Video is a powerful leaning tool. This is how the article starts and it is right on. Video can be used for many facets of education. Not only are there videos to teach lessons to students, but there are also opportunities for teachers to video tape themselves and replay the video to self-critic. There is also the used of designed video. Designed video is a realistic looking video that has the author deciding on the components and the features of the video beforehand. The example provided was a child incorrectly solving a math problem. These types of videos are great learning tools because the can model what we need to do or what we need not to do. People model other people very well. This is an added benefit to learning though video. A students can easily mimic what they see.
Videos of the past were dim, under budgeted, un-entertaining works of mediocrity. Research has shown that video can be used effectively in a learning environment. What needs to be taken into account is the audience. There are different types and styles of videos appropriate to all applications. The video designers have the daunting task of aligning the correct video type to the correct group. A designer needs to keep in mind that a video has to be engaging! Once the stage is set, a video can reel in attention far better than a book or a slide-show.
Video can also shape a persons attitude towards a subject as well. The power of the visual and auditory combination's can bring about any range of emotions the director desires. With the correct attitude, leaning is made easier. Complex actions can even be learned with ease. The more complex the action, the more steps the video is broken into.
The greatest part of this article is that the author provides information on how to create a video lesson, and how to assess this lesson. There is a breakdown of how one should have a clear target for their lesson, how to teach this topic, and then how to assess the learning by testing for recognition. The last part is possibly the most important because no lesson is valuable unless you know it works.
As educators, we need to remember that video is a trigger for increasing interest, contextualization, and discernment. With the correct use of this powerful asset we can bring a whole new leaning tool into our arsenal.
References:
Schwartz, Schwartz, and Schwartz Schwartz. "It is not television anymore: Designing digital video for learning and assessment." Video Research in the Learning Sciences. Print.
