Education should be fun and interesting! We should take advantage of current technology to create more engaging presentations. The lecture method has been around for thousands of years, and has only recently been enhanced by slideshows and powerpoints. Video allows us to cut away from the speaker to show simulations, dramatizations, 2D & 3D animations, photos and graphics, to better illustrate and describe the concepts being taught.
Nearly 30% of American are either illiterate of have Level 1 reading skills (poor & vulnerable), making print media ineffective for them.[1] People remember approximately 10 percent of what they read, 25 percent of what they hear, 45 percent of what they see, and 65 percent of what they hear and see.[2] Video learning conventions can increase information retention by up to 16 times over that of text alone.[3]
When I was a freshman at the University of Oregon, the Intro to Biology professor was very creative. One day he held class in the gym, where he had arranged for the dance team to choreograph protein synthesis, the concept we were learning about at the time. Each of these attractive dancers represented a different molecule. Together, they moved and formed patterns showing the different phases of DNA & RNA replication and synthesis, all in sync with rock music popular at the time. What an impression they made! I never forgot the content of that lesson! We can’t always go to a dramatic live show like this, but video is the next best thing, and can actually be even better because it can incorporate elements impossible to present in a live performance, conference, or lecture.
Another nice thing about video education is that it is the gift that keeps on giving. Only a few people attend a live performance or lecture, and then it is gone forever. Think of all the people who could have benefited if only they had attended the event. Video makes an educational effort immortal. In can be re-experienced again and again, for years after the event, until it is out of date. Then it can be easily updated by re-editing, and recycled again. It is “Green” Education Video learning is also very cost effective, because you don’t have to pay someone to teach the same thing over and over again, and you can reach a wider audience, in fact, the whole world, with video streaming on the internet.
[1]National Adult Literacy Survey by US Department of Education
[2] Bateman, W.B., Kramer, E.J., & Glassman, K.S.(Eds.). New York: Sprionger Publishing Co.., 36
[3] Anesth &Analg 87(3):531-6
