Video: and beyond

Video: and beyond

by Amy Severson -
Number of replies: 2

There has been some discussion around the fact (if I can summarize here) that video isn't stand-alone. (Like, ahem, most learning resources, I'd argue!). There has been some discussion about "pop-up" video (I can't say that without thinking of the MuchMusic sing-song voice!) - how else to you add value to the video? How do you prioritize, select resources? When do you let the presenter choose, and when might you select non-pesenter materials?

Right now I'm watching a video on Estate Planning for families who have children with special needs, considering how to create or find supplementary materials. One thing I think that might add value is a library of terms and acronyms (trusts, probate, in-tust, RDSP, TFSA...). I think some visual mapping how how joint ownership and trust accounts play out might help illuminate some of these topics as well.  

In reply to Amy Severson

Re: Video: and beyond

by Colin Madland -

My initial reaction to your question about adding value to video is that video *is* the added value to other learning materials. Previous discussions have noted that keeping video short (<5mins) is a high priority for many who use video in their teaching, which would seem to indicate that video in itself 'isn't stand-alone'.

Now, with that reaction out of the way...one of the best uses of video that I have encountered is at www.veritasium.com, in particular the videos which address common scientific misconceptions (which is, I think, where the added value comes into play).

By using the rich medium of video, the creator of the videos is able to describe and debunk misconceptions about scientific theories in a way that just isn't possible in a text-based environment. 

In his doctoral research at Uni. of Sydney, Derek Muller found that students learned more when common misconceptions were explained and addressed along with the accurate information.

In reply to Colin Madland

Re: Video: and beyond

by Amy Severson -

Ah, it's a chicken and the egg question: does video support learning materials or do learning materials support video? Or.... do we agree that learning does not occur within a single medium!  

It seems that this discussion often returns to the qualifier "it depends", and in your example, you are using the video to highlight one specific idea with clear boundaries and is it fair to say, one specific objective? It seems that one of the benefits of having the short videos is it's narrow and precise focus - it is shorter, and also can be fit into multiple scenarios. A description of a misconception (I've seen them used to great effect in bioogy classes!) can be used, in multiple classes, and by multiple instructors. 

It does of course assume that this video is part of a larger class, either face to face or online.

 

Oh wow, I just watch the Koala video on Veristasium - those are some serious claws!