Video Killed the Radio Star! But... it has proven to give new life to Millions of Other Hopefuls: 501 Video sharing blog post

When I began thinking about making a blog about video sharing, the first thought that came into my head is how much I can learn from watching videos. I am an avid user of the website: www.instructables.com where I can find instructions about how to make and do like a million and one things. But, there is an aspect of interaction and engagement that is missing when learning from still frames. I find that videos can be valuable for presenting an idea or image from several perspectives that makes learning from video more realistic. As a example of how effective video is for presenting ideas, here’s an amazing video based on a recipe in a book by Todd Wilbur, Top Secret Recipes, about how to make a Big Mac© at home:



In my kindergarten classes I begin each day with a sharing circle. To begin, I share a couple (few) seemingly unrelated stories about life, about what I do after school, what I learn, things I read, places I’ve been, people I’ve met, and everything about life. Yes, the stories may seem unrelated, but the stories all contain a similar moral point, and the students look for the thread that connects the stories to one another. When my turn to share is done, then it is time for each student to choose to share (or not) something with our group. We have 30 students in our class, so sometimes it takes a while to get through the whole group if everyone wants to chat that day, but sometimes the sharing is quite quick if the group is not feeling particularly chatty. What I like most about the circle is that each student brings an amazing wealth of knowledge, experience, and perspective to our group. And, it is the process of developing collective knowledge that makes circle time important as the school year draws on, because the students learn so much about one another by listening and sharing, that they don’t need to rely solely on the teacher for assistance, guidance, instruction, help, answers, and engagement. Likewise, I find that by interacting with others through the videos they share with our circle of humanity, I get to know so much more than if I was left to develop all of those ideas on my own.

To be honestI don't think one person (especially myself) would ever have the independent knowledge to build a space shuttle, and all the necessary technology to make it get to a specified destination outside earth’s atmosphere. Heck, I might never even get to see a shuttle launch in realia, but via video sharing I can come VERY close to experiencing such a beautiful and amazing feat of human technological skill and teamwork that produces results that benefit every human on the planet:



At the end of the work day, there are times when I like to watch funny clips that people post; other times it might be strange or fascinating mysteries of nature; or motorcycle/racing videos if I am feeling energetic. I suppose that I am drawn to certain users on video sharing sites based on how I feel, and what personal spiritual, emotional, intellectual, or academic penchant I need to have filled. And, there are times when photos don’t provide the visual stimulation combined with auditory accompaniment that makes me feel like I am a part of 'the scene'.

Discussion of the tool in terms of my own personal learning

Although I had set up a YouTube account a while ago as a part of my gmail account, I had never logged into YouTube, and it was interesting to see how much I’d been missing by not accessing YouTube as a logged-in user. There are many more features available for users than I knew, such as reading full summaries of each video, downloading using YouTube Downloader, leaving comments about users' videos, and linking videos to other aspects of the Google Suite that connects nearly all my accounts.

I tried changing the user settings of my YouTube account, but have since found it more difficult to navigate than one would expect. I first tried to upload a new background image to more closely resemble my avatar, but to no avail. Despite several attempts to change my account, I see that no permanent change to my settings have taken place…again, all this despite saving the changes each time.

I haven’t yet ventured to making comments about other users’ uploads, but I DID subscribe to a user who has some short videos about his Ford Courier on YouTube, which is a truck similar to the one I drive.

I tried exploring another video sharing site, Vimeo, but the sign-up procedure for that site wouldn’t allow me to sign-up because of my existing Google Suite login credentials that didn’t match that site, nor to my Facebook account. As I mentioned last week in my photo sharing blog, my camera is broken, and I am unable to upload videos to my account, which is too bad, since I would like to post some of my own videos. I hope to get a new camera for my birthday, so by September 2010, I will have videos uploaded for my subscribers to get to know me better.

Reflections on the process of learning about the tool

Learning how to become familiar with video sharing was DEFINTELY made more positive by the Common Craft video dealing with video sharing, and I feel more at ease having watched the video. Yet, I wish that the names of more sites had been mentioned for me to know where to go to watch videos, and search for videos to link to my account.

