Instructional Video: Positive personal outcomes for me (NES 2019)
Instructional Video: Positive personal outcomes for me
Before jumping into the theory too heavily, I
decided to take a moment to reflect on the positive outcomes that I have personally
experienced by using instructional video for aspects of my teaching. If you
take a moment to reflect on these positive outcomes, you may be more able to
consider whether you are willing to create instructional videos and reap
similar benefits in your own life. I will outline these positive outcomes in
dot-point form, then you may read more into each element based on your level of
interest.
Here have been the positive outcomes I have
experienced:
Teaching Practice
·
Improved direct instruction, more
brevity and clarity
·
More precise, improvised and
unscripted presentation
·
Greater awareness of speech
patterns and faults
·
Increased awareness of tacit
knowledge
·
A visible reflection of my
improvement as a teacher
Feedback
·
Direct support and suggestions
from teachers
·
An abundance of data on both
popularity of ideas and clarity of instruction
·
Positive support and gratitude
from students who I have never met
Global Collaboration
·
Having more visibility to other
teachers and lead-learners
·
Developing a vibrant Professional
Learning Network (PLN)
·
Allows for genuine Global
Collaboration (Lindsay, 2016)
Teaching Practice
In regards to teaching practice, ultimately
Instructional Video has allowed me a process for reflection, improvement and
feedback. This is not something that has ever been seriously considered as
important within my school setting, but I have managed to achieve these things
independently. Indeed, I have noticed a lot of backlash from teachers I work
with around filming or even recording audio of their lessons. So, it cannot be
overlooked the difficulty that these processes cause, indeed the nervousness
that I felt producing my first ever instructional video was a visceral and
fraught thing. But as with most things, part of the process is overcoming fears
and building confidence. The process of editing and uploading footage of myself
doing the core business of teaching has made me increasingly aware of my own
expression. This awareness has also given me an avenue to notice vocal tics and
patterns that I was not aware of, the types of filler phrases and weasel words
that I typically use to fill space. By editing these out, and the laborious
process that that can be at times, has forced me to carry out the best type of
editing, changing my own expression. This has made me more effective and
precise around my own expression, not only during producing instructional
video, but also whilst teaching students and communicating with other teachers.
By using video, I have become more aware of
the tacit knowledge that I don’t often pause to reflect on, applying the
cognitive principles of multimedia learning (Moreno & Mayer, 2007) and
aspects of Cognitive Load Theory (Kirschner, 2002; Pass & Renkl &
Sweller, 2003; Sweller, 1994; Sweller & van Merriënboe & Paas, 2019) to my digital presentations that become videos has also
raised the standards for the content that I use in my classes. Further, I have
simply kept a digital record of my own teaching that I can go back over and
reflect upon, looking at my first instructional video is very revelatory in
regards to my expression and confidence and shows a clear progression in my
personal growth and teaching.
Feedback
·
Direct support and suggestions
from teachers
·
An abundance of data on both
popularity and clarity of instruction
·
Positive support and gratitude
from students who I have never met
Simply by placing my teaching videos on a
public and searchable space (Mr
Kolber’s Teaching on Youtube) has meant that other teachers can directly contact me and
provide suggestions or support. By having my content so visible means that I am
contacted around things that I am actually teaching and engaging with. Being
contacted by teachers in far-flung corners of the globe is both interesting and
flattering. Having a presence on the populist platform of YouTube has meant
that I have been able to engage with the algorithm of the site and learnt a
great deal about education patterns across countries. As an example, I have
learnt that many of my videos are accessed through LMS systems in the USA, by
knowing this information I have been able to explore the range of LMS products
that could be considered as alternatives in Australia. Similarly, I have been
able to match many of the novels and content that I teach have common threads
with curriculum in the United States and the United Kingdom, by learning this
information I am also learning about the Global state and approaches of other
‘Western’ nations, which has been enlightening. Lastly, I am much more
frequently contacted directly by students from around the world requesting
further videos around specific topics. As a result of this I have learnt what
texts and approaches are common in those countries. In short, by making my
content visible it has in turn made the content of others more relatable and interesting
to myself as a result. It has put me in touch with a wider network of teachers
and students who provide me information, requests and support in a number of
ways.
Global Collaboration
·
Having more visibility to other
teachers and lead-learners
·
Developing a vibrant Professional
Learning Network (PLN)
·
Allows for genuine Global
Collaboration (Lindsay, 2016)
The above section clearly shows interactions
that I have had with students and teachers from across the world. The result of
these interactions has also resulted in a range of Global Collaboration
options. Through YouTube and Twitter, I have been able to connect with a range
of amazing and inspiring educators and collaborate on projects through both of
these processes. An aspect of these collaborations has been participating in
teacher vlogging, an aspect of YouTube that I was previously completely unaware
of and something I would love to have more time to participate in. This is a
community of teachers who use the YouTube platform to share experiences,
approaches and methods in a very open and collaborative manner. Beyond this,
being a part of a Professional Learning Network has meant that there is always
a way to contact an expert in any and all aspects of instructional video. As an
example, I was assisted closely in every aspect of Lightboard production and
how to use the tool to create instructional video. In much the same way, my
experiments into Green Screen technology were fully supported by a range of
teachers. This has allowed me the possibility of adopting what Lindsay (2016)
refers to as a ‘Global Collaborator mindset’. This is something that is complex
to orchestrate and enact, primarily driven by difficulties across time zones
and language barriers.
Global collaboration is something I have the
skillset to carry out, but something that I have only been able to complete in
fits and starts. I have made contacts and connections that I endeavour to follow
through with to engage not only my own learning, but also those of my students.
I see this as the final development that my practice and approach need to take.
Engaging with teachers across the world has been a very positive experience for
me and something that I would also like to be able to provide to my students. Speaking
to Norwegian students about my work with teachers in Cambodia, from Melbourne,
Australia via Skype was a brief exchange that showed the possibility for my own
students to engage with other teachers and students across the world. I feel
especially that FlipGrid is the best platform to allow this to occur, due to
the asynchronous aspect of this tool. If you are interested in collaborating
with a class of English as an Additional Learning students in Melbourne,
Australia, do let me know as I would love to get this type of
student-to-student communication occurring within my classrooms.
References
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2009). A grammar of
multimodality. International Journal of Learning, 16(2).
Lindsay, J. (2016). The global educator: Leveraging
technology for collaborative learning & teaching. International Society for
Technology in Education.
Kirschner, P. A. (2002). Cognitive load theory:
Implications of cognitive load theory on the design of learning.
Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. (2007). Interactive multimodal
learning environments. Educational psychology review, 19(3), 309-326.
Sweller, J. (1994). Cognitive load theory, learning difficulty,
and instructional design. Learning and instruction, 4(4), 295-312.
Sweller, J., van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Paas, F.
(2019). Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design: 20 Years Later.
Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09465-5
Paas, F., Renkl, A., & Sweller, J. (2003). Cognitive
load theory and instructional design: Recent developments. Educational
psychologist, 38(1), 1-4.
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