#digped Storify Pt. 1: We Interrupt This Broadcast . . .

August 07, 2012 | Filed in: #digped

View the story "#digped Storify Pt. 1: We Interrupt This Broadcast . . ." on Storify#digped Storify Pt. 1: We Interrupt This Broadcast . . .This is the first installment of the Storify of the Hybrid Pedagogy #digped Twitter discussion for Friday, August 3, 2012: "Broadcast Learning." This installment covers the parts of the conversation regarding the use and abuse of the video lecture and broadcast education model.Storified by Robin Wharton · Tue, Aug 07 2012 08:25:07In his article, "Broadcast Education: A Response to Coursera," Sean asks us to consider, "If online education has made so much progress, why isn’t it more obvious? Why are the good folks at Coursera (who are actually just now catching up to those of us who’ve been doing this for a decade) getting all the attention, while also not putting the best face of online education forward?" He ends the piece with a call for pedagogues "to innovate, to experiment, to play and be played with," and cautions against oversimplification of online learning and MOOCs, of both the forms they take and the issues at stake when we are debating their merits and demerits. In an effort to engage some of the more productive discursive strands weaving in and out of the recent media "MOOCopalypse", we decided to focus last week's #digped discussion on the broader question of broadcast learning, which is the model (as Sean points out, sometimes erroneously) most frequently associated with MOOCs and other, more traditional (did I just write that?) online courses.
Very excited to hear that @DavidUdacity will be joining @HybridPed's #digped discussion on Friday! http://bit.ly/N21UsHSean Michael MorrisJoin us in 20 min. for the next #digped discussion. Still enough time to check out the topic & start thinking. http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/Journal/files/Broadcast_Learning.htmlHybrid PedagogyPerhaps because we were fortunate to have David Stavens of Udacity join the discussion, we attracted the attention of a rather adorable predator.
Mini-mini-MOOC for breakfast. #digped chat. #yum http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/Journal/files/Broadcast_Learning.htmlMOOC MOOCMOOC MOOC continued to stalk us throughout the discussion, sending us down some difficult but promising avenues. Thanks to MOOC MOOC's loving [and drooling] attention and David's participation, we had what is probably the largest turn out ever for a #digped discussion. When all was (almost) said and done, the stream included approximately 500 tweets, from more than 25 distinct Twitter accounts. Of those tweets, about 18% were retweets (my stats are courtesy of The Archivist, a really useful tool).RT @HybridPed: Today's #digped = barely controlled chaos that has busted open a lot of very important question for us to explore in http://moocmooc.com.Jesse StommelPutting together a single Storify that adequately represents the breadth of subject matter covered and participation while still remaining relatively readable proved to be an impossible task. Consequently, I've put together two installments. Deferring until the next installment Sean's question about the use of video lectures and broadcast education in MOOCs, I would like to focus here on those contributions related to the other questions Sean's #digped post raises:

***What do you see as the difference between content-delivery and learning? Is there a use for content-delivery in a static classroom environment, or is this a misuse of educational technology?

***What is the implicit pedagogical stance behind “canned” lecture? How does this stance differ depending on the use of that lecture -- in flipped classrooms, MOOCs [shh, not now!], hybrid learning environments, etc.?

***Imagine you were to create a video lecture yourself, one that would be broadcast in a learning environment to an unknown number of students. What considerations would play a part in the creation of that video? How would you make your video lecture engaging?

***We’ve mentioned Udacity and RSA Animate’s video work; but what examples of this technology have you seen, good and bad?
What do you see as the threats video lectures -- and other forms of content-delivery pedagogy -- pose; likewise, what do you see as their advantages and their potential?

