Video+in+Education

=**Video in Education**=

Description
A consistent, motion image tool, with or without sound, that can be archived, and which allows an individual student, or group of students, to observe a demonstration as needed to learn or to illustrate a concept. It also may be used to share an experience.

History
According to Saettler, the roots of educational video can be traced back as far as 1902, when Charles Urban had shown some of the earliest educational films. In addition at this time, experimentation with films featuring slow-motion, microscopic and undersea shots were being produced (p. 96).

In 1904, New York State formed the first visual instruction dept. which presented collections of lantern slides to schools and ended up creating the largest collection of lantern slides at that time (p. 134).

In 1910, George Klein published the first film catalogue in the United States. The Catalogue of Educational Motion Pictures was 330 pages and offered 1,065 titles, and 30 main topics (p. 98).

The first school system to incorporate films for instruction was the public school system of Rochester, New York in 1910 (p. 99).

The Victor Animatograph Company, of Davenport, Iowa, is credited with creating the first 16mm projector in 1910 and advocating the use of 16mm film as the standard for educational films (p. 100).

Saettler notes that the federal government was the first to use motion pictures for instructional purposes. (P.108.) The Bureau of Reclamation made films in 1911–1912 describing methods of reclaiming arid farmland. The Dept of Agriculture’s early efforts included “Charge of the Tick Brigade.” It was used by county agents to teach cattle tick eradication. “Control of Hog Cholera” assisted agents further in their duties (p. 109).

Edison was clearly a proponent of the new technology. He was quoted in the New York Dramatic Mirror, July 9, 1913, with the statement, “Books will soon be obsolete in the schools. Scholars will soon be instructed through the eye. It is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture. Our school system will be completely changed in ten years.” (p. 98).

In 1914, the Educational Motion Pictures Bureau, Inc. became the first production company to provide a syllabus to accompany an educational film. (p. 101)

Originally, educational films were perceived to be teaching aids rather than self-contained tutorials. The first to approach the medium differently was the F. S. Wythe Pictures Corporation of San Francisco which produced a series of civic films in 1918, Citizens in the Making: A Film Text Composed of Thirty Lessons. A Manual of Civics Film Text by C.A. Stebbins, published by the Wythe Company, was referred to as a “film textbook” and offered pointers to teachers regarding the film serie’s implementation in the classroom (p. 113).

The Society for Visual Education, Inc. which was created in 1919, produced the first extensive library of films for school use. Its 110 productions were deemed to be missing technical talent and didn’t generate much interest at the time due to the fact that the films were not related to any particular courses of study and the educational consultants available to them as part of the Society were not utilized. However, the Society still has the most complete library of slide films in the world. (p. 102)

The 1920’s produced the first books delineating a methodology for film in the classroom, as well as the first courses for teachers desiring to use educational films to their full advantage. (p. 113).

“Joseph J. Weber developed one of the first comprehensive courses in visual instruction at the University of Kansas; the same course was given at the University of Texas and the University of Arkansas during the summers of 1923 and 1925, respectively” (p. 149).

The arrival of the educational sound film offered opportunities for new business ventures in the field. The most prominent was Electrical Research Products, Inc. (ERPI) which was a subsidiary of Western Electric Company, the manufacturing division of American Telephone and Telegraph Company. In 1929 the educational dept was formed (p. 104).

In 1932, the University of Minnesota created the General College and a Visual Education Service, supervised by Robert A. Kissack. The purpose of the Visual Education Service was, “to collect and classify sources of visual materials, develop a servicing program, and produce educational films” (p. 108).

By the late 1940’s, communications research began to foster a new perception of educational films. By the 1950’s the entire communications process was being studied, the process itself not just the tools (p. 167).

World War II created an urgency to train industrial workers quickly and efficiently. Therefore the U.S. Office of Education sought funds for film production in the budget of 1940/41. As the international scene grew ever more sobering, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt changed his initial refusal and supported the proposal (p.178).

By 1963, audiovisual instruction was redefined by the Dept of Audio Visual Instruction as, “that branch of educational theory and practice concerned primarily with the design and use of messages which control the learning process” (p. 168).

