Week Eleven

Chapters Nine & Ten

Question 2
Why is it important to preview and evaluate videos? What tools should you use to be sure a video is communicating the intended message to your students? What are alternative learning systems? How might they enhance traditional education?

Why is it important to preview and evaluate videos?
Video can be a valid choice of instructional medium if it supports the objectives of the lesson plan. But even then, the implementation of any medium requires careful preparation. One important aspect of implementing video in a lesson is the necessity to preview and evaluate each video before it is used in class. By nature, watching a video is more a passive than an active experience. So, if the program is boring, confusing, or not well-done, learners will lose focus and not benefit from the content. However, if a video exploits the full potential of the medium – motion, color, sound, storyline, affect – it can truly enhance learning.

The text offers a comprehensive rubric for evaluating videos for classroom application. Videos are rated on a 5-point scale from poor to excellent. The rating criteria are

• Relevance to curriculum – Does the video focus upon key concepts and learning objectives?
• Currency and accuracy – Is the content up-to-date? Are the facts accurate?
• Engagement – Will it hold learners’ attention? Will it interest students and motivate them to keep watching?
• Support materials – Are there relevant materials to accompany the video?
• Technical quality – Are the picture, sound, and production values of high quality?

This rubric will help teachers ensure that videos will effectively contribute to the goals of instruction and not detract from those goals.

What tools should you use to be sure a video is communicating the intended message to your students?
All instances of communication convey messages – intentional or unintentional. With a rich, sensory medium such as video, it is very important that teachers take steps to ensure that intended messages are conveyed. Video can be a powerful medium. Often facts are intermixed with content that stirs the emotions or may cause students to question their beliefs. Therefore, teachers must try to anticipate student reactions on a variety of levels and be able to address the affective as well as the cognitive substance of the piece. Teachers must be absolutely sure the content on all levels is appropriate for students. Once the teacher is aware of the many messages that may be present in a video, he or she can take other steps to ensure that the desired message is delivered.

First the physical variables should be adjusted. The video should be tested in the classroom prior to presentation to make sure the sound and picture are clear. The room should be arranged so all students can see the screen and the lights should be dimmed just enough for ease of viewing.

Next, the instructor should take steps to engage the learner in the viewing experience. Good ways to prepare the learners for a video include reviewing the concepts leading up to the video, previewing the key points in the video, or discussing the subject of the video to activate background knowledge. A video study guide that students fill out during the program can facilitate active learning. Another strategy is to pause the video at key points to question, reinforce, or discuss important concepts. For example, when viewing a historical drama, the teacher may want to stop at several scene changes and discuss the implications of the action or have students reflect on their understanding.

To make sure the message was received, students can engage in follow-up activities. For example, a class discussion is one way a teacher can discern if students obtained the intended message. Other activities include essay, group projects, or extended research.

What are alternative learning systems? How might they enhance traditional education?
This question was a real eye-opener for me. I understand what traditional instruction is because 95% of my education was done that way. I also understand what distance education is because I have taken a variety of online courses and participated in synchronous and asynchronous professional development training. Traditional instruction offers the personal connection with a teacher providing direct instruction as well as spontaneous peer interaction. Distance learning requires that students take some of the responsibility of managing their own learning which demands good organizational and time management skills. However, by incorporating some aspects of distance learning into a traditional classroom, students get the best of both worlds.

Alternative delivery systems are programs in which elements of distance education are adapted and integrated with traditional educational practices. Creative educators who have implemented this exciting new format are finding that the combination of instructional delivery methods yields a more stimulating, flexible, and engaging learning environment. Asynchronous methods in particular can effectively augment and enhance traditional teaching. For example, teachers can post the PowerPoint presentation that was used in a classroom lesson along with a supplemental worksheet on a class website. Then, students who need extra time for mastery or who were absent can access the material from home. I recall another example of this concept when I taught developmental math courses at a community college. All of my lessons were cross-referenced with a set of video tapes of supplemental instruction. Students who needed extra help or who missed class could either check out the tapes from the library or request the media center to make a copy of the entire set. This was in 1998, prior to all the advances in distance learning, but the idea is the same. The use of asynchronous learning methods promotes active learners who take initiative for their learning. Other ways of enhancing traditional instruction with asynchronous techniques include schedules posted on a class website, discussion boards for small group projects, email and voice mail for parent-teacher communication, list-serve for class reminders and announcements, and web-based assignments.

I believe one of the most beneficial aspects of alternative delivery systems is the increased opportunity for all learners to interact and participate within their comfort level. Many learners are hesitant (or even petrified) to speak up in a large group setting. They simply find it very difficult to participate. Consequently, their ideas and opinions remain unheard. When given the opportunity to post on a discussion board, use a chat room, or send an email, these same students have a more comfortable opportunity to interact. Conversely, the students who are extremely verbally active in class will learn how to thoughtfully and patiently express their ideas in writing.