Weller (2020) argues that the reduced cost of creating high quality video productions and the ease in which finding high quality video content made it much easier for educators to make multimedia courses (p. 88). This has held true for nursing education in my experience, I have personally made demonstration videos or recorded lectures for my students to provide instruction. What I find particularly compelling in Weller’s (2020) chapter on video though is his statement that video as a means of assessment is limited due to standards of how to evaluate a video, he states, “Perhaps the issue is more that educators know what a good essay looks like, and how to assess it, but are less sure what constitutes a video.” (p. 89). I have experimented with having students complete recorded assignments and I struggle with assessing them, primarily because video creation is not a learning outcome in my courses.
Weller acknowledges many of the risks of social media, including misinformation, trolls, bots, privacy, and corporate control, but he also emphasizes its potential to democratize academic discussion and research. What I struggle with is Weller’s take that social media can democratize academic research and discussion, I find it difficult to reconcile Weller’s optimism with current events, like the recent court case in the United States that accuses Meta of targeting children with addictive algorithms (Hays, 2026). Due to this I would be extremely hesitant to suggest social media to students as a trusted source of information without significant critical evaluation.
References:
Hays, K. (2026, August 18). Meta hooked children on Facebook and Instagram, US court hears. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly5r7vr7q1o
Weller, M. (2020). 25 Years of Ed Tech. Athabasca University Press.https:/doi.org/10.15215/aupress/9781771993050.01