University of California, San Diego
Consent to Act as a Research Subject
Multimedia Learning and Instruction

You are being invited to participate in a research study titled Multimedia Learning & Instruction. This study is being done by Emma H. Geller and Inez Zung from UC San Diego. You were selected to participate in this study because you voluntarily signed up via UCSD’s Psychology Department Study Pool SONA.

The purpose of this research study is to evaluate instructional and learning tools. Your participation in this research should take anywhere between 15 and 120 minutes, depending on how long you take to complete the lesson and answer the questions. If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to read or view a lesson and answer questions about the lesson and your experience. Your participation will be complete when you have responded to the questions and ratings. If the particular study requires a delayed second session on another day, your participation on that day would also take 15-120 minutes, depending on lesson length and time spent answer questions.

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary and you can withdraw at any time. Choosing not to participate or withdrawing will result in no penalty or loss of benefits to which you are entitled. You are free to skip any question that you choose.

Research sometimes requires that information regarding its purpose not be shared with the research participants because its knowledge could impact the results of the research. Note that none of the aspects of the research being withheld are reasonably expected to affect your willingness to take part. While the tasks you will be asked to perform for this research have been explained, the full intent of the research will not be provided until the completion of the study. At that time you will have the opportunity to ask questions, including about the purpose of the study and the procedures used, and withdraw your data if you so choose.

If you have questions about this project or if you have a research-related problem, you may contact the researcher, Inez Zung (izung@ucsd.edu). If you have any questions concerning your rights as a research subject, you may contact the UC San Diego Office of IRB Administration at irb@ucsd.edu or 858-246-4777.

By participating in this research you are indicating that you are at least 18 years old, have read this consent form, and agree to participate in this research study. Please keep this consent form for your records.

In this experiment you will read explanations of how different devices work and we will ask you questions related to these devices. Before we begin, we want to make it clear what we mean by an explanation: describes how the device operates, going from the first step to the last, and provides the causal connection between steps. Here's an example of an explanation for a dishwasher:

A dishwasher operates by sealing shut during its cycle to prevent water from spraying across the kitchen floor. It begins by taking in cold water through a hose, which is then heated by a metal bar known as the heating element. This heated water is pumped up pipes connected to spinning paddles located beneath the bottom and top racks of the dishwasher. As the paddles rotate, they create jets of hot water that shoot upwards onto the dishes, effectively cleaning them. The water then falls back down to be reheated and pumped again. Dishes placed on the bottom rack receive hotter water due to their proximity to the heating element, while items labeled "Top rack dishwasher safe" can be placed in the cooler upper part. Debris is caught by a sieve to prevent clogging, and smaller bits are flushed down the drain. Finally, the high temperature of the water during the wash cycle facilitates the natural drying of the dishes, eliminating the need for manual wiping if the dishwasher isn't overloaded.

Throughout this study you will rate how well you understand how different devices work from 0 (I have no idea how this works) to 100 (I know exactly how this works). A rating of 100 would indicate a level of understanding like the example explanation of a dishwasher that you just read.

Now you will again rate how well you understand how different devices work.

Now you will again rate how well you understand how different devices work.

Next, please carefully read the following explanations of each device. You have 2 minutes to read each explanation; the page will auto-advance for you. You will be asked to answer questions about the devices after.

Now we would like to probe your knowledge in a little more detail. For each of the following, explain how the device works. Please describe all the details you know about the device, going from the first step to the last, and provide the causal connection between steps. That is, your explanation should state precisely how each step causes the next step in one continuous chain from start to finish. For each device, please try your best to tell as complete a story as you can, with no gaps. Please DO NOT use any Internet sources to help you write these explanations; we want to know what YOU know. You have 2 minutes to write each explanation; the page will auto-advance for you.

02:00

You will now review explanations of each device in preparation for a final test on how these devices work. You have 20 minutes total for this self-paced review. Click on each device to reveal the expert explanation. (You may reopen a device explanation multiple times if needed.) The screen will auto-advance after 20 minutes.

Before the final test, you'll complete a brief math task. Solve as many problems as you can

We ask that you give each question your full attention and respond as accurately as you can.

Each problem will appear one at a time. Enter your answer and press Enter or click Submit to move to the next one.

In the following section, you will be tested on your understanding of the 10 devices. Please answer the prompt as thoroughly as you can, using all the details you know about the device, going from the first step to the last, and provide the causal connection between steps. That is, your explanation should state precisely how each step causes the next step in one continuous chain from start to finish. For each device, please try your best to tell as complete a story as you can, with no gaps. Please DO NOT use any Internet sources to help you write these explanations; we want to know what YOU know.

