23 CONTENT FOCUS Education
chools and universities have been working with video conferencing for over two decades now to enrich learning and broaden
EXPANDING HORIZONS New technology such as AR, VR and MR will add a new experience to streaming video
students’ world views. Today, sexy new tech like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and both mashed together, mixed reality (MR), are emerging on the streaming video horizon, expanding the opportunities for experience. Video streaming now is all about being part of something, and taking part in a genuine experience, according to Dr. John Collick, senior education consultant at Promethean. His company develops a variety of technology solutions for the 21st century classroom. “Why did more than two million people watch Elon Musk’s Falcon Heavy rocket launch?” Collick asks. “Quite simply, to belong to a significant moment in space exploration. A factor driving video streaming is belonging to a community of like-minded people. In the education context this sense of belonging to the moment and to the community can be very eective, and so video streaming is naturally becoming a part of the learning process.” GOOD OR BAD FOR EDUCATION? On whether education through streaming video is really beneficial for students and educators, Je Rubenstein, VP product for learning and collaboration at Kaltura, states: “Streaming video has been revolutionary for teaching and learning. It removes the restrictions of the physical classroom. Students can get lessons anywhere, anytime and can interact with their instructor and with fellow students anywhere in the world, using combinations of asynchronous and synchronous video technologies. re-watch the lessons as often as they like, and on any device,” Rubenstein adds. “And video can be captioned and translated into other languages. This is good not only for people with disabilities, but for all students.” Chris Michaels, streaming industry evangelist at Wowza Media Systems, agrees: “We’ve seen programmes have tremendous success with distance learning, creating intimate experiences for the students that otherwise wouldn’t have a live interaction with an instructor. This closeness allows the student to be more receptive to the lessons. Additionally, when the videos implement a live to video on demand strategy, allowing for lessons to be saved for later viewing, students can return to previous lessons, or even rewind to better understand a particular portion of the lecture.” “Video also makes learning more accessible: students can watch and
content, with video streaming, educators can receive immediate feedback from the audience, which facilitates greater interaction and more meaningful learning opportunities.” HUGE DEMAND FROM STUDENTS In a recent survey conducted by Panopto of 500 students studying at 135 dierent UK universities, the company found that 78% of students were already using online video platforms to teach themselves additional skills or learn new things, and 65% were being given access to on-demand video lectures by their university. As well as lecture recording, Panopto observed huge growth in the number of institutions using video to do things like flip the classroom, record video feedback to student assignments and live stream guest lectures or university events. Students are typically very enthusiastic about these kinds of learning resources, the company said, and they feel video resources oer them greater flexibility, the chance to absorb more complex material at their own pace and the opportunity to catch up if classes are missed due to illness or other commitments. Peter Ingle, general manager at Panopto EMEA, comments: “From our work with hundreds of universities, colleges and schools globally, we know that introducing video as a complement to face-to-face learning can have a big impact on student engagement. Students who experience video learning are overwhelmingly positive about it and many academics tell us it has transformed their teaching practice, for the better. With the majority of UK universities now using
THE HAZARD CAN COME WHEN PROGRAMMES RELY ON PLATFORMS LIKE YOUTUBE TO HOST THEIR LESSONS NATIVELY While Collick comments: “For both students and teachers, streaming video gives the sense of participation and sense of authentic experience, a crucially important part of creating engaging learning experiences. “Streaming video presents many diverse education opportunities for students,” he continues. “Firstly, by gaining access to experts worldwide, students can interview people and watch live demonstrations of experiments. Secondly, it also enables communication in real time, whether that’s students class-to-class or students demonstrating their work to parents.” Collick says that for teachers, video streaming allows reach to a much bigger audience and to share experiences with their colleagues, regardless of geographical boundaries. “Unlike pre-recorded video
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