The V-PORTAL…“Video Primers in an Online Repository for e-Teaching and Learning”
...A month ago, I mentioned that I would have (what I think is...) a major announcement soon. Well, I finally found the time to post this. Are you primed for it? I hope so! Here it is...
During the past year, in collaboration with the Instructional Consulting office and the Instructional Systems Technology (IST) Department in the School of Education at Indiana University, I have designed and produced a series of 27 brief (7-10 minute) videos related to teaching online. This video (or video podcast) series, “Video Primers in an Online Repository for e-Teaching and Learning” (V-PORTAL), covers topics for both novice and more expert online instructors and educators. Those watching them can learn how to engage learners with Web 2.0 technologies, build instructor presence, prepare highly interactive and relevant online activities, access free and open course resources, plan for the future of e-learning, and much more. See below for links as well as show descriptions.
Links to the “V-PORTAL”:
1. Watch the Videos & Find Resources (Firefox preferred): IU School of Ed Instructional Consulting Office): http://www.indiana.edu/~icy/media/de_series.html
In addition to links to these 27 videos, the above link includes additional Web resources, color PDFs of Dr. Bonk PowerPoint slides, and a feedback form for each of the 27 shows. This is the main V-PORTAL site.
2. For faster access, watch in Bonk’s YouTube Channel (use any browser): http://www.youtube.com/user/TravelinEdMan
This second Website above was created for those wanting to quickly access the videos in YouTube and perhaps jump around between them. Try it out! Hundreds of people already have.
List of 27 videos:
1. Planning an Online Course
2. Managing an Online Course: General
3. Managing an Online Course: Discussion Forums
4. Providing Feedback
5. Reducing Plagiarism
6. Building Community
7. Building Instructor and Social Presence
8. Online Relationships: Student-Student, Student-Instructor, Student-Practitioner, Student-Self
9. Fostering Online Collaboration/Teaming
10. Finding Quality Supplemental Materials
11. Blended Learning: General
12. Blended Learning: Implementation
13. Blended Learning: The Future
14. Online Writing and Reflection Activities
15. Online Visual Learning
16. Using Existing Online Video Resources
17. Webinars and Webcasts
18. Podcasting Uses and Applications
19. Wiki Uses and Applications
20. Blog Uses and Applications
21. Collaborative Tool Uses and Applications
22. Hands-On/Experiential Learning
23. Coordinating Online Project, Problem, and Product-Based Learning
24. Global Connections and Collaborations
25. Assessing Student Online Learning
26. Ending, Archiving, Updating, and Reusing an Online Course
27. Trends on the Horizon
Production Note: These 27 video primers were designed and produced during the fall of 2009 and on into much of 2010. They were finalized and announced in October 2010.
3. Alternative Access Site:
My friends at Kind Khalid University (KKU) in Abha, Saudi Arabia are translating to Arabic. They already have a site in English. See link below.
King Khalid University (KKU), Abha, Saudi Arabia; E-Learning at KKU: http://elc.kku.edu.sa/en; see videos: http://elc.kku.edu.sa/en/27-videos-for-teaching-online
I hope that there will be more such alternative access sites (e.g., in Chinese, Malay, Korean, Spanish, German, Canadian, etc.) in the coming years. Sending a big smile to those I know in Alberta, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.
Who might use? How might you use these videos?
There are many intended audiences for these videos as well as many possible uses. Whether you are interested in emerging technologies or innovative pedagogies, I hope that you find something of value in this video primer series. What's more, you can watch them on the Web for free from anywhere in the world. You can view them while sitting at home in your pajamas and fuzzy slippers while sipping some hot chocolate, eating lunch at your office desk, or relaxing at a mountain or lakeside retreat. Each lesson is delivered to you in 10 minutes or less.
Those seeking additional information or some personalization regarding the content of these videos can always send me a request--as the host and developer of all 27 shows--to give you and your staff a personal overview of any of these topics. Such a session might be live or online. In addition, I am always happy to send any articles I have written (see my open access publications) or recommend others you might read. You might find many free articles and other resources in my 43 page R685 course syllabus “World is Open with Web Technology” (i.e., a course on the Web 2.0) this fall; everything is a hot link. One might also explore the "Free Stuff" at my World is Open book Website.
Back to the videos…For those simply glancing at a few of these videos and then discussing some of the content within your respective institution or organization, I believe that your instructors, instructional designers, and administrators will be better prepared for the highly interesting and complex world of online teaching and learning. Enjoy these free video primers in the V-PORTAL. I know of no other set of such videos at this moment in time….though I could be wrong.
You might give certificates out to teachers or trainers who watch and reflect on how they might use ideas found in each one of them. Some other potential uses of these video primers are listed below.
