Month: April 2018

As a learner, I have mostly watched educational videos by searching how to complete tasks on Youtube, arguably the most well-known video-sharing site in Canada. Search results are variable in quality but ultimately provide me with the information I am looking for when I need it. As a learner, I am occasionally frustrated by the lack of relevant search results and the amount of time spent searching for the right piece of information. However, I am usually gratified once I find the video I am looking for, which makes the effort worthwhile. I have learned to overlook long-winded introductions and to skip through content to locate and absorb the information I need. While Youtube is a great place to find a wealth of information, I would love to discover more curated video library sites that serve a similar purpose but are more personalized to my interests.

As an instructional designer, I have created educational videos using screencast technology to demonstrate software tasks for adult learners in a corporate environment. These videos are typically played during instructor-led sessions and are sometimes accessible to learners following the session. I feel a constant tension between producing quality videos that contribute to learner satisfaction and producing “good enough” videos that lead to desired learning outcomes but perhaps not the highest learner satisfaction. Over time, I have learned shortcuts that allow me to maximize resources; these shortcuts have improved the videos I produce while also requiring less effort. Now that I am proficient in creating screencasts, I need to make sure I do not become complacent. Technology continues to evolve, and I need to make a point of evolving with it or risk having my technical skills become outdated.

References

Write Online (2015). Reflective Writing. Retrieved from http://writeonline.ca/reflective-essay.php?content=section4

 

Our team (Adam, Amber, Katie, and Stu) has selected the curated video library as a modality to explore, and we’ve chosen a series of Ted-Ed videos on animation for our instance. Our group had limited experience with Ted-Ed, so it represents a free, easily accessed resource that we can all participate in without preconceived judgments in place. Each member of our team works in the private sector and is interested in the implications related to video-based learning within our various profit-centric industries. We chose an animation series as it will allow us to evaluate our modality through the lens of a new or novice learner to a certain topic.

Background reading

With a diverse selection of video-based learnings to choose from, learners from all over the world are motivated to use video-based learning in their everyday lives. Learner engagement with video is simple, and the content is accessible and relevant to anything from daily tasks to academic challenges (Maniar, Bennett, Hand, & Allan, 2008).

From changing a spare tire at home through the use of YouTube, to gaining skills that can be certified by vendors such as Coursera, the world is quickly building micro-learning resources in the form of videos.

A quick glance through academic literature and additional web sources demonstrated that a significant amount of research has been done on this subject. From previous courses, we know studies have been conducted since the first deployment of video-based learning through government-sponsored educational television broadcasts (Reiser, 2001). Since then, each new advancement in technology has helped learners and creators evolve the way we learn with this technology. The opportunity to explore this research and begin to synthesize and develop answers to our own questions is both appealing and educational.

Here are a couple of resources we have found that may prove useful in our exploration:

• https://blogs.umass.edu/onlinetools/assessment-centered-tools/teded/
• https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2013/10/18/to-ted-or-not-to-ted/
• https://www.litmos.com/blog/elearning/should-we-model-corporate-training-after-ted-ed
• http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/site-reviews/ted.shtml
• https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/RR-06-2014-0155
• https://www.newstatesman.com/martin-robbins/2012/09/trouble-ted-talks
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/30/we-need-to-talk-about-ted
• https://www.commonsense.org/education/website/ted-ed
• https://www-emeraldinsight-com.ezproxy.royalroads.ca/doi/full/10.1108/JEIM-06-2016-0118

What questions we will pursue

Our curiosity in this field is high. While we have more exploration to do before we can decide what specific questions we plan to answer, some of the topics we may investigate include:

• Understanding the true value proposition of video-based learning and asking “why is this a better modality than others?”
• Understanding the cognitive-load implications of the multi-screened environment we occupy
• Uncovering the barriers that may or may not exist as a result of screen sizes
• Exploring the design theory behind the production of a video
• At what point quality distracts or detracts from the learning experience.
• What drives the validity and benefits, as well as the challenges of video-based learning.
• Exploring the effect of closed captioning and voice-over narration on cognitive load.
• Uncovering the differences in retention when differing modal combinations are used.

References

Maniar, N., Bennett, E., Hand, S., & Allan, G. (2008). The effect of mobile phone screen size on video based learning. JSW, 3(4), 51-61.

Reiser, R. A. (2001). A history of instructional design and technology: Part I: A history of instructional media. Educational Technology Research and Development, 49(1), 53. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02504506