Imagine you will later be given a test on the 10 devices you just saw. You are being given 20 minutes to study expert explanations of these 10 devices before the test. You must study for 20 minutes. Indicate how much time, in minutes, you would spend studying expert explanations for each of the devices. You may use decimal numbers. Important: Your total allocated time must add up to 20 minutes. 0 minutes indicates you would skip studying that device.

Please rate how well you understand how different devices work from 0 (I have no idea how this works) to 100 (I know exactly how this works). A rating of 100 would indicate a level of understanding like the example explanation of a dishwasher that you read at the start of the study. Please answer honestly; you will not be penalized for your ratings.

Now we would like to probe your knowledge in a little more detail. For each of the following, explain how the device works. Please describe all the details you know about the device, going from the first step to the last, and provide the causal connection between steps. That is, your explanation should state precisely how each step causes the next step in one continuous chain from start to finish. For each device, please try your best to tell as complete a story as you can, with no gaps. Please DO NOT use any Internet sources to help you write these explanations; we want to know what YOU know.

You have 2 minutes to write each explanation; the page will auto-advance for you.

20:00

Sewing Machine

At the heart of a sewing machine is a needle. This needle is attached to a bar, which moves up and down rapidly. You also have a spool of thread (usually two threads: one on top and one on the bottom) that is threaded through the machine.

You start by placing two pieces of fabric together under the needle, with the sides you want to sew facing each other. The fabric is then placed between feed dogs, which are like small teeth that grip the fabric and help it move forward. As you step on the pedal (or push a button, depending on the machine), the machine's motor starts moving the needle up and down really quickly. This motion pushes the needle down into the fabric and then pulls it back up. As the needle goes down into the fabric, it carries the top thread through the fabric. At the same time, a small hook, called the bobbin, carries the bottom thread up through a small hole in the fabric. The two threads meet in the middle of the fabric. When the two threads meet, they wrap around each other, forming a tiny loop. This loop is created both above and below the fabric. These loops lock together, which is what holds the fabric together. The machine continues to move the fabric along, and as it does so, it repeats this process, creating a line of stitches. This line of stitches is what we see as a seam on our clothes or other fabric items.


Ballpoint Pen

Inside a ballpoint pen, there is an ink reservoir. This is a small, tube-like container that holds the ink. The ink is typically a thick, oil-based substance. At the tip of the pen, there is a tiny metal ball, usually made of brass or steel. This is the key part of the ballpoint pen. The ball has a small hole in it, and it's held in place in such a way that it can rotate freely. When you press the pen onto a piece of paper, the ballpoint rolls over the paper surface. The ball rotates as it moves, and this action allows the ink to be drawn out of the reservoir. This is due to a property called capillary action: when a liquid in a narrow tube moves upward, defying gravity. This happens because the liquid is attracted to the tube's surface, which lowers the pressure inside the tube. External air pressure then pushes the liquid up. Imagine it like the ink getting pulled from the pen's tank onto the tip and onto your paper. It's as if the ink is being drawn up the tube by the attraction between the liquid and the tube, and this is possible because the tube's pressure drops. This is why you can write or draw smoothly with the ink on paper.

As the ball rolls over the paper, it deposits a thin layer of ink onto the paper's surface. This is what creates the marks or lines on the paper. The tiny hole in the ball ensures that only a small, controlled amount of ink is released at a time, preventing smudging and over-inking. The ink used in ballpoint pens is designed to dry quickly, which is why you can write with them without smudging the text. The ink dries by exposure to air, and it adheres well to paper.


Photocopier

When you place the document you want to copy face down on the glass surface of the photocopier, the machine has a special light source and a lens that moves across the document. This light source illuminates the document, and the lens scans the entire page, essentially taking a "picture" of it. The light that hits the document is either reflected off the paper (white areas) or absorbed by the ink or toner (black or colored areas). The photocopier's sensor detects the variations in light intensity across the page. The information collected during the scanning process is then converted into an electrical signal, which represents the document's content as a series of dots or pixels. Think of this as a digital image of the page. This digital image is then sent to a photosensitive drum inside the photocopier. The drum is made of a material that conducts electricity and is initially given a positive electrical charge. The machine uses static electricity to attract tiny, negatively charged toner particles to the areas of the drum that correspond to the dark or printed parts of the document. The toner particles stick to the drum, creating a replica of the page's content. A blank sheet of paper is fed from a paper tray into the photocopier. The paper passes close to the drum. As the paper moves near the drum, the electrostatically charged toner is attracted to the paper, which has an even stronger negative charge due to an opposing electrical charge on the other side of the paper. The toner is transferred from the drum to the paper, reproducing the image. After the toner is transferred to the paper, the paper goes through a pair of heated rollers, which melt the toner particles and fuse them to the paper. This step ensures that the toner stays firmly attached to the paper. The finished copy comes out of the photocopier's output tray, ready for you to collect. The result is a high-quality copy of the original document.


