Designing Educational Media

From Inception to Sesame Street, the influence of film and video is widespread. Because of their reach, there is vast potential for the role they play in society. While film and video possess entertainment value, they can also be leveraged to advance learning and education. Specifically, I’m interested in discussing the design and applications of video for education.

Already, there is an emerging trend in the integration of technology in classrooms. By 2015, South Korea plans to switch completely to digital textbooks in elementary schools, according to a Technology Review report. As stated in an Education Week article, school districts across the U.S. are moving to incorporate virtual classes for high school students. In Hong Kong, Chief Executive Donald Tsang said in a recent October 12 policy address that “[a]part from providing students with an interactive mode of learning, electronic textbooks and learning resources allow more flexibility in textbook compilation, lower production costs, reduce wastage and help achieve reasonable pricing.” Such developments raise some interesting questions to consider:

o   As we make progressions in ed tech, how exactly would e-learning resources look like?
o   Continuing with the earlier theme, how can we teach students through educational media?
o   How can we motivate them to learn through educational media?
o   What would be the pedagogy or learning theories behind such resources?
o   At the level of the student, how well would they respond to learning with digital devices in terms of engagement, academic performance, and development of 21^st century skills?
o   To what extent should current technologies be incorporated into students’ learning experiences?

Along the thread of digital learning, there are extensive possibilities within the realm of video. Video can act as a medium to communicate and illustrate key concepts, presenting multiple representations and ways of looking at an idea (e.g. digital storytelling, video adaptations of the classics). Additionally, students can engage in their own video projects, producing and editing shorts that demonstrate their understanding of a topic. Becoming creators of their own videos, students can develop media literacy skills and critically analyze media they consume. What remains to be explored is how we can design and apply video to best address students’ learning needs and ultimately develop their ability to reflect, analyze, and create as critically thinking human beings.