Why should videos supplement and drive learning?
As a preteen and into my teens, I became obsessed with science. For example, when I came home from school I turned on some of my favorite 90’s shows: Bill Nye the Science Guy or Beekman’s World. If you haven’t watched either of those shows, they both taught science concepts in a silly, fast-moving format with skits, experiments, costumes, and – most importantly – big questions. To be honest, I think the big questions pulled me toward science TV. That is, it was fun to watch a show and test out the experiments myself because they always led to more questions and tests, which led to more questions and tests, and so on.
Humans are born asking questions. Unfortunately, over time traditional schooling leads to a decrease in the ability of children to ask big questions and think creatively. In a test for divergent thinking, 98% of Kindergarten students scored at genius level (Stephenson & Park, 2010). Five years later, only 50% of these same students scored at genius level (Stephenson & Park, 2010). After another 5 years, only a handful of the same students scored at genius level (Stephenson & Park, 2010). We all have the capacity for divergent thinking, but over time it mostly deteriorates (Stephenson & Park, 2010).
Photo by William Bayreuther on Unsplash
The constructivist theory posits that students build their own knowledge and skills. That is, “student questions are the seeds of real learning” (Musallam, 2013). “If we have the guts to confuse our students, perplex them, and evoke real questions, through those questions we can tailor robust and informed methods of blended instruction” (Musallam, 2013). In what way does video learning allow for self-guided learning? Using videos, learners have the opportunity to watch at their own time pace. They can pause and repeat and review the information that they forget (Khan, 2011). This self-paced instruction, combined with good video quality, gives learners a “natural high and good mood” (Khan, 2011). Why wouldn’t we use videos in the classroom?
How might video play a role in this process?
In his TED Talk Let’s Use Video to Reinvent Education, Sal Khan (2011) uses a bicycle analogy to describe the industrial model of education. He says that current learning is like giving a kid a bike and lecturing them on how to use it. Then, you come back in two weeks to see how they did. Finally, you mark them with a grade and move on to the next topic: A unicycle. Khan (2011) says that this explains the “swiss cheese gaps that kept building throughout their foundation.” What if we taught kids to learn the way we actually teach them to ride a bike? That is, learners would stay on the bicycle, fall off, and get back on until they have mastery (Khan, 2011). Our current model penalizes failure but doesn’t expect mastery (Khan, 2011). In contrast, the new model encourages failure and expects mastery (Khan, 2011).
What does it look like in action?
I remember the first time I used self-created videos. I had about an hour before class and I wasn’t feeling well. As I perused my lesson plans for the day, I realized I was set to lecture all day. It’s no surprise that I didn’t want to stand up front and lecture kids about how to create a graph, so I filmed my instructions. During class, students watched the video and worked at their own pace to create graphs. Then, I could support them one-on-one and they could support one another.
Another time I recorded a video to explain the directions when I had a substitute. Both of these examples demonstrate teacher-centered lessons. Eventually, I facilitated student-created projects using videos such as this: Student Work: Movie Magic!
When I transitioned to teaching adult learners, I used video in very different ways. For example, I shared videos on social media and in help desk articles with specific, new, or common processes. I also created intentional playlists in Canvas courses. The best part about Canvas courses are the video quizzes: Videos with questions embedded throughout. The most important way that I use video with adult learners is to communicate the “Why” of projects that the technology department implements.
What resources do I use?
Because I have a Mac, I use the following resources:
- QuickTime – I use this for screen and video recording.
- Keynote – I use this to create gifs that I can insert into my iMovie. I also use it for green screen
- iMovie – I use this to edit my movie and sound.
- YouTube – This product is obviously not just for Macs. To me, YouTube is the most efficient place to store and share videos I create.
Resources I want to try:
- Snagit – A different resource made specifically for recording eLearning videos.
- Camtasia – Another resource made specifically for editing eLearning videos.
According to Visual Content Marketing Statistics You Should Know in 2022, (Mawhinney, 2021) the current optimal video length is 2-5 minutes. Already, I believe this statistic to be incorrect. As social media continues to expand its capabilities, we see the length of content creation decrease. For example, TikTok is known for videos that are 15 seconds long and only recently allowed for three-minute videos. As this trend infiltrates the educational arena, I plan to incorporate training videos that are less than a minute or even use gifs to communicate new content. This trend, known as microlearning, is an easy way to grab the attention of often-overworked adult learners.
What trends do you see regarding the use of video in student or adult learning?
References
Khan, S. (2011). Sal Khan: Let’s Use Video to Reinvent Education. TED. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://www.ted.com/talks/sal_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education
Mawhinney, J. (2021, February 16). 50 Visual Content Marketing Statistics You Should Know in 2022. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/visual-content-marketing-strategy#sm.0000mii153ssger9tr21v4eh2jwhh
Musallam, R. (2013, May 8). Ramsey Musallam: 3 Rules to Spark Learning. TED. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://www.ted.com/talks/ramsey_musallam_3_rules_to_spark_learning
Stephenson, A., & Park, A. (2010, October 14). RSA Animate: Changing Education Paradigms. YouTube. Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U