Challenge B: Substantive Post #1 – Rewrite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6FORpg0KVo

The educational video I chose to watch was a TED Talk called How to Make Learning as Addictive as Social Media, by Luis Von Ahn, the creator of Duolingo. In the talk, Von Ahn emphasized the importance of making language learning engaging and accessible for everyone. Recognizing the ever growing use of cellphones, globally, he applied similar strategies of other apps like Tik Tok and Snapchat and their use of streaks to entice learners to return consistently. While streaks in non educational apps can be unhealthy, in an educational context they can be positive. As an elementary and middle school teacher, I found this idea meaningful as it shows evidence of the potential and challenges of technology in the classroom. Although it is important to  give students a break from screens at school, many learners are drawn to technology; therefore, incorporating educational games can increase motivation. For example, in middle school classrooms, I have seen Wordle used as a daily activity with high levels of engagement and enthusiasm as a result. 

Some of the theories that we discussed in class that TED used in this video include Dual Coding Theory and Modality Principle. With areas for improvement on the Coherence Principle. 

Dual Coding Theory focuses on better learning experiences and increased retention through the use of audio and visual cues, which this videos uses well at times. In the picture below, the video is using simple pictures with few words to give the audience context while the speaker is describing and expanding upon the picture, which uses the modality principle. Because of this method of expression, both parts of the brain (audio and visual) are being used, thus we can learn more without feeling overloaded.

The coherence principle is when a medium sticks to the main topic and does not add extra information. TED negatively uses the coherence principle as the speaker is telling a story and consistently making jokes which takes away from the learning. It has been added to the video because it makes it more interesting for the audience; however, detracts from the learning and makes it more difficult to understand the purpose. 

TED. (2024). How to Make Learning as Addictive as Social Media. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6FORpg0KVo 

Granchelli, A. (n.d.). Theories of multimedia learning. University of Victoria Educational Technology. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2025/09/05/theories-of-multimedia-learning/