We began the discussion by asking participants to describe and try to explain their visceral reactions to the video lecture as an educational medium. As might be expected in a crowd of critical pedagogues, doubts about the form quickly rose to the surface.
"The video lecture may be both symbolic and symptomatic of what’s not quite right about most online education." http://bit.ly/NQR2Se #digpedWilliam AllenStarting broadly: Why do video lectures have so many of us incensed or excited (sometimes both in strange combination)? #digpedHybrid PedagogyI'm not incensed or excited about video lectures. It's hard to be when I have no interaction with those in them. #digpedTrent M Kays@HybridPed The connection between teacher - student is very important #digpedValerie Robin@HybridPed First thought: I don't want to be taught by Max Headroom? (Does that date me?) #digpedSean Michael Morris@HybridPed Video lecture is passive with little to know interaction. It seems a step backward from a classroom lecture. #digpedaschulze2001lack of interaction btn prof &class is something 2 B concerned about. Best classes I attended in Uni were discussions, not lectures #digpedKim MartinPosting video lectures is valuing a type of pedagogy that we should be getting away from: talking at students and not with students. #digpedTrent M Kays@trentmkays This is key! Students unlikely to ask questions after watching a video lecture, as opposed to spur of the moment, no? #digpedKim MartinAlso not surprising though, given that many of us are also hybrid pedagogues, several participants were equally quick to respond with enthusiasm about the transformative/deformative/disruptive potential of the video lecture.
@HybridPed #digped Huge opportunity to make education available to everyone for free. Changes the dynamics of education worldwide.David StavensWelcome to @DavidUdacity, who is joining as our special guest! #digpedHybrid Pedagogy#digped Video lectures create the promise that all dig. technology offers: the reproduction of media that is free and identical. #samenessPete Rorabaugh@slamteacher @HybridPed #digped It gives the best teachers and thinkers a nearly limitless reach -- previously in a handful of schools.David Stavens#digped. You can re-watch video lecture over until you get it. If you miss something in a lecture, oh well.aschulze2001#Digped Students like myself are MORE likely to ask questions online than in a class.aschulze2001Digital videos of instruction have been and remain compelling because they provide reuse of normally repeated presentations. #digpedJared SteinFrom this exchange emerged a set of questions and responses that revealed and called into question some key assumptions on both sides of the debate.
@allistelling Whoa. Is that what dig. tech offers? Not endless variety? #digpedSean Michael Morris@msmillerscience An advantage for teachers, maybe. But do I want to be taught by a "clone"? #digpedSean Michael Morris@DavidUdacity @HybridPed True. Question: Do they remain the best teachers and thinkers when pre-recorded and distributed? #digpedSean Michael Morris@antimony27 #digped Agree. But wonderful interactions can occur online too and en masse. For example, this discussion.David Stavens@trentmkays Consider that not all f2f classes are engaging either. Some lectures are static, boring. #digped No inherent goodness in each.Pete Rorabaugh@allistelling @trentmkays And some lectures are amazing, transformative. Public or open "space" doesn't preclude connection. #digpedRobin Wharton@allistelling also in F2F you sit beside a couple people. online you sit beside everyone. can have MORE interactions #digpedJR Dingwall@JRRockwall @allistelling Not sure. Like going to the movies by myself. I'm around others, but not really. #digped.Sean Michael Morris@DavidUdacity I'm confused. What do you mean? Broadcast seems to be "casting" to a broad number of people. Seems less interaction. #digpedRoger WhitsonWith the help of a few especially insightful comments from Petra Dierkes-Thrun, we arrived at the heart of the matter. As with almost anything else from chalkboard to smartboard, it's not the tool per se; it's the pedagogy driving its use in the educational environment.
