Introduction to e-learning with videos:

E-learning is a new and up and coming medium and I am very interested in the benefits of

e-learning and particularly analysing the effectiveiness of using videos to teach and how the influence of e-learning and using videos has on the attitudes and intentions of students who wish to undertake online courses. One thing that Jovic, Stankovic, and Neskovic (2017) point out is that what learners perceive to be useful can be instrumental to increasing their self-reliance in e-learning courses which in turn greatly enhances their intention to use e-learning and videos as a way forward in their onward educational journey, (Jovic, Stankovic, and Neskovic, 2017).

According to Provenzo & Cuban (1986) digital technology has enabled the ordinary person with digital cameras and smartphones to use the medium of video like never before and upload it to the internet in just minutes. Although the entertainment industry took it on board exclusively at first when this technology was expensive, over time it has gotten cheaper and therefore the possibility of using videos to teach arose, (Provenzo & Cuban, 1986).

Jovic, Stankovic, and Neskovic (2017) indicate that the overiding factor in considering educational effectiveness is whether it is useful, (Jovic, Stankovic, and Neskovic, 2017).

Clapp (2017) indicates that while developing new and reviewing older modules staff gave out constructive advice on what was being delivered. The consensus was that the modules were found to be too heavy on content in the form of text and that the need for videos would be more prudent to foster more succinct, clear and concise learning and understanding. Student’s would gain a deeper level of learning and that the knowledge that they would gain would be attained for longer, (Clapp, 2017).

Literature Review on e-Learning with videos:

There is a wide scope and variety of literature that examines and re-examines e-learning, blended learning, learning using videos with a number of instructions on how one should deliver this new learning technology to the education sector, (Islam, Beer and Slack, 2015).

Watters (2018) outlines that very little has happened using videos in terms of developing pedagogy over the decades it’s been around, yet it still has the potential to greatly benefit lecturers and students alike, (Watters, 2018). Within the e-learning framework there unfortunately seems to be great inconsistency and imbalance between what people believe video can do and what educational institutions are doing with videos to instruct and teach. Hansch et al. (2015) concur with Watters (2018) that video usage has the potentional to change in ways that will help both lecturers and students, however there is still a disparity between people’s expectations and their actual application, (Hansch et al., 2015).

Watters (2018) in her piece about the Khan Academy goes on to outline that the pedagogy of video is no different to the traditional pedagogy of talking on a podium in a lecture theatre. The problem here though is that video has limitations in that it doesn’t do a lot more that the tradition pedagogy. It can however be distributed and watched by virtually anyone, stored and re-watched by students time and time again, although it remains to be seen how it can impact the future role of the teacher, (Watters, 2018).

Islam, Beer and Slack (2015) outline that e-learning is being rolled out around the world at a rapid rate as the demand for online courses increases. They indicate that there are five challenges that face lecturers and tutors alike....” learning styles and culture, pedagogical
e-learning, technology, technical training, and time management challenges. “ (Islam, Beer and Slack, 2015, p. 103). They go on to outline that the quality of the learning technology being used by education institutions is very important when learning is being undertaken using videos, imagery and visual resources as this plays a greater role in the success of
e-learning. If the quality of e-learning resources is good i.e. videos, then e-learning can be better than face to face classroom interaction, (Islam, Beer and Slack, 2015).

Muller and Sharma (2005) outline that students liked video style lectures that have explanations in the form of demos and screen casts. They found that animated features, head shots of speakers talking about topics which were then demonstrated gave greater clarity to the topic than the traditional lecture hall. They outline that the difference here is that lecturers have to do extra and detailed preparation due to the fact that these videos maybe reused by others at any time in the future. This only reinforces the argument that videos promote engagement among students whereas traditional face to face pedagogy only leads to a lack of engagement. It is obvious here that what’s important is not that engagement improves but that the way in which these videos are produced that creates greater engagement, (Muller and Sharma, 2005).

Daniel (2017) outlines that with blended learning which includes video as a means of instruction is favoured by most students as a form of instruction as they are more inclined to engage with this type of pedagogy as it involves more visual teaching resources such as videos, blogs, vlogs and online forums. This also allows students to engage longer with the teaching material creating a more positive learning experience which allows for greater retention of the material explored by the students. He goes on to indicate that our understanding of the technology that we use to teach needs to be coupled with how students learn, the skills gained and how the knowledge is then presented in digital media form using videos, (Daniel, 2017).

In a survey conducted by Allen and Seaman (2013) they reveal that over 8 million students are doing at least one online course in the USA and that about 80% of academic leaders rate the learning outcomes in online education to be the same if not superior to the traditional face to face classroom interaction, (Allen and Seaman, 2013).

The findings outlined by Concannon, Flynn and Campbell (2005) indicate that using and providing videos with in learning management systems such as Blackboard and Moodle is important in getting student’s to access and use e-learning resources, (Concannon, Flynn and Campbell, 2005).

