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
This looks like a fruitful area to study. Possible adjustments to the questions that may help
Bullet point 1: rather than “better modality” consider circumstances; i.e. “when” and “under what circumstances” is it better? There is no one perfect rule for any modality.
Not sure what is meant by “multi-screened environment” in the training context – all I can picture is a sports bar with multiple games on the screens…and I’m sure that’s not what you have in mind 🙂
“Quality” – by this do you mean production values? I.e. how much to spend vs estimated ROI?
“Cognitive load” – interesting question but how will you determine this? (Unless the research already exists.)
I suggest trying to align these questions to sharpen the approach of your study, to avoid having to run in too many directions at one time. You have some good questions here; maybe pick 1-2 and generate more questions related to those instead of the variety you currently have here.
Thanks for the feedback Irwin – I will let the other team members know you have replied so they can look at your comments. Cheers.
Thanks Amber!
I think “sports bar learning” could be a brand new modality! Beer and brains 🙂 In actuality, we were referring to the many screens learners have access to, such as iPads, TVs, phones, laptops, even virtual reality. The impacts on how video integrates or distracts from the learning experience on so many fronts is intriguing.
Hi TEDdy Bears, our group is also looking at video courses, specifically Lynda.com. I like how you’re looking at the cognitive load aspect. I haven’t explored a Ted-Ed series myself, but if it’s like the other video-based courses out there, it’s worthwhile to see how much pure audio-visual will affect learning and retention. I recommend a paper by Wong, Leahy, Marcus, & Sweller (2012) entitled “Cognitive load theory, the transient information effect and e-learning”. They found that cognitive load due to transient information increased with the length of transient information (i.e., longer segments of media information at once increased mental burden). Short segments of animations or audio-visuals did not overload the participants. I feel the determination of what is long or short will invariably depend on the subject matter and how it is presented. It’ll be interesting to see if these videos can hold our attention long enough or if we feel that they’re too “long”.
George
Good inputs George. Note: with this type of research it’s important to have a clear sense of the context of the research. People will happily watch a 2-hour Star Wars movie (even on “video”) so genre, nature of content and audience, and their intentions, are important. E.g. entertainment vs training, etc.
Got it! And agree with your new modality proposal 🙂