| Volume 4, Issue 8: August 2009 |
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Videos Used as
Teaching Tools in Educational Environment
Millions of video clips are
now available online and more are uploaded each day, expanding
the amount of free content that can be tapped into for
e-learning. Since the creation of YouTube(TM) in 2005, a video
clip phenomenon has swept the Internet. Never before has
it been so easy to locate, record, and distribute video
online; opening intriguing possibilities for teaching,
learning, and course design for e-learning.
In "Web-Based Video for E-Learning: Tapping into
the YouTube(TM) Phenomenon," an article from the recent release
Collective Intelligence and E-Learning 2.0:
Implications of Web-Based Communities and
Networking (edited by Dr.
Harrison Hao Yang, State University of New York, USA and Dr.
Steve Chi-Yin Yuen, University of Southern Mississippi, USA),
Dr. Chareen Snelson, Boise State University, (USA), introduces
Web-based video as a new form of educational motion picture,
delves into technical aspects of Web 2.0 video tools,
describes instructional strategies that integrate Web-based
video clips in e-learning, and examines barriers that could
potentially inhibit its use. |
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"
The YouTube(TM) phenomenon extends the traditional
instructional uses for video by providing greater ease of
distribution and enhanced opportunities for
interactivity..."
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"The
problem of technological obsolescence due to continually
changing media
formats
and players is minimized with Web-based video," writes Snelson.
"The technology on YouTube(TM) is
designed for the general Internet user to access
and view through a standard Web browser. Authoring capabilities
are also starting to become browser-based, which
further diminishes issues of cost and obsolescence for
video technologies. The technical capabilities of Web
2.0 video tools are becoming increasingly sophisticated,
making them a valuable tool for
e-learning designers and practitioners. Because of this, it is beneficial to
gain at least a basic understanding of the tools and
their capabilities."
"The YouTube(TM) phenomenon extends the
traditional instructional uses for video by providing
greater ease of distribution and enhanced
opportunities for interactivity. All videos on YouTube(TM) have basic
interactivity in the YouTube(TM) video player, which is common to
most video-sharing services. The hypermedia environment of Web-based video supports both
basic and branched interactivity. Basic interactivity is provided through
the player with its controls for stop, play, and rewind.
Branching interactivity can be constructed through custom players,
playlists, and annotation links placed directly on each
video to enable users to jump to other
videos."
At the conclusion of her research, Dr. Snelson discusses future trends
and topics for progressive research in the area
of online video sharing. She
believes that in order to expand on the knowledge
of video sharing, case studies need to be enacted
in order to successfully implement it
as an educational resource. Snelson also indicates
that before online video sharing becomes a
wide-spread source of communicating and educating, it needs to be
more accessible and stringent copyright and fair use laws
need to be revised and put
in place. As Dr. Snelson states, "It is an excellent
time to tap into the YouTubeTM phenomenon for e-learning
and ride the waves into the future."
(Portions of this article are excerpted
from Collective Intelligence and E-Learning 2.0:
Implications of Web-Based Communities and
Network
edited by Dr. Harrison Hao Yang
and Dr. Steve Chi-Yin Yuen)
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