Multimedia Design Principles for teaching with video:

The learning process is vital if we as educators are to learn anything about how we create and put together our material to teach and lecture with. We all need to know if we’re doing the right thing for our students, evidence for learning is something that we should all be looking for regarding the outcomes of our interaction with our students particularly when using presentations, video and imagery.

Clark & Mayer (2011) outline the multimedia principles as one of the most known principles of learning. They divide these principles of learning into two areas ..” (1) whether the multimedia principle depends on the experience level of the learners and (2) whether the multimedia principle depends on whether the graphics are static (illustrations or photos) or dynamic (animations or video)…”, (Clark & Mayer, 2011, p. 67).

There are a range of multimedia principles but the most known are the 12 principles developed by Dr. Richard Mayer, the following are an example of these.

Coherence Principle, Signaling Principle, Redundancy Principle, Spatial Contiguity Principle, Temporal Contiguity Principle, Segmenting Principle, Pre-training Principle, Modality Principle, Multimedia Principle, Personalization Principle, Voice Principle, Image Principle, (Hilt.harvard.edu. 2018). ).

In my own practice I am focusing on using videos to teach whether they be videos I’ve created, screencasts or head shots talking videos or videos created by others, my focus is to create videos in the best possible way to effectively teach. Muller and Sharma (2005) outlines that yes videos are important and are being used and perhaps they can be used differently, but the consensus for me is that the literature is outlining that how and the way videos are produced is what’s vitaly important here, (Muller and Sharma, 2005). With this knowledge applying the various multimedia principles to the creation of videos to teach is vitality important, (Mayer, 2009).

As a result there are a number of multimedia principles that I wish to explore in my own practice, When producing videos (a) I’ll keep it simple and try and reduce extraneous processing by using (1) The Coherence Principle – People learn better when extraneous words, pictures and sounds are excluded rather than included, (2) The Redundancy Principle – People learn better from graphics and narration than from graphics, narration and on-screen text.
(b) I’ll keep it short and try to manage essential processing by using (3) The Modality Principle – People learn better from graphics and narrations than from graphics and on-screen text. Narration is preferred to text when animations and videos are used, (4) The Learner Control Principle – People learn better when they can control the pace at which new information is presented. Opportunities are presented to stop, start and replay animations and videos.
(c) I’ll keep it real, and try and foster generative processing (5) The Personalization Principle – People learn better from multimedia lessons when words are in conversational style rather than formal style, (6) The Dialogue Principle – Dialogue incorporated in video with images or demonstrations results in better learning gains than without dialogue especially in novice learners, (Mayer, 2009), (Hilt.harvard.edu. 2018).

Clark & Mayer (2011) explore the return on investment for supplementing words with pictures. They go on to outline that people do learn more deeply from words and graphics rather than from words alone. ..” Multimedia presentations can encourage learners to engage in active learning by mentally representing the material in words and in pixtures and by mentally making connections between the pictorial and verbal representations..;” (Clark & Mayer, 2011, p. 71). Clark & Mayer (2011) go on to outline the contracting aspect of just using words alone..” In contract, presenting words alone may encourage learners especially those with less experience or expertise to engage in shallow learning such as not connecting the words with other knowledge…” (Clark & Mayer, 2011, p. 71).

The Benefits of e-learning and how Videos make a difference:

Jovic, Stankovic, and Neskovic (2017) outline that the benefits of e-learning are that the content being delivered to a cohort can most likely be in the form of video or audio files. They go on to indicate that the most common area that student’s see as a benefit in e-learning is being able to access the digital content and data at any time and place. The benefit is 24/7 access to videos through a learning management system, this is seen as being useful and an essential factor is student’s taking on more responsibility and self-regulation for their online learning, (Jovic, Stankovic, and Neskovic, 2017).

Learning and how student’s learn is important therefore getting a good education is judged soley based on how well student’s receive this knowedge. Making it easy to absorb and retain is one way of doing this and each institution is putting in place different strategies to facilitate effective learning. E-learning using videos has been found to effectively help students to remember difficult concepts and problems particularly if the videos are short and keep on topic, (Chtouki et al., 2012).

I believe that e-learning using videos allows a new and different approach to teaching but particularly the learning process. Many students who engage in e-learning courses tend to study using the influence of new media content such as videos, animations and screen casts,

therefore changing their attitude towards online learning as a result, (Jovic, Kostic Stankovic, and Neskovic, 2017). This can particulary be seen in the creation and proliferation of MOOC’s ( Massive Open Online Courses) since 2008 when they first appeared, (Hansch et al., 2015).

Kim et al. (2012) outline that the way forward in e-learning involves working on the Critical Success Factor’s of the e-learning technical infrastructure such as a LMS’s (Learning Management System), this is particularly important for access to videos and how they are delivered online for a e-learning course, (Kim et al. 2012). Daniel (2017) indicates that blended learning is the way forward as there is a happy blend between student and teacher dialogue and outlines this type of learning will lead to greater student performance and staff satisfaction, (Daniel, 2017).