Spray Bottle (Mister)

The spray bottle has a container at the bottom, which holds the liquid you want to spray. This could be water, cleaning solution, perfume, or any other liquid. The spray bottle also has a pump mechanism. This is typically a small, tube-shaped component that you press with your fingers. When you press the pump, it compresses air inside the bottle. Inside the bottle, there is a small tube that reaches from the bottom of the container up to the top. At the top, this tube connects to a nozzle, which is the part of the spray bottle where the liquid comes out. When you press the pump, you compress the air inside the bottle. This increases the pressure inside the container, pushing the liquid upwards through the tube. As the liquid is forced up the tube, it reaches the nozzle. At the nozzle, the liquid is subjected to even higher pressure, which causes it to break into tiny droplets. These droplets are what you see as the spray or mist. Many spray bottles have adjustable nozzles that allow you to control the size of the spray pattern. By turning the nozzle, you can make the spray finer or coarser.


Flush Toilet

A flush toilet consists of two main parts: the tank and the bowl. The tank is usually located on the back of the toilet, while the bowl is the part you sit on. The toilet is connected to a water supply through a water pipe. This pipe provides the necessary water for flushing. On the outside of the tank, there is a flushing handle or button. When you push this handle or button, it sets the flush mechanism into motion. Inside the tank, there is a flushing mechanism. This mechanism typically includes a flush valve and a fill valve. The fill valve controls the water level in the tank, and the flush valve is responsible for releasing water into the bowl during flushing. When you push the flushing handle or button, it lifts the flush valve, allowing water to flow from the tank into the bowl. This water rushes into the bowl with a lot of force and creates a swirling motion. The force of the water entering the bowl creates a siphoning action. This action essentially pulls the waste and water from the bowl and down into the drainpipe below. The toilet bowl is designed with a shape known as a "P-trap." This design holds some water in the bottom of the bowl even after flushing, which acts as a seal to prevent sewer gases from entering your bathroom. The waste and water from the flush are then carried through a drainpipe to your home's sewage system or septic tank. After the flush, the tank refills with clean water through the fill valve. It continues to fill until it reaches a specific level, ready for the next flush. The clean water supply ensures the bowl is ready for the next use and that there is always water in the trap to prevent odors from escaping.


Speedometer

The shaft that turns the car's wheels is connected to the speedometer by a long, flexible cable made of twisted wires. If one end of the cable rotates, so does the other. At the top end, the cable feeds into the back of the speedometer. When it rotates, it turns a magnet inside the speedometer case at the same speed. The magnet rotates inside a hollow metal cup, known as the speed cup, which is also free to rotate, though restrained by a fine coil of wire known as a hairspring. However, the magnet and the speed cup are not connected together: they're separated by air. The speed cup is attached to the pointer that moves up and down the speedometer dial.

As the speedometer cable rotates, it turns the magnet at the same speed. The spinning magnet creates a fluctuating magnetic field inside the speed cup and, by the laws of electromagnetism, that means electric currents flow inside the cup as well. These electric currents make the speed-cup rotate such that it tries to catch up with the spinning magnet. But the hairspring stops the cup from rotating very far so it just turns a little bit instead, pulling the pointer up the dial as it does so. The faster the car goes, the faster the cable turns, the quicker the magnet spins, the bigger the electric currents it generates, the greater the force on the speed cup, and the more it's able to pull the pointer up the dial.


Piano

Inside a piano, each key is connected to a series of strings. When you press a key, it lifts a mechanism that allows a felt-covered hammer to strike the corresponding string(s). This impact causes the string to vibrate. The pitch of the sound is determined by the frequency of these vibrations. Thicker and shorter strings vibrate more slowly, producing lower-pitched sounds, while thinner and longer strings vibrate more quickly, creating higher-pitched sounds. Sound is produced because of the vibrations, but it becomes audible due to the resonance of the piano. The piano's wooden soundboard, which is like a large amplifier, is placed underneath the strings. When the strings vibrate, they transmit their vibrations to the soundboard, which then amplifies the sound and sends it out into the air. The intensity of the sound depends on how hard you press a key. When you press gently, the hammer strikes the strings lightly, producing a soft sound. If you press the key forcefully, the hammer strikes the strings with more energy, creating a louder sound. This dynamic range is what makes the piano so expressive.