Since the purpose of a blog is to attract and inspire readers to subscribe to my writings, and for those subscribers to become regular members of the community in which we share ideas and information through multimedia, it seems appropriate that I should find means to make everyone who stops by here feel welcome. Well, I stumbled upon a paragraph from Joyner’s (2010) article, Show us what you can do, highlighting a reason for the success of Comon Craft as told by the founder of Common Craft, Lee LeFever:

"There is no sure-fire way to score a hit video, but the most effective demos have several features in common, says Lee LeFever, founder of Common Craft, whose popular “In Plain English” series of animated videos explains complex concepts such as cloud computing and the stock market. “They should focus more on how a product fits into someone’s life, not how it works,” he says."

By reading the blogs of others, and being aware of what others’ interests are, I am better able to find commonalities between my interests and the interests of my subscribers, and build a stronger community through that approach.

Discussion of the tool in terms of teaching and learning

Anderson (2009) outlines some of the benefits of video sharing in her article The Power of Primary Sources in assisting educators to:

">>Build awareness and knowledge
>>Develop personal connections
>>Enhance teaching and learning by engaging and motivating students
>>Foster inquiry and critical thinking
>>Support multiple strands of national and state information and technology literacy standards
>>Appeal to multiple senses and many learning styles"

A clear example of how video can be used as a teaching tool in ways that photos have less sensory impact can be seen in the following video about the history of the US Civil War (each second of the video represents one week of battle, as you will see in the scrolling calendar):



Finding educational material for use in the classroom will present with similar challenges that I encountered with photo sharing, and that was the difficulty with tagging. Being relatively new to using Web 2.0 for both personal and professional purposes, it is becoming increasingly clear to me that the language I use to locate resources will need to develop, as I typically use keywords, identifiers, and tags that do not accurately represent the subject matter, ideas, or topics I am searching for. My tendency is still to look for resources based on what feels like an outdated model of speech that doesn’t net the results I would like. I sometimes hope that it really isn’t just me, and that it just that the seemingly infinitesimal digital resources available are simply just not yet organized into an effective, searchable format yet.

Riismandel (2009) talks about the need for educational videos more searcher-friendly:

"Despite the fact that the number of universities and videos is limited, what’s important about Academic Earth’s approach is that it attempts to leverage the power of metadata to make educational videos more accessible. The real challenge comes with attempting to include videos from schools that haven’t tagged and organized their content in such a consistent manner. That’s the next crucial step in educational video online: developing a common standard for cataloging, organizing, and sharing content, regardless of platform. We already have a model in libraries, which have common standards for cataloging physical assets such as books and discs. The successes and failures of this decades-long process should provide direction and insight for educational video."

What now?

I am almost embarassed to admit that I have been living on earth for the past 10 years, and have never used video sharing as a tool for creating and sharing resources professionally and personally. I enjoy linking and embedding interesting and innoative videos that make my ideas clearer to others.

My readings this week led me to the website for the Iowa State University Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, http://www.celt.iastate.edu/lt/sn.html and found an explanation for what Web 2.0 is, and how it differs from 'the Web':

"The term "Web 2.0" is a broader term—and refers to a shift in the Web from primarily an information-sharing platform to a one that increasingly facilitates personalized online experiences, interaction, collaboration, and social networking. Some argue that Web 2.0 does not imply a new version of the Web. Its is, however, an acknowledgment of a continual evolution that includes a layering of a wider range of social software..."

I am very much interested in learning how to make use of more technologies, and to make them work together, in a more seamless manner that feels natural. As I get more exposure to different social media, I feel the 'network' aspect of social media rather than being just an occassional users, or bumping into these tools in my quest for resources. Another quote, from the same website, http://www.celt.iastate.edu/lt/sn.html really captures the feeling I get from trying to manuver and connect my ideas across several platforms:

"A social network comprises the individuals and the webs of connections between and among individuals who are associated—based upon one or more interdependencies, such as shared interests, values, friendship, family, or profession. These connections range from weak to strong ties (Granovetter, 1973, 1983).

Individuals belong to multiple social networks—and many group-specific social identities—each of which contributes something to his or her concept of self. The manner in which any particular social identity contributes to an individual’s self-concept stems from his or her perception of membership—and the values and emotional significance he or she associates with a group (Tajfel, 1981)."

Thanks for another great week!

-Rob

References

Anderson, M. (2009). The power of primary sources. Multimedia And Internet@Schools. (Nov/Dec), 35-38.

Joyner, A. (2010). Show us what you can do: Using videos to boost sales. Inc. (February), 81-84.

Riismandel, P. (2009). Making educational video more accessible. Streaming Media. (June/July), 14.

What does social networking have to do with teaching and learning? (n.d.) Retrieved January 25, 2010, from http://www.celt.iastate.edu/lt/sn.html