Ten Ways to Use:
1. Instructor Training: present videos to online instructors for reflection.
2. Workshops: the 27 video primers might be embedded in brief or extended workshop.
3. Certification: design activities related to the videos as part of a larger training program.
4. Student Courses: videos could be used as supplements to course readings related to new or emerging technologies, online teaching and learning, and blended learning.
5. Personal Exploration: dig into an area of interest.
6. Discussion: present a video for 10 minutes followed by 5-10 minutes or more of discussion or reflection activities.
7. Debates: these resources might jump-start debates on new courses, programs, or initiatives.
8. Strategic Planning: these videos might be used to highlight new directions or potential areas related to online learning that a department, program, school, university, corporation, or organization might head.
9. Retreats: the contents of the V-PORTAL might find its way into faculty or administrator retreats.
10. Accomplishments/Strengths and Challenges/Weaknesses: organizations and institutions might compare the ideas in these videos to accomplishments or areas of strength as well as pending challenges or weaknesses that are in need of further development.
These possible uses are listed at my talk description site: http://www.trainingshare.com/keynotes.php#tasel.
Those wanting more ideas on how to use shared online video for instruction might read this paper that I wrote two years ago. This article details the theory from educational psychology behind the use of video anchors in instruction while also laying out 20 ways that they might be used from instructor-centered and learner-centered pedagogical approaches.
Bonk, C. J. (2008, March). YouTube anchors and enders: The use of shared online video content as a macrocontext for learning. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2008 Annual Meeting, New York, NY.
Or this one from last year:
Bonk, C. J. (2009, October 5). Using Shared Online Video to Anchor Instruction: YouTube and Beyond, Faculty Focus, Magna Publications, Madison, WI.
If you are really enamored with shared online video like the V-PORTAL, I also have created a portal of more than 50 shared online video portals and resources. As you can see, I am quite excited by the use of online video in instruction.
Final side notes:
I hope that people find these video primers valuable. Each one begins with a commentary from me and then I fade into the right hand corner of the screen in a picture-in-picture presentation mode. I had a high definition camera in the room which utilized a Tandberg lecture capturing video system. Using file compression, the Tandberg system produced three different quality files--low, medium, and high resolution.
Each video pod was shot without direct editing, other than my assistant, Jake Enfield (a doctoral student in my program), adding the starting and ending screens and chopping off the extraneous beginnings and endings. For some videos, support people in the instructional consulting office at IU had to make adjustments to better sync my audio/voice with the videos. They also reviewed numerous takes of many of the video pods to help me select the right one. In effect, there were many people hours spent here for which I am highly appreciative. Still considering all the content, it was a fairly low budget, but highly effective. A great team! As noted below, there was some frustration at times, but we survived.
There is much content in the 27 shows. It took a long time to create them (1 year). It was like writing a book. So, yes, I am very glad to be done. Many days of filming…some with rolling brownouts and room temperatures of over 100 and others when I had the flu and a personal temperature of well over 100. Still other days I was losing my voice. But all-in-all, I think you will like the final product. As you will notice, I wear 27 different shirts and ties in these 27 different shoes; most of them are Jerry Garcia ties.
Ok, now, it's time to be primed...explore them, enjoy them, and perhaps expand on them.
Recap and Reminder: The V-PORTAL: Video Primers in an Online Repository for e-Teaching and Learning (Reminder of the 2 main sites): 1. more comprehensive site from IU Instructional Consulting Office with additional Web resources; or 2. the faster playing YouTube site that I created.
Important Acknowledgment: I want to acknowledge and publicly express thanks to the School of Education at Indiana University in Bloomington which funded this highly valuable and momentous production effort. In particular, the IU School of Education Instructional Consulting office and the Instructional Systems Technology (IST) Department played key roles in their planning, generation, and dissemination.
Permissions Note: You have permission to make a Web link to these videos, share information about these contents with others, or translate the contents to another language, as long as the contents (i.e., the movies) included here are used for non-profit educational purposes. As a courtesy to the Indiana University School of Education and myself (Dr. Curt Bonk, the host of the 27 video primers), please send me an e-mail at (cjbonk at indiana dot edu) or to the Instructional Consulting office in the IU School of Education at "ic@indiana.edu" to let us know how you are using these learning resources (i.e., the intended purpose). You might also state who is using them. Thank you.Labels: e-learning, emerging technology, faculty training, new media, online learning, online pedagogy, online repository, shared online video, V-PORTAL, video portal, video primers, video training |
Wow! Thanks for these videos. I checked out #9 first - it will help the teachers I work with to develop collaboration projects for their students.
Hoa T.W.