Figure 1: Draft Project Chart for the production of TVI and Open Learning courses
| Australian Journal of Educational Technology 1988, 4(2), 109-117. |
AJET 4 |
As knowledge expands exponentially, so does the need for industry to keep pace with new information, techniques and theories. Video learning has the potential to contribute speedily and effectively to meeting this need. What factors should be taken into account to ensure the success of video learning? Recent developments at RMIT and in the UK are used as illustrative examples.
During the eighties; government interest in the potential for education and training to bring about significant improvements in workforce competence and hence promote economic development has been a major phenomenon.
This has been particularly noticeable in the UK, where the establishment of the Open Tech Program in 1983 was an attempt to address the many reasons why working adults are unable or unwilling to participate in education. The Program aimed to bring about significant changes in accessibility, relevance and motivation in vocational training as provided by both the formal educa tion system and the training resources of companies (See Tolley, 1983 and Tinsley, 1985). Via the Open Tech, the Manpower Services Commission provided forty-five million pounds as pump-priming finance to education and industry training bodies for new programs using Open Learning methods.
When the Open Tech had run its course in 1987, the evidence suggested that while some programs had been dramatically successful, many had foundered on an over-emphasis on the production of expensive learning resources and inadequate attention to the environmental aspects of learning - an imbalance which the Open College, successor to the Open Tech, is attempting to rectify.
In Australia steps to achieve a comparable level of development of industrial education and liaison have started later. The last two years have seen significant moves in this direction in terms of discussion of the issues. As yet, however, no comparable injection of government funding has taken place and the emphasis has been on the need for educational institutions to extend their funding base to meet the changing situation.
This paper has a particular focus on the uses of video in vocational education. Educational television has been with us in Australia for thirty years, but the almost universal availability of VCR equipment has dramatically changed its potential as an educational tool within the space of approximately five years. The ephemeral qualities of broadcast television and the cumbersome nature of film projection equipment have always limited the possibilities of using these media as integrated components of educational programs. The portability, reviewability, and accessibility of video make possible a completely new range of approaches to the use of the visual medium.
It is important to realise that in terms of learning the viewing of video material may be as fruitless as conventional teaching. This paper then is concerned to identify the factors which provide for optimum use of the advantages of the medium. We argue that video-led education can provide a very successful means of training and higher order learning in the work place if an approach is adopted which integrates the educational content of the learning material with a concept of management of the learning environment.
In recent months, several departments in RMIT have been experimenting and evaluating different educational uses of video. Several overseas institutions have been contacted and visited. This paper draws on these experiences to illustrate its main points.
Human beings have the potential to be endlessly interesting to each other. Hence a medium which captures body language and sound qualities has greater intrinsic appeal than the printed word or the computer monitor. There is an increasing need for the rapid dissemination of 'state-of-the- art' information. There is also a natural human curiosity about the people who are the sources of this information. How many stories have we heard from students who have been attracted to or repelled from certain subjects because of the performance of the teacher in that subject? 'A picture is worth a thousand words'. Frequently, the demonstration of how to carry out a particular process or the modelling of certain types of behaviour conveys more to the learner than an hour of verbal explanation. Video allows both to be integrated in a medium which can be easily controlled by the learner.
Tony Bates (1988) of the Open University has distinguished the three main educational characteristics of television (by which he means all forms of televisual presentation) as the delivery, presentational and control characteristics.
Delivery characteristics enable the distribution of learning stimuli beyond the point of origin (as with the book or radio) and presentational characteristics can provide rich vicarious experiences which cannot be achieved in other ways without enormous expense and inconvenience.
It is, however, the control characteristic of the video cassette that sets it apart from other versions of the medium. Control enables learners not only to view programs at convenient times but to achieve more effective learning than in many other situations.
The program can be stopped at any convenient point for reflection, discussion or practice of what has just been seen before moving on to further material. If necessary the same scene can be watched several times to ensure that all the finer points are grasped. However these features will be ignored by many learners unless the encouragement to do so is clear.
Open University research shows that when learners are viewing alone they are unlikely to stop the tape before the end of a program (Durbridge 1986, quoted in Bates 1988). If a video program is designed as a self-study resource, it is important to build in design features to encourage viewers to stop the tape. Bates identifies the following six:
Ideally, however, learners will not be watching alone. The value of discussion of the material presented should be emphasised. Although the use of video material, as with any other open learning resource, can provide the basis of a study unit in situations where there is no expert teacher, the viewing of such material in groups even as small as two provides great enhancement to the learners' participation in the experience. The group situation provides both a motivational impetus to allocate time to thinking about the issues presented and a sounding board for comparing ideas and checking the legitimacy of responses.