Conclusion:

I wanted to critically review the literature that is available on e Learning and teaching using videos. After the multimedia design craze in the 1990’s, which lead to instructional multimedia CD ROM educational design (CD Rom), I feel that e-learning using videos is the next instalment in an ever changing educational landscape in order to provide a useful resourceful and student lead e-learning environment, (Daniel, 2017).

I totally concur with Brookfield (2015) regarding the challenges of an online lecturer and that the biggest challenge that I now face in my teaching career is the onset of online teaching and learning. I am finding myself working in a tense state going from one face to face lecture to an Online lecture with a transition of less than 15 minutes in between. As Brookfield (2015) outlines I’m teaching in a hybrid manner delving into the two worlds of teaching, (Brookfield, 2015).

Although I deliver a blended learning delivery approach the institution I deliver in hasn’t put into place any institutional support for online delivery. Concannon, Flynn and Campbell, (2005), indicate that this is a common issue among institutions. However they are investing in new learning technologies for e-learning with the premise that this will improve the quality of learning within their respective institutions, (Concannon, Flynn and Campbell, 2005).

Finally and according to Zhang et al. (2006) students in the e-learning environment that provided interactive video achieved significantly better learning performance and a higher level of learner satisfaction than those in other settings, (Zhang et al., 2006).

 

 

References

Allen, E. & Seaman, J. (2013). Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States. Wellesley, MA: Babson College.

Allen, E. and Seaman, J. (2017). Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States. [ebook] Wellesley, MA: Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group, pp.8-29. Available at: https://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/changingcourse.pdf [Accessed 23 Dec. 2017].

Brookfield, S. (2015). The Skillful Teacher. 3rd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, pp.169-185.

Chtouki, Y., Harroud, H., Khalidi, M. and Bennani, S. (2012). The impact of YouTube videos on the student’s learning. 2012 International Conference on Information Technology Based Higher Education and Training (ITHET). [online] Available at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org [Accessed 16 Jan. 2018].

Clapp, A. (2017) An e-Learning Team’s Life On and Offline: A Collaborative Self-Ethnography in Postgraduate Education Development. The Electronic Journal of e-Learning: Volume 15 Issue 1, (pp33-45) Available at: http://ejel.org/volume15/issue1/p33 [Accessed 26 Jan. 2018].

Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2011). E-Learning and the Science of Instruction: Proven Guidelines for Consumers and Designers of Multimedia Learning (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, pp.68-89.

Concannon, F., Flynn, A. and Campbell, M. (2005). What campus-based students think about the quality and benefits of e-learning. British Journal of Educational Technology, 36(3), pp.501-512.

Daniel, S. (2017). Making Sense of Blended Learning: Treasuring an Older Tradition or Finding a Better Future?. [ebook] Toronto: Contact North, pp.2-18. Available at: http://teachonline.ca/sites/default/files/tools-trends/downloads/makingsenseofblended.pdf [Accessed 14 Dec. 2017].

Hansch, A., Hillers, L., McConachie, K., Newman, C., Schildhauer, T. and Schmidt, P. (2015). Video and Online Learning: Critical Reflections and Findings from the Field. SSRN Electronic

Hilt.harvard.edu. (2018). Principles for multimedia learning with Richard E. Mayer. [online] Available at: https://hilt.harvard.edu/blog/principles-multimedia-learning-richard-e-mayer [Accessed 20 Jan. 2018].

Islam, N., Beer, M. and Slack, F. (2015). E-Learning Challenges Faced by Academics in Higher Education: A Literature Review. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 3(5).

Jovic, M., Kostic Stankovic, M. and Neskovic, E. (2017). Factors Affecting Students’ Attitudes towards E-Learning. Management:Journal of Sustainable Business and Management Solutions in Emerging Economies, 22(2), p.73.

Kim, K., Trimi, S., Park, H. and Rhee, S. (2012). The Impact of CMS Quality on the Outcomes of E-learning Systems in Higher Education: An Empirical Study. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 10(4), pp.575-587.

Mayer, R. (2009). Multimedia Learning. 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Muller, D. and Sharma, M. (2005). Determining the factors affecting student perceptions of a popular science video. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 21(4).

Watters, A. (2018). The Wrath Against Khan: Why Some Educators Are Questioning Khan Academy. [online] Hack Education. Available at: http://hackeducation.com/2011/07/19/the-wrath-against-khan-why-some-educators-are-questioning-khan-academy [Accessed 26 Jan. 2018].

Zhang, D., Zhou, L., Briggs, R. and Nunamaker, J. (2006). Instructional video in e-learning: Assessing the impact of interactive video on learning effectiveness. Information & Management, [online] 43(1), pp.15-27. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378720605000170?via%3Dihub [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].