Office Hours
Tuesday: 9:00am - 10:00am, 1:30 - 2:30
Wednesday: 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Thursday: 9:00am - 10:00am, 1:30 - 2:30

Required Text/Materials
Microsoft office 2000 9 in 1 for Dummies. (2001) New York, NY: IDG Publishing.

Renjilian, D. (2002). Multimedia Guide. Scranton, PA: Marywood University Press

1 Zip Disk (MAC or Windows)

Additional Readings (on reserve in the Curriculum Lab)
Beach, M. (1995). Editing your newsletter: How to produce an effective publication using traditional tools and computers (4th edition). Cincinnati, OH: Writer's Digest Books.

Kottler, J. A. & Hazler, R. J. (1997). What you never learned in graduate school: A survival guide for therapists. New York: W. W. Norton and Co.

Parker, R. C. (1997). Web design and desktop publishing for dummies. New York, NY: IDG Books

Course Description and Goals
This course will assist students in applying psychological principles in human factors to a variety of media. Emphasis is placed on multimedia skills required to work in a clinical, educational or organizational field of psychology. Students will learn to develop persuasive presentations using a multimedia, such as handouts, brochures, computer-based presentations, self-contained computer programs and web pages. Participants will receive instruction in a variety of computer programs, including word processing programs (Word) for basic page layout, spreadsheet applications (Excel) for reporting statistics, presentation software (PowerPoint), and web authoring tools (HomePage).

Course Learning Objectives

• Gain knowledge of how psychologists use multimedia in their work.
• Describe the factors associated with persuasive communication.
• Define the basic terms relevant to desktop publishing.
• Understand how human behavior is influenced by visual presentation of information.
• Identify ways of altering the content of communication to suit the audience.
• Use word processing programs to produce educational materials.
• Effectively utilize commercially available computer presentation programs.
• Produce multimedia programs using Hyperstudio.
• Demonstrate proficient Web page production.
• Develop an interactive resume for distribution to potential employers and graduate schools.

Requirements/Grading

ATTENDANCE:
The course is divided into two segments: Lecture (Tuesdays) and Lab (Thursdays in McGowan Mac Lab). Because these segments compliment each other, regular attendance is strongly recommended. Attendance is required on the date of exams and class presentations.

PARTICIPATION:
Participation in class and lab (such as assisting other students) is encouraged. In the event of borderline grade, attendance and class participation will be considered when determining final grades.

QUIZZES:
There are two quizzes: One mid-term quiz and a non-cumulative final quiz, each worth 25 points. Quizzes will be a combination of multiple choice and short answer formats. In the event of a skewed distribution of test scores, a "curve" will be used to determine test grades. Poor items may also be dropped based on the instructor's discretion.

If an exam date is canceled by the college due to snow, the test will be given during the next scheduled class. Classes canceled which precede the test date will not affect the exam schedule. Make ups for reasons other than illness or emergency will not be allowed. Should illness or emergency prevent you from taking an exam, please call either my office or the psychology department and leave me a message. You must bring written documentation of your absence and can expect to be administered a make up exam during the following class.

HANDOUT:
Participants will develop a two-page newsletter or a three-fold brochure about a topic related to their major or intended field of employment (clear the topic with the instructor first). The audience for these handouts would be undergraduate students. This assignment will be graded on readability, creativity, visual presentation and content. 50 points.

NEWSLETTER or BROCHURE:
Participants will develop a two-page newsletter or a three-fold brochure about a topic related to their major or intended field of employment (clear the topic with the instructor first). The audience for these handouts would be undergraduate students. This assignment will be graded on readability, creativity, visual presentation and content. 50 points.

STATISTICS REPORT:
The instructor will supply you with data (for example, about psychotherapy outcome). Your job is to summarize this data in a one-page handout using text and graphics. Presentation, clarity, and the degree to which text compliments information depicted graphically will be graded. 50 points.

CLASS PRESENTATION:
Students will perform research on an aspect of persuasion, presentation, or communication. They will present the findings to the class using PowerPoint. A handout should accompany the presentation. Content, clarity, professionalism and presentation style will be graded. 100 points.