@DavidUdacity @slamteacher There's an important interplay between the reach a video offers and the intimacy interaction can offer. #digpedJesse Stommel#digped The mind is not an empty vessel 2b filled; it's essentially a social, vibrant mechanism that needs to be engaged.What IS engagement?Petra Dierkes-Thrun#digped Best teaching is act anticipating what students may know, think, wonder, and buildg it in. Great pedagogy can happen in any medium.Petra Dierkes-Thrun@Jessifer Yep, exactly. It's not really a critique. But, there's nothing fantastic about a pedagogy of little engagement. #digpedTrent M Kays@trentmkays #digped Agreed, and that is why we pedagogues and humanities people in particular need to engage NOW. (1/2)Petra Dierkes-Thrun#digped There's so much knowledge out there: best practices in pedagogy. Don't need 2 reinvent wheel--adapt to new car and make it better.Petra Dierkes-Thrun@petradt A nice point. No medium is inherently engaging or disengaging, communal or isolating. It's how we put the medium to work. #digpedJesse Stommel@petradt I agree with this. Ultimately, no matter the "classroom", it comes down to intentional pedagogy. #digpedSean Michael Morris@petradt I agree, but many involved in "disruptive ed" don't know or don't care about long history of SoTL/pedagogy. #digpedRobin WhartonTo be effective, video lectures, like lectures of the IRL variety, must engage their audience. So, the first step in making video lectures useful as a pedagogical tool? Make better video lectures. Produce artifacts that look like this:
Intro to Unit 4 - Intro to Physics - Work and Energy - UdacityudacityRSA Animate - Changing Education ParadigmsthersaorgAs opposed to, maybe, the one subjected to critique in this MST3K parody:
MTT2K - Episode 1goldenojWhile much of the commentary in the third video focuses on the lecturer's "bad math," we should note how the peanut gallery also comments on the poor choice of examples and inconsistencies in how information is presented. I think most of the participants in our #digped discussion viewed correctness of content as a minimum criterion, choosing to focus their commentary on how to improve student engagement with that content through better production quality.
@Jessifer @petradt This is why I found @Udacity's videos refreshing. They are at times cinemagraphic, and interactive. #digpedSean Michael Morris@trentmkays video lectures need not be the "talking head" but with attention to video design for learning can helpstudents visualize #digpedJR Dingwall@slamteacher And it seems better to collaboratively produce content, share the materials, and focus on interactive pedagogy. #digpedLeeann Hunter@ldhunter lectures like most tools have a place. There is some research in good lecture design out of Finland. #digpedJR Dingwall@rogerwhitson @DavidUdacity our model of online combines lecture, chat, slides, studios, etc for dist ed #etad #digped I find it wellroundedJR Dingwall@slamteacher #digped Talking heads in vid lectures CAN be OK, but variety is spice: writing, pics, short demos, quizzes. Bring it on.Petra Dierkes-Thrun@petradt So, have fun with it. Don't just shoot video of old guy behind desk. Take it out into the world. Use video to inspire. #digpedSean Michael Morris@slamteacher @petradt #digped Here's an example we're proud of: http://www.udacity.com/view#Course/ph100/CourseRev/1/Unit/343001/Nugget/345001David StavensWhat potentials does the form offer? How can we “hack” the video lecture to make it more pedagogically viable? And more engaging? #digpedHybrid Pedagogy@ccf_oc Lonka & Ketonen 2012 is one I read recently, published in SLS, how to make lecture course engaging. #digpedJR Dingwall@antimony27 @Jessifer @rogerwhitson @petradt #digped It makes sense to put in the time when millions of students might watch.David Stavens@trentmkays @allistelling tech is not just hardware/software, technology is also a process. #digpedJR Dingwall@slamteacher @jstein @petradt Yes. One of our firm rules at Udacity is we never make a long video. #digpedDavid StavensAnother way to make video lectures effective pedagogically? Figure out what lectures do well. Consider, where in the learning process they are most useful. Avoid relying on lectures when other tools and techniques would provide more benefit to students. Think of the lecture as something that can be acted upon, and re-enacted, rather than something one simply endures.
