Learning value of online video
4.6.3 Conclusions from cycle
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R1. What impact do the features of the video retrieval system have on students’ ability to work with online video for use in assignments?
What is the impact of the search and segmentation features on students’ ability to source online video for a written assignment?
R2. What strategies can be employed to enable students’ digital literacy with online video?
What strategies support students’ use of online video in assignment work?
How can assignments be designed which enable the use of online video?
What impact does video have on students learning experience?
R3. How do students display digital literacy in practice when given the context and tools in which to do so?
How do students integrate online video into written work?
Findings from this cycle can be broken down into two broad themes: sourcing, integrating and referencing online for assignments; and students’ experiences using online video for their work. In the first theme, findings indicate that when provided with categories and themes to focus their search (Ellis & Childs, 1999; Mitra et al., 2010), the search and segmentation features of the VRS improved students’ ability to locate relevant content for their work by presenting segments based on the content of the videos rather than on their associated metadata alone (Lew et al., 2006). The precise nature of the search enabled students to locate specific pieces of content, while the shot boundary techniques returned standalone segments (Smeaton et al., 2010) to students which were concise (Kaufman & Mohan, 2009; Halls, 2012) and removed the need to watch lengthy videos . This meant that students could spend more time focusing on their assignments rather than trawling through vast amounts of video to find what they were looking for. Some students however had concerns about the vagueness of the search and
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their ability to see the relevance of video segments to their search. Their own feedback indicated that a text summary of individual segments would be useful in spotting this relevance. In contrast to earlier findings by Mitra et al. (2010), when provided with the context, content, support and tools to do so, students displayed a clear ability to reference and integrate online video into their work. Analysis of their assignments revealed clear evidence of digital literacy in practice with students demonstrating the ability to assemble digital information (Gilster, 1997; Bawden, 2001), contextualise and synthesise information (Martin, 2007; Fieldhouse & Nichols, 2008) and integrate this content in a manner which demonstrates new understandings (Martin, 2005; Sinclair, 2010; Ng, 21012a; Bawden, 2001). These skills were demonstrated across a wide range of topics and referencing strategies adopted by students during the development of their topics. Students integrated video segment summaries to develop their argument, direct quotations and supporting statements to back-up their work, and used video segments as examples to witness theory in practice.
In the second theme, findings demonstrate that the learning value of video transfers well when using online video as a source of information for assignments. Student comments indicate that online video explained ideas and concepts in an easy to understand manner (Koumi, 2013), conveyed information in ways that are not possible through text books and other written material (Mardis, 2009), provided an engaging and enjoyable source of information (White et al., 2000) that held students’ attention due to its multi-modal nature, which was especially useful in witnessing visual information for communication skills (Berkhof et al., 2011). However some students suggested of text based information to support different modes of learning and make the process of referencing and integrating video into assignments more manageable. The ease of use of the system was a contributing factor in enabling students’ use of content. Students commented that the simple, clean interface allowed them to search for content without distractions and the ease of access allowed them to do this at any time.
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However some stability issues were experienced by students where segmentation was not working and videos were taking a long time to load. In order to ensure valuable use of the system in a group context, students’ recommendations of group history, video sharing and commenting were also taken on board.
4.7 Conclusion
This cycle focused on examining the key areas of digital literacy of sourcing, integrating and referencing online video in students’ assignment work, while also examining the impact of a VRS to support these tasks. Data outlined has shown that when given the tools and supports to do so, students can engage with online video in a meaningful way, displaying the digital skills necessary to synthesise online video into their work. Importantly, online video has a positive impact on students’ learning experience, with students readily able to understand the content and use it to support the development of their arguments and link it with existing knowledge. These findings are a key step forward in our understanding of digital literacy in practice. The VRS played a key role in supporting this process, allowing students to access content in an efficient and effective manner, demonstrated by the range of referencing strategies used by students. While students’ experiences were predominantly positive, improvements can be made in the search process. In the next cycle of study, I focus on the areas of commenting on and sharing online video, again drawing out the impact of this on students’ learning experience and the effectiveness of the second version of the VRS to support this.
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