FINAL PROJECT:
Students will work in small teams (2 students per team, possibly three with instructor approval) to produce a Web page. Students may select a topic (subject to instructor approval) related to psychology or some aspect of life at Marywood (e.g., an academic program, a club or activity, social aspects, campus life, etc) or psychology. Creativity, utility, use of technology, and integration of various types of media will be graded. 100 points.

EXTRA CREDIT:
Additional points may be earned on some tests in the form of extra credit items. Up to 10 points can be earned in this manner, and by participating in research (approved by the instructor) or role-play exercises/testing with graduate students.

GRADING:
The assignments are each worth...
Exams 50 points
Handout 25 points
Newsletter/Brochure 50 points
Statistics Report 25 points
Resume 50 points
Presentation 100 points
Project 100 points
TOTAL 400 points

Final grades are based on the following percentages:

97 - 100% = A	73 - 76% = C
93 - 96% = A-	69 - 72% = C-
89 - 92% = B+	65 - 68% = D+
85 - 88% = B	61 - 64% = D
81 - 84% = B-	0 - 60% = F
77 - 80% = C+

* Jan. 24th: Handout due
** Feb. 14th: Brochure/Newsletter due
*** Mar. 14th: Statistics Report due
**** May 2th: Web Page Due

Adams, A. S. and Edworthy, J. (1995). Quantifying and predicting the effects of basic text display variables on the preceived urgency of warning labels: Tradeoffs involving font size, border weights and colour. Special Issue: Warning in research and practice. Ergonomics, 38, 2221-2237.

Cardinal, B.J. and Seidler, T. L. (1995). Readability and comprehensibility of the "Exercise Life" brochure. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 80, 399-402.

Carli, L. L. and LaFleur, S. J. (1995). Nonverbal behavior, gender and influence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 1030-1041.

Cutting, J. E. (1997). How the eye measures reality and virtual reality. Behavior Research Methods: Instruments and Computers, 29, 27-36.

Frey, D. K. (1994). Analysis of students' perceptual styles and their use of multimedia. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 79, 643-649.

Goolkasian, O. (1996). Getting started with multimedia. Behavior Research Methods: Instruments and Computers, 28, 279-281.

Gruner, C. R., Pelletier, L.J., and Williams, M.A. (1994). Evaluative responses to jokes in informative speech with and without laughter by an audience: A partial replication. Psychological Responses, 74, 446.

Horton, W. S. and Keysar, B. (1996). When do speakers take into account common ground? Cognition, 59, 91 - 117.

Jacobson, M. (1996). Learning with hypertext learning environments: Theory, design, and research. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 5, 239-281.

Jungkee, K and Rubin, A. (1997). The variable impact of a variation in audience activity on media effects. Communication Research, 24, 107 - 136.

Kirby, J. R. (1993). Collaborative and competitive effects of verbal and spatial processes. Special Issue: Comprehension of graphics in texts. Learning and Instruction, 3, 201-214.

Kozma, R. B. (1991). Learning with media. Review of Educational Research, 61, 179-211.

Mayer, R. E. (1993). Comprehension of graphics in texts: An overview. Special Issue: Comprehension of graphics in texts. Learning and Instruction, 3, 239-245.

McDonald, S. and Stevenson, R. J. (1996). Disorientation in hypertext: The effects of three text structures on navigation performance. Applied Ergonomics, 27, 61-68.

Ransdell, S. E. and Levy, C. M. (1994). Writing as process and product: The impact of tool, genre, audience knowledge and writer expertise. Computers in Human Behavior, 10, 511-527.

Sekuler, R. (1996). Teaching sensory processes with multimedia: One of my teaching assistants as a mouse. Behavior Research Methods: Instruments and Computers, 28, 282-285.

Smith, P. C. (1997). Psychology in the design of multimedia presentations in the classroom: An interview with Richard S. Velayo. Teaching of Psychology, 24, 136-138.

Stoloff, M. (1995). Teaching physiological psychology in a multimedia classroom. Teaching of Psychology, 22, 138-141.

Wenger, M.J., and Payen, D. G. (1996). Comprehension and retention of nonlinear text: Considerations of working memory and material-appropriate processing. American Journal of Psychology, 109, 93-130.

Wolfe, C. R. (1995). Homespun hypertext: Student-constructed hypertext as a tool for teaching critical thinking. Special Issue: Psychologists teach critical thinking. Teaching of Psychology, 22, 29-33.

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