The power of videocasting

[Simon Brown]

As an educator, I'm investigating how video technology enriches learning. Videocasting is one way, and YouTube lets everyone have a say. As an example, in this network's video page, I've embedded a videocast from YouTube user "citizentube" (in San Fransisco, US) featuring videocasting in Australian politics.

I'd like to know how YOU would use YouTube in YOUR teaching practice.

Forget about ineffective video editing skills, lack of equipment, lousy bandwidth, efficient network blocking...

Would YOU post an instructional video clip demonstrating a skill?

You have already? Tell me about it.

Would YOU get your students to post an instructional video clip demonstrating their competency in a particular area?

It's not a new idea. I searched "how to" in YouTube and got 1,340,000 results. OK, so there are piano playing cats and Mentos & Coke bombs in there too, just look beyond them. You might even Stumble Upon this one along the way.

[Michele Martin]

Simon--I see videos as a really excellent way for students to demonstrate competency. I also think that they would be great additions to an online portfolio to be maintained by each student.

From a teacher perspective, I think it would be really valuable to put up "how-to" videos that aren't just "step-by-step, this is how you do it" videos, but more from a practitioner perspective where the instructor is walking through the decision-making/thought process that he/she goes through in performing a task. I think that one of the best ways that experts can transfer knowledge is if they start doing some meta-analysis of their thinking processes so that learners can start to understand and absorb what it is to really be a practitioner. For example, teachers have a particular way of thinking and approaching tasks. For new teachers, hearing how an experienced teacher would go through the lesson planning process would be invaluable and this could easily be recorded and shared via video.

[Ray Tolley]

Hi, Michele,

I note your comment about e-Portfolios - which I'm very much into.

I am convinced that video is an absolutely fundamental aspect of the e-Portfolio. For the last 50 years portfolios have generally been about illustrating a finished product. Now we have the opportunity for students to present evidences of the processes used or even time-lapse recording to evidence their work or demonstrate how interviews actually went etc.

If anyone is particularly interested in the e-Portfolio debate I'm presently working on some definitions for the UK scene and would appreciate any comments or contributions.

[Michele Martin]

Ray, I'd love to see what you're working on--are there links or something that you could share?

I agree with you 100% that video allows us to have a better sense of process, rather than just the finished product. There's so much more for us to gain from getting a better understanding of that process and how a person develops than from just seeing that final product. That takes me back to the issue of meta-analysis and having people talk their way through a task or activity. Cognitive apprenticeship to me seems to offer a new way to go in this process, where we have experts talking through their thinking processes, but we can also videotape students going through their own thinking, which can help us diagnose where things may be going wrong or help us better understand how new learners approach a specific task.

[Ray Tolley]

Michele,

Thanks so much for you link to Cognitive Apprenticeship - it really does sum up my feelings about one format of collaboration within the medium of the e-Portfolio.

I really do have a lot of material which still needs some refinement before going really public. BUT both you and Sue have convinced me that I should break this down into possibly a number of separate topics - otherwise discussions would overlap and get very confused - and I might even get some additional ideas from you guys!

[Michele Martin]

Ray--if I may suggest this--the beauty of this kind of community and format is that we don't need to refine things before we start sharing them. I'd start sharing now so that we could all potentially benefit from and add to the materials you're developing. Another kind of cognitive apprenticeship of sorts. :-) We'd love to see more!

[Sue Waters]

Ray, I also would like to hear more about your work with e-Portfolios. Why don't you start your own discussion thread about e-Portfolios by explaining the debate you have been having in the UK and ask the community for their thoughts?

[Sue Hickton]

Hi Ray

would def like to hear more about e-Portfolios. Yet to get my head around those. Would be interested in seeing the application to the learning context

[Simon Brown]

Hi Sue, Have a look at what my stonemasonry students are creating in their Ning - I'd like to know what you think.

I started it with the aim of developing their online literacy. As you can see from their messages to each other, they are at least communicating. I've tried to keep a work focus, but the engaging part is their interest in each others' personal activities.

I hope that this exercise will give them confidence to communicate in the global stone industry. In doing so, they are developing an online portfolio.

[Sue Waters]

Hi Simon

I checked it out and was agree the best part is the fact they are using it to interact with each other which is really cool because they are starting to give you (the lecturer) a better insight into who they are as individuals. With this lively bunch it will be a fine line in encouraging them, to share their personal side, and making them realise that what they are saying can be read by anyone, so they realise that it can be used to promote themselves to potential employers.

Love the way you have videos on stonemason -- so cool. I feel like I have let down the team as I have not videos on aquaculture. But my students are making them :)

Sue

[Simon Brown]

Sue's challenge - find someone who thinks she is letting down the TEAM :-)

[Sue Hickton]

Hi Simon

I had a look at your Ning site - what a great idea! Have set one up at work for a HR project with for Gen X and Y staff - still building it though - can see why Sue lost a weekend to it, although I am just linking to her wiki info (should help her traffic lol).

So I am assuming that on each of the student's pages, this is where the portfolio's will be built? Or is there somewhere else?

cheers, the Evil Sue

[Simon Brown]

Say goodbye to your weekends Sue! It's addictive stuff.

I still have a bit of confusion about network identitites - it's worthy of a "how to" section of its own.

As a Ning user, I have a Ning identity. This is how the platform knows me. Then I have network identities. These are how I choose to appear to each interest group I belong to. Same photo though.

Each of "my" networks features "my page" and this is where "my" postings to that network are aggregated. Have a look at other users' profiles - click on their picture and you can see what they post and where, that is, if this content is public.