@ldhunter This gets at something important: why do we lecture? Content delivery has been around a long time before video. #digpedSean Michael MorrisLike any powerful technology, lecture capture will tempt teachers and admins to let the resource replace too much of the teaching. #digpedJared Stein@ldhunter @slamteacher there is still a place for the intake of info in learning. before the collaboration step, just diff ways #digpedJR Dingwall@jstein Makes me think any tool can be useful, but no tool works in overly-strong doses. Incessance does not equal effectiveness. #digpedJesse Stommel@jstein Teachers and admins need to see video lectures as a 21st-c textbook. Teaching must be interactive (regardless of medium). #digpedLeeann Hunter@allistelling check out Curt Radford's pres on use of video /as part of/ a fully designed online ASL course: http://vimeo.com/m/45325373 #digpedJared SteinThere's significant research on effectiveness of worked examples as part of direct instruction. Seems ideal for video to facilitate. #digpedJared SteinSumming comments of @jstein and @petradt: vidlecture valuable for specific kinds of activities/content, but not for others. #digped.Pete Rorabaugh#digped Do we need to think act vid lectures more holistically? Part of larger ped toolbox, ideally. Reg. classroom has mini-lectures, too!Petra Dierkes-Thrun@allistelling @petradt Agreed: video should be segmented, sequenced amongst other activities, like rehearsal, practice, discussion #digpedJared Stein@trentmkays Can't lecture, in this format, become a text? To be discussed, deconstructed, reconstructed, remediated, rebuilt, etc.? #digpedRobin Wharton@slamteacher @jstein @petradt Yes! Lecture to set up activity,conversation, independent work then resume "lecture" again. Integrate. #digpedlindalevitt#digped Think abt the kind of per intimacy great vid lectures can create. Like a tutor, rewindable, quizzes--what else would we like 2 see?Petra Dierkes-ThrunThe idea that video lectures, no matter how well-produced or content-loaded, cannot replace engagement with one's instructor or one's peer group emerged again and again throughout the conversation. #digped participants offered a number of suggestions about how video lectures might be paired with other tools to promote this sort of person-to-person interaction.
@DavidUdacity You could hold a discussion like this after the 'lecture', I suppose, but would it come close to classroom experience? #digpedKim MartinRT @rswharton: @DavidUdacity @antimony27 #digped So why not pair video lecture with synchronous digital interaction? Like a Twitter discussion?Pete Rorabaugh@rswharton This model isn't different from trad teaching - where students read stuff outsie of class & discuss in class. #digpedRoger Whitson@rswharton @davidudacity @antimony27 so, synchronous play of recorded lecture? Of course, you sacrifice flexibility of time... #digpedJared Stein@DavidUdacity Would love to learn more about the format can be dynamic: including group annotations, links, and video response. #digpedPete Rorabaugh@petradt Well-said. What I do is try to create activities and let students choose from the tools at hand (sometimes it's not tech). #digpedJesse StommelHow about: students make the video lectures. Some continue to be used across sections. Teacher's video lecture could be prototype. #digpedPete Rorabaugh@slamteacher Best learning occurs when students interact, but students first need to be shown how to interact. #digpedLeeann HunterCan the video lecture be leveraged effectively? How? #digpedHybrid Pedagogy@DavidUdacity @HybridPed Well-said. Videos lectures don't have to broadcast. They can be webbed to an interactive experience. #digpedJesse Stommel@trentmkays Imagine multimodal comp class where students deconstruct, critique, mashup, rebuild video lectures from content classes. #digpedRobin Wharton@rswharton @trentmkays This is great. Isn't this what we do with live lectures anyway… in our heads? #digpedSean Michael Morris@rswharton Okay, what about them? I know people who already do that. #digpedTrent M Kays@rswharton @trentmkays Would love to see student mashup of my lecture. Talk about engagement. #digpedWilliam Allen@JRRockwall @antimony27 We all kept blogs, too, and communicated/commented with classmates and others there as well. #digpedAlison Seaman@trentmkays Connects student work in comp class, esp. STEM students for whom it may not be obvious, to work in other classes. #digpedRobin WhartonIn a wonderful example of the recursivity of critical pedagogy, thinking more carefully about digital pedagogy and online learning brought us back once more to a reconsideration of the physical spaces in which learning takes place (teaser: this happened as well in the MOOC-related threads of the conversation).
@ldhunter @slamteacher #digped Good point. What does a repository of great lectures student watch out of class make room for in class?Robin Whartonif we broadcast education, also need to think about spaces and contexts of reception, shaping learning spaces, and teach *that* