Changing the conversation around video
And so the lecture capture debate keeps raging on in UK higher education fuelling a culture of distrust in universities that seems to have set in. Of course there are other factors that have caused this like the pension dispute, but increasingly there’s a growing divide between “us” and “the university”. The etymology of lecture recording hardly does us any favours, with Bentham-esque names for the technology itself and the infelicitous use of the word capture. But perhaps the most dispiriting thing is the fact that lecture capture has effectively shouted out a broader conversation that could’ve been had about the benefits, use and pedagogical merits of educational video. Especially, at a time when we have arguably arrived at a place where video-making as well as video-watching is ubiquitous. Instead, the continuing, vapid process of digitisation underlies all this, and that seems to me to be unlikely to result in the kind of reflection on practice, that would look at the merits of video more holistically to achieve pedagogical aims.
For the sake of clarity, I’m not arguing against lecture capture and others have done a much better job at conveying some of the benefits it can provide for students. I don’t want to add to the number of words written on that, but rather argue that I think we’ve missed a great opportunity to talk about video in education more broadly. A recent study by Pearson found that a majority of 14 to 23 year olds prefer learning from videos than printed books, which isn’t necessarily the basis for an argument, but should at the very least make us think long and hard about whether video is being used effectively in HE.
If you design online courses, then you know that by virtue of that process you have to look at video on its own merits and as a more considered part of the overall design and objectives of a course or programme. This approach forces you to really consider why and for what purpose you’re choosing to use video in the course, and it’s this mindset that simply recording existing practice is unlikely to engender wholesale. Equally, the video itself, it’s message, the words used, the production quality, the use of instructional graphics, the length will all be carefully considered and crafted. I’ve found that all the educators that have gone through that process have found it an incredibly valuable experience as it forces them to reflect on how they explain and convey things amongst other things. It can also aid continuing professional development in relation to media engagement and conveying research outcomes publicly.
Having a platform to talk positively about video and the possible benefits has at times got buried in discussions about video ownership, control and if you’re really lucky, complete totalitarian paranoia. If we’re going to make best use of this great medium in HE we need to change the conversation.
