Using Atto - The Moodle Editor

Tabs

Tabs have long been used for grouping related information. They're often used in computer software for the same reason. They can also be used on web pages, but they do introduce their own problems.

  • One of the core design tenants of web content is you don't want your users lose their navigation tools. Tabs with a lot of information in them can cause this problem, resulting in the user scrolling down to read the tabs contents, then scrolling back up again to navigate between tabs. The example below has probably reached this point, depending on the size of the screen you are using. You should never forget that a lot of users, even those using Moodle, will use a smart phone or small tablet to view content.
  • You should avoid multiple rows of tabs. This problem is compounded because you can't rely on the width of your users screens. Keep the number of tabs limited and / or use short tab titles.

Therefore, in on-line content, tabs are great for short snippets of related information, often performing the same role as a table would in traditional, non-interactive media.

The example below demonstrates how tabs appear in Moodle. The text is grabbed directly from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_styles

Kolb's model outlines two related approaches toward grasping experience: Concrete Experience and Abstract Conceptualization, as well as two related approaches toward transforming experience: Reflective Observation and Active Experimentation.[8]:145 According to Kolb's model, the ideal learning process engages all four of these modes in response to situational demands; they form a learning cycle from experience to observation to conceptualization to experimentation and back to experience. In order for learning to be effective, Kolb postulated, all four of these approaches must be incorporated. As individuals attempt to use all four approaches, they may tend to develop strengths in one experience-grasping approach and one experience-transforming approach, leading them to prefer one of the following four learning styles:[8]:127[9]

  1. Accommodator = Concrete Experience + Active Experiment: strong in "hands-on" practical doing (e.g., physical therapists)
  2. Converger = Abstract Conceptualization + Active Experiment: strong in practical "hands-on" application of theories (e.g., engineers)
  3. Diverger = Concrete Experience + Reflective Observation: strong in imaginative ability and discussion (e.g., social workers)
  4. Assimilator = Abstract Conceptualization + Reflective Observation: strong in inductive reasoning and creation of theories (e.g., philosophers)

Although Kolb's model is widely accepted with substantial empirical support and has been revised over the years, a 2013 study sheds light on the model's pitfalls, and suggests that the Learning Style Inventory still "possesses serious weaknesses", which in turn limits the tool's usefulness and validity in measuring and determining a person's dominant learning styles.[10]:44

Neil Fleming's VARK model[19] expanded upon earlier notions of sensory modalities such as the VAK model of Barbe and colleagues[13] and the representational systems (VAKOG) in neuro-linguistic programming.[20] The four sensory modalities in Fleming's model are:[21]

  1. Visual learning
  2. Auditory learning
  3. Read/write learning
  4. Kinesthetic learning

Fleming claimed that visual learners have a preference for seeing (visual aids that represent ideas using methods other than words, such as graphs, charts, diagrams, symbols, etc.). Subsequent neuroimaging research has suggested that visual learners convert words into images in the brain and vice versa,[22] but some psychologists have argued that this "is not an instance of learning styles, rather, it is an instance of ability appearing as a style".[2]:268 Likewise, Fleming claimed that auditory learners best learn through listening (lectures, discussions, tapes, etc.), and tactile/kinesthetic learners prefer to learn via experience—moving, touching, and doing (active exploration of the world, science projects, experiments, etc.). Students can use the model to identify their preferred learning style and, it is claimed, maximize their learning by focusing on the mode that benefits them the most. Fleming's model also posits two types of multimodality.[21]


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