In exploring educational video, I am curious how using video for educational purposes might affect engagement of adult learners. To narrow my scope, I have chosen to focus on one specific aspect of educational video and learning engagement:
How might video length and other time-based instructional design approaches affect adult learner engagement with asynchronous educational videos in a corporate digital learning environment?
I recently finished reading a top 10 New York Times nonfiction bestseller, “When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing” by Daniel Pink (2018), which influenced my decision to focus on engagement factors related to when rather than what. My question was further informed by my experience with educational videos to date, as both a learner and an instructional designer. Below is a brief critical reflection on these experiences, following the ORID (objective, reflective, interpretive, decisional) critical reflection model (Write Online, 2015).
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
“How might video length and other time-based instructional design approaches affect adult learner engagement with asynchronous educational videos in a corporate digital learning environment?”
Breaking this down, your inquiry will need to categorize different lengths and other time-based ID approaches, determine measures of engagement you will use to bring into the study, find out out learners respond, and all this in the corporate context. You’ll need to think about how you will accomplish these challenges and obtain the data you need. If you find that difficult, you may want to reduce the questions to a manageable scope.