The first week for the #HUMANMOCC class is focused on establishing an instructor presence with the use of video. As I watch some of the participants' introductions I begin to wonder if we can do online instruction without video.
The Number One impression I have is the way the personality of the instructor is able to emerge, even with a short video. Since one of the aims of this course is to find ways of humanizing or personalizing online instruction it seems obvious that getting a sense of the personality behind the instruction will pay dividends. The video introductions from Week Zero and then the video intros to various reinforced my feeling that video is crucial to a humanizing process.
A second reason I am a fan of video is the effect it has on my own learning. When I first got into Online Learning, way back in 2000, the tool was amazing but the course I was in, Media Literacy, did not have the ability to provide effective video tools. This should not be surprising, those were the dark ages of online. In today's world and the world of MOOC's platforms like Coursera offer tools that allow instructors to make learning most engaging. Recently I took a course in global health from a Duke professor who used video to introduce us to concepts by using authorities who were working all around the world. His on-site interviews made that class alive. And, when he was "lecturing" from his office he kept the material focused and concise so that he maintained attention. The other beauty of this was the ability to go back and engage again to get even more meaning from the material.
I also know from my recent attempts at online course development that the students complain about being overwhelmed with reading when what they see are lessons that provide copy and links and require them to process everything through the eyes. Many of these students just HATE to have to read.
I am a believer in the use of video for online learning and I can also add that the major downside from the instructor perspective is the time it takes to develop effective videos. While sometimes a one-take sitdown will work, most of the time you need a couple of takes to get it where it really needs to be. In addition, if you use video most effectively you are bringing other tools that must be integrated into the video learning and this kind of coordination is time consuming -- a major downside.
As we go through the rest of this instructor presence instruction from week one it will be interesting for me to read how others approach this idea -- especially how they make the time to be most effective.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment