nerves, so I turned off the sound," she said, not seeming at all sad that her pet
sprouted wings one day.
"It was too much work -- like a real child," her mother said.
But psychologists say that for a teen-ager, Tamagotchi-style parental responsibility can be an
effective learning experience.
Some high schools around the country already teach how demanding a baby can be by giving
teen-agers real eggs to carry around for a week: the egg must go everywhere, and it is the student's
job to make sure it doesn't break.
"I can see the Tamagotchi as a teaching tool about pregnancy for young women and men," Dr.
Rimm said. "It could help them understand reality."
Meanwhile, Bandai says it is coming out with a new improved Tamagotchi in the fall: it will have a
"pause" button.
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Today, there are much more virtual pets developed, but I believe none has had an impact like
that of the 1996 Tamagotchi design. People have learned their lesson: trends come and go and
innovations are born day by day, but in the end, we have to keep in mind that technology is made for
the good of the people.
Concrete and Virtual Manipulatives: A Comparison
Hunt, Nipper and Nash (2011) probed the advantages and disadvantages of concrete and visual
manipulatives in education. Here are their findings:
ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
• Simpler, more moveable • Limited
CONCRETE • Tactile (concrete) experience • Not very challenging
MEDIA adds a dimension of learning
• Fosters creativity
• Process is traceable
• Allows trial and error
• Units are easier to distinguish,
making the whole easier to see
• Easier to relate to real-world
applications
• Less expensive than digital
technology
• Requires more thinking
• Self-paced
• Multi-sensory approach
increases memory retention
• Clarifies misconceptions and
builds connections concepts
and representations,
encouraging more precise and
richer understandings
• Feedback is immediate Cannot be actually touched
VIRTUAL • Easier to maneuver and keep Sometimes forces one to think
MEDIA together abstractly
• Offers a larger variety of More suitable for use after a student
experiences has already mastered the concept
• Allow more complex operations Some make it too easy
to be learned Computers do the work for the
• Catches the attention of the students so they are able to guess the
“technology generation” correct answer
• More accessible at home May limit the teacher’s ability to follow
• Gives step-by-step instruction the students’ thought processes
Takes away the notion that the hands
• Often provides explicit
connections between visual and and mind must work together
Might feel like “do” vs. “learn/explore”
symbolic representations
Doesn’t really make one find the
answer on his/her own
Take note that this was the scenario almost a decade ago in a particular setting about a
particular function of manipulatives. This does not reflect the whole idea of the effectiveness of
concrete and visual manipulatives. In fact, there are many other factors that can affect a person’s
perception on the effectiveness of this media, and in the case of many living the Philippines, the most
relevant factor to consider is the digital divide.
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Multimedia
Gathering the ideas discussed in the three
latest chapters, we come up with this illustration.
Before proceeding, briefly observe its form and
reflect on its implications. Keep in mind that every
formation matters.
Collectively, these dimensions make up
multimedia, which Christenson (2006) defines as “the
integration of multiple forms of media.” While
multimedia generally include text, graphics, audio
and video set in digital format that enables virtual
manipulation, the concept has been evident centuries
ago, when newspapers began featuring text, and
images to inform the public, and if you would consider
the newspaper hawkers (children who peddle
newspapers), then audio media enters the scene. But
then, looking into the diagram, it must be noted that
at the center of all these dimensions is the top agent
of media and information: people. Therefore,
understanding multimedia will be incomplete without
considering that at the very center of all these are the
people through which and for which media exists.
"The Chicago Daily News in 1901 relied on
newsboys hawking the headlines." is
licensed under Public Domain.
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ACTIVITY 1
We are almost in the middle of the school year, and you have realized the need for interactive
media in your studies. Do you belong to the small fraction that is capable of learning through
interactive digital platforms, or are you part of the majority who cannot maximize the power of
internet connectivity? Think about your experiences in using interactive manipulatives and answer
the questions that follow.
What are the concrete
manipulatives that you use to
access and pass information?
What are the visual manipulatives
that you commonly access?
What do you prefer? Concrete or
virtual manipulatives? Support
your answer.
PERFORMANCE TASK: Design Your Own Game App
At the beginning of this lesson, we talked about toys. Now that we are close to its end, let’s
talk about game apps. Nope, we are not going to analyze an
existing game app; you will conceptualize your own.
Gamedesigning.org posts: “Humans are engaged when
they feel like they’re learning. The trick, then, is to incorporate
learning right into the game mechanics (2020). It is good to
keep this in mind, so I want you to visualize a game that is fun
and educational.
Here is a checklist of what you have to accomplish. As
an example, I used another personal favorite game app,
Subway Surfer.
• Name
(example: Subway Surfer)
• Concept.
Explain the main premise or story of your game.
(example: In this virtually endless game, a subway
graffiti artist vandalizes a train and the Grumpy
Inspector and his dog chases him / her.
• Objectives
(example: Earn points and prizes by picking up coins
and items on the subway track. Avoid obstacles along
the way.
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• Educational value.
(example: Subway Surfer can help you improve your reflexes, improve your precision, and
practice quick thinking. Remember to establish your target audience – who would most likely
play this game.
• Interface.
Design how your game would look: characters, items (tools, weapons, gadgets, prizes, etc.),
and background. You may refer to the screen shot on the right for your example. It would be
nice if you could digitize your interface, but if it is possible, you can just draw this on a piece
of paper for hard copy submission or take a picture of your drawing for online submission.
RUBRIC
COMPONENT 5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point
Completion 5/5 parts 4/5 parts 3/5 parts 2/5 parts 1/5 parts
completed completed completed completed completed
Concept and Creative, Creative, Adapted from Adapted from Direct copy
Objectives original, and original, but a previous a previous from a known
well explained needs further source, well source, game app
explanation explained further
explanation
needed
Educational Highly Enhances at Enhances at Justification None
value substantial, least 2 skills least 1 skill is confusing
enhances at
least 3 skills
Interface Masterfully Creatively Basic, but Mediocre, Incomplete
presented presented, clear much
with room for improvement
enhancement needed
ACTIVITY 1:
Identify the PRIMARY dimension of the following apps. Write text, visual, audio, motion or
manipulative. Practically, all this apps are manipulatives, but two needs intensive manipulation to
be enjoyed.
ICON NAME YOUR ANSWER
Spotify
1.
Instagram
2.
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Twitter
3.
Talking Tom
4.
5. Gmail
Viber
6.
Wattpad
7.
Mobile Legend
8.
You Tube
9.
Pinterest
10.
GOODLUCK
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