The Open University in Great Britain employed multimedia, that is assorted combinations of radio, television, film and programmed materials, and was among the first distance learning experiences. Other similar forerunners of distance learning were the Long Distance Studies Institute in West Germany and Portugal’s Telescola” (p. 463).

It must be clarified that the visual instruction movement, which emphasized the use of a particular media, was replaced by theories of communication and educational psychology based upon the total learning process known as technology instruction. This is an important distinction (p. 169).

Impact on Teaching and Learning
Video and its production serve to engage students more than the traditional lecture and note taking form of education. Engagement is a key to success in learning. Pletka cites the National Dropout Prevention Center and Network’s findings that students who feel alienated are more likely to discontinue their education (p. 16). Video production across the curriculum can increase communication between students and develop a sense of community. It fosters collaborative efforts. It makes use of today’s technology rich environment and builds upon skills that are second nature to many of the “Net Generation.”

The National Dropout Center, http://www.dropoutprevention.org/effstrat/school_community_collab/overview.htm, advocates using collaborative projects involving mentors recruited from among a community’s professionals to increase student engagement. Pletka references Cohen and Riel’s 1989 study, which indicated that the students writing improved when they wrote for an actual audience versus when their only audience was their instructor (p. 92). Creating and posting video projects on the net can increase motivation, as can having professional mentors reviewing students work as was done in the digital photography and writing project, “My So Called Digital Life. http://www.emazesolution.org

The following nonprofit website offers students the chance to be mentored by professional animators from companies such as Warner Brothers. Students e-mail their creations and receive a professional critique. http://www.acmeanimation.org

Today’s educator must not merely engage students but also teach with the many varieties of learners in mind. Psychologist Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences supports the use of multimedia (Picciano, 2002, p. 112). This is also acknowledged by the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network. http://www.dropoutprevention.org/effstrat/educational_technology/overview.htm. All students may have a dominant intelligence but all have abilities in the other areas as well. Therefore it behooves educators to try to appeal to a variety of learning styles. In addition, as Thornburg points out, “The more ways a subject is presented, the better the subject is learned and remembered” (p. 45). Video addresses the learners’ various forms of intelligence, since it utilizes more learning modalities than text alone. Many skills and talents are called upon in video production, for ex. reading, writing, research, managerial, as well as artistic, and musical abilities. A lesson plan based upon exploring poetry through video may be found at http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech142.shtml.

Video impacts teaching and learning because it can address individual styles of learning, as well as accommodate different paces of learning.

Practical Applications
Applications consist of stand-alone videos, which may include tutorials and simulations. These are scalable, more consistent, and easy to distribute. However, these applications require more time, expense and versions to trouble shoot. The learning achieved by these applications is not as deep (Aldrich, 2005, p. 60).

A second type of application is the instructor-supported video. This may be delivered as part of a lecture, either live or pre-recorded. This allows the instruction to be flexible and may offer more support to the student. The ultimate results are more effective, deeper learning takes place (Aldrich, 2005, p. 60).

In the past, apprentices were able to observe one master as part of the learning process, real-time and with a small, select number of apprentices at any given location. Today using video and Internet communication, the master/teacher can reach a vast number of apprentices globally with an accurate and consistent demonstration/tutorial and can also provide feedback regarding the apprentices’ efforts.

In conclusion the success of video in the classroom is dependent upon the enthusiasm and skill of the teacher. “The computer and all its assorted attachments [(video cameras and editing software included)] are a phenomenal educational lever. The insight and infectious love for learning provided by the educator is the fulcrum. If the teacher has sufficient vision, any computer can be used in ways that support true educational discovery” (Thornburg, 1991, p. 29).

Examples or Demonstrations
- http://etec.hawaii.edu/etecvideos/ offers a collection of informative videos designed to assist educators in implementing video in the classroom.

- http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/com337/tutorials/photoshop/redeye.htm features an instructional video created by Dr. Colon Macdonald, University of Hawaii at Manoa, for red eye reduction using Photoshop CS2.

- http://www.familycar.com/Engine.htm provides an animated demonstration of one cylinder to see how the four stroke Intake, Compression, Power and Exhaust process works.

- http://auto.howstuffworks.com/cooling-system2.htm presents an animated demonstration of a liquid cooled engine’s cooling system.