On camera

Back in 1985 (strewth, is it that long ago?) I started using video with groups of nursing students. I would ask a group of 3 or 4 to go out and record a short (3-5 minute) on an important topic related to nursing, video, edit, caption and narrate it and then present it at the end of the day to the rest of the group for discussion. Sound like an easy task? No - it was actually quite complex. The students recorded their work on VHS tapes using bulky old cameras with unreliable batteries. People were a lot less familiar with video then than they are now, and editing the tapes was tedious, time consuming, and frought with technical difficulties. All of this didn't help when the groups were working against the clock. The learning pay-off though was amazing. Students developed and improved a lot of transferrable skills including problem solving, negotiating, team leading, decision making, technical troubleshooting, creative skills, time management and presentational skills. All of these were later used in their professional practice as care givers.

25 years on, it has all come full circle. It was great this evening to attend a seminar/workshop presented by Professor Derek France (Chester University) who spoke to us about using video (or in his words digital storytelling and video podcasting) with students on geography fieldtrips. Derek gave us an insight into some of the benefits and constraints of using these methods. He advised us that if we wanted to make this effective then staff should develop a few basic technical skills. He emphasised the importance of students creating storyboards, and said that assessment of the final product should be appropriate. At the University of Chester, the digital component makes up 30% of the mark (the remainder is on the written research report). We also discussed copyright and IPR issues, and expored how creativity in video could be assessed fairly.

Students who participated in this kind of technology enhanced learning reported that they thought it was a good use of their time (86%), that it encouraged better group interaction (95%), that it made the topic easier to understand (66%) and that it increased motivation to learn (70%). This is a form of personalised learning, said Derek, because some students are more articulate in front of the camera than they are on paper. It's great to see that the art of integrating video into higher education is not dead. I only wish I could have got my hands on Flipcameras, Audacity and Moviemaker 25 years ago....

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