In all of these situations, we have found that the possibility of students responding immediately to what they have participated in vicariously by viewing the video adds another dimension to their learning environment which, in fact, would not necessarily be present in the original situation if they were participants in that situation. To achieve this, however, requires thought and pre-planning from the managers of the project.
In practical skills training, the chance to practise the required skill should be as close as possible to the demonstration and will, therefore, require forethought to enable sensible sequencing, the availability of appropriate equipment and a suitable setting.
Interpersonal technique development should if possible include opportunities for analysis, discussion and role play immediately following the presentation of case study material. These can be guided by carefully designed print support material to enable an inexpert facilitator to lead a group.
Where in depth analysis of such skills is required, the opportunities provided by recording and immediate playback of students' performance in role play situations enable rich exploration and reflection on aspects of interpersonal performance.
When dealing with abstract concepts, the opportunity for immediate discussion and review of complex lecture material as enabled by the technique of Tutored Video Instruction has been shown to add significant value to the learning experience
Recent TVI and TVI-type developments at RMIT include the presentation of part of the Master in Systems Engineering course in TVI mode and the development of a video and workbooks on the treatment of chronic transfusion patients by the Department of Applied Biology.
TVI is a good example of an active use of video in the classroom. The active involvement of the students has a number of features:
Figure 1: Draft Project Chart for the production of TVI and Open Learning courses
A further factor is adequate tutor support for students. This will be dealt with in more detail below.
Another is the provision of support for the lecturers who will make the TVI presentation. Although one of the advantages of the TVI mode is that the lecturer operates in a close to normal classroom environment, it is still reassuring to the lecturer to have access to advice on methods of presentation that will be more appropriate in the TVI format and, in particular, advice on the preparation of overheads and other illustrative material. This also enhances the standard of presentation. The need for this pre-production liaison and input must be recognised and allowed for. Another related aspect is the group dynamics of the classroom. Part of the effectiveness of the final video presented to the TVI students is dependent on them feeling that they have had access to the original interactive classroom environment. The necessity to video the original classroom may be perceived as restrictive by the students. Hence the need for a special TVI classroom which will be as 'user friendly' as possible for both lecturers and students.
There are other practical details to be considered. How should the class hand- out material be prepared for both classes? What are the mechanisms by which it can be speedily duplicated and distributed?
A further practical detail is the liaison between the course advisers and the industry or industries which are the potential market for the courses. What training should be given to tutors and what channels of communication provided between them and the originators of the course material?
A graphic representation of some of these considerations is shown in Figure 1. The role of the tutor has already been referred to as one of the important factors in the successful implementation of TVI. One of the more interesting features of the tutor's role is that the tutor is not a subject expert, although in at least some subject areas it is desirable that tutors should have a basic grasp of and interest in the area which is being studied. The more important characteristics of successful tutors are their abilities to play a leadership role in the areas described below.
The tutor operates in a number of areas:
Much of the success of the use of this medium depends on how well the environmental conditions for the provision of a video-led program are managed.
Of significant importance to the context of the training or education program is the broad issue of the attitude of management personnel and their willingness to provide the resources both tangible - tutors, equipment, learning materials - and more abstract - time during working hours, places suitably equipped for study and high profile encouragement.
Good study resources can fail to make an effective study program if there is no adequate commitment from the sponsoring organisation. The necessary support elements of the program should be fully understood and accepted. Advice on the provision of support arrangements is a vital part of the total delivery package from the source institution and will need to form an integral part of program planning.
Selection of appropriate program leaders is another important factor. Even in individualised Open Learning situations, learners will benefit from the support of a work place based tutor, mentor or supervisor. Where possible, however, arrangements for group activities are highly desirable. The choice of leader, who need not be a subject specialist in many cases, requires care. Such a person will often be the critical influence in the marketing of the program to the students - stimulating enthusiasm and enabling them to see how the program works.
An infrastructure to handle the distribution of materials, the recording of student progress, liaison and feedback to the source institution and other related matters will minimise the trivial problems which can unnecessarily create negative feelings about a program.
With due attention to questions such as these, video-led learning can be a very positive experience for individual learners and their sponsoring organisations.
Gibbons, J. F. (1987). Tutored videotape instruction: an approach to educational productivity. The Stanford Engineer, Spring/Summer, 11-19.
Stephen, K. D. (1986). The use of distance learning in industry. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 200(No B2), 131-137.
Tinsley, David. (1985). The Open Tech Programme: a progress report. Media in Education and Development, March, 2-5.
Tolley, George. (1983). The Open Tech Programme: A new initiative for adults. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 2(4), 327-340.
* This paper was presented at the EdTech'88 Conference in September 1988, but was not available in time to be included with the Conference papers.
| Please cite as: Lewis, J. H. and Blanksby, V. (1988). New look video in vocational education: What factors contribute to its success? Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 4(2), 109-117. http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet4/.html |