Why video?
Why video? The benefits of using videos in education
Flexibility – your learners have control of the content. They can watch wherever they have access to the appropriate tools (e.g. a computer, a smart phone or a tablet) and as often as they like. They can pause, go back, jump forward, mute, etc. The control belongs to the learner.
Multiple applications – video has the power to communicate and deliver various types of content:
- tutor introductions
- conclusion/summary
- interviews (with subject experts)
- course-related footage (especially events that cannot be replicated in the classroom)
- case studies/ mock examples
- lectures/summaries of lectures (archive footage)
- demonstrations/ role-plays
- feedback (specific or general)
- student-created content (allows for creativity)
Emphasis and clarity – video contains audio-visual cues crucial to understanding, such as expression, intonation, movement – which cannot be conveyed as effectively by text and or still images.
Staff contact – video helps students connect with the tutor. This should never be downplayed. For remote students in particular, actually seeing the tutor gives a sense of belonging.
Accessibility – transcripts and captions can be made available to all
Sustainability – By utilising video for the delivery of core material, the tutor’s time is freed up in subsequent years to allow more time for engaging with students.
Familiarity – Students are used to ‘laws’ of video production and are immersed in video content from traditional broadcast sources and online streaming videos. By making use a delivery medium that is familiar to students it should be easier for them to engage with and understand the content.
Geographic ubiquity - By using recorded video content as part of the delivery not only can students engage with the material at their own pace, they can also engage with it from a distance. This is especially important in a distributed university and it ensures that all students will experience the core teaching material in the same manner.