Video

The use of videos are a fantastic way to engage an audience when used appropriately. As a visual learner I have found videos to be extremely helpful throughout my studies to firstly engaged me in the topic and then help me to make meaning. Videos have been particularly useful in my E-Learning Adventures when understanding and establishing a blog and wiki!

Through careful planning video instruction can be used to promote student curiosity, speculation and intellectual engagement. They can promote group learning, discussions and activities allowing students to use knowledge they already have and higher-order cognitive skills required to extend their knowledge (Denning, n.d.). When used correctly Videos can encourage critical thinking skills, reflection and provoke emotions. They can also be used as a tool to present visual information that would otherwise be difficult to explain and again allows for a variety of learning styles and learning difficulties to be catered for. Videos can be very beneficial for students with reading difficulties (Denning, n.d.).

It is up to the teacher to decided what would be most valuable and they must ask themselves: Does this video encourage active learning through group discussions, allow learners to make judgements, encourage higher order thinking skills and motivate the students to learn more about the topic?

I have used videos as an engagement tool and as away to demonstrate manual skills on many occasions. I revisit the video at the end of learning experiences as a reflective tool to see if students initial thoughts have changed. "Students learn best when they are actively engaged in a learning activity" (Denning, n.d.).

I can see the endless ways videos can be incorporated into learning experiences and look forward to hearing ways fellow collages have used them.

Denning, D. (n.d.). Video in Theory & Practice: Issues for classroom use and Teacher Video Evaluation. Retrieved August 18, 2009, from http://ebiomedia.com/downloads/VidPM.pdf