Zipper

A zipper has two strips, commonly referred to as the "tape" on each side. A tape is made up of dozens of teeth, each of which combines a hook and a hollow. The idea is to latch every hook on each of the two tapes into a hollow on the opposite tape, interlocking the teeth. When the zipper is closed, the interlocking teeth create a secure connection between the two strips.

The slider is a small, often metal, or plastic device with a grip or handle. It has a Y-shaped channel that fits over the two strips of the zipper tape. When you move the slider up or down, it causes the elements to interlock or separate. As the slider moves up the zipper, the two teeth strips must enter at a specific angle. As the strips move through the slider, the slider's inclined edges push the teeth toward each other. The strips are offset from each other, so each hollow settles onto a hook in sequence. For this to work properly, each tooth must be exactly the same size and shape, and they all must be perfectly positioned on the track. When you move the slider up the zipper, the elements engage with each other, connecting the two strips of fabric. Conversely, when the slider is pulled down, a plow-shaped wedge pushes against the slanted edges of the hooks, pivoting each tooth off of the tooth below it. Moving the slider downwards therefore causes the teeth to disengage, opening the zipper. At the ends of the zipper, there are usually two stops: a bottom stop and a top stop. The bottom stop prevents the slider from coming off the zipper tape, while the top stop does the same at the other end, ensuring that the slider doesn't run off the top.


Cylinder Lock (Door Lock)

A cylinder lock has a keyway, which is a small, narrow hole where you insert the key. The keyway is connected to a cylinder inside the lock. Inside the cylinder, there are small pins known as key pins and driver pins. These pins are of different lengths and are arranged in pairs, with one key pin and one driver pin in each pair. The point at which the key pins and driver pins meet is called the shear line. This is a small gap between the two sets of pins. When you insert the correct key into the keyway, the ridges and valleys on the key's blade align with the key pins. This action pushes the key pins and driver pins to various heights within the cylinder. The key is designed in such a way that, when it's the correct key for the lock, it will align the key pins and driver pins so that the shear line is perfectly level. This is the essential step in opening the lock. Once the key is fully inserted and has aligned the pins, you can turn it. When you turn the key, it rotates the cylinder within the lock. As the cylinder turns, it engages a mechanism that releases the bolt or latch, allowing the door to open. Inside the lock, there is a mechanism that controls the locking bolt or latch. When the correct key is turned, it disengages this mechanism, enabling the door to open. If the wrong key is used, the pins won't align properly at the shear line, and the cylinder won't turn.


Helicopter

The most distinctive feature of a helicopter is its rotor blades. These are the spinning wings on top of the helicopter, and they are responsible for generating lift, just like the wings of an airplane. Lift is the force that keeps the helicopter in the air, and thrust is the force that propels it forward. In a helicopter, lift and thrust are generated by the rotor blades. The rotor blades are connected to the main rotor shaft, and they rotate like a giant propeller. When the engine powers the rotor to spin, the blades slice through the air. To generate lift, the rotor blades have a specific angle of attack. This angle is how much the blades tilt as they rotate. By tilting the blades, they push air downward. According to Newton's third law of motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. As the rotor blades push the air downward, the helicopter experiences an equal and opposite force pushing it upward. This upward force is what we call lift, and it keeps the helicopter off the ground. Helicopters can control their flight by adjusting the angle of the rotor blades. Tilting the blades forward or backward causes the helicopter to move in those directions, just like how tilting a bike's handlebars makes it turn. Helicopters are unique because they can hover in one place. This is achieved by carefully adjusting the angle of the rotor blades to balance the upward lift with the downward pull of gravity. If a helicopter wants to ascend, it increases the angle of attack to generate more lift. To descend, it decreases the angle of attack to reduce lift. To turn, the pilot adjusts the angle of the rotor blades on one side of the helicopter, which generates more lift on that side and causes the helicopter to tilt and turn. When a helicopter wants to move forward, it tilts the rotor blades slightly in that direction to generate thrust. The forward thrust, in addition to lift, allows the helicopter to move forward.


Imagine you will later be given a test on the 10 devices you just saw. You are being given 20 minutes to study expert explanations of these 10 devices before the test. In what order would you study the devices? Please click and drag to put the devices in order of how you would plan to study them, from first to last.




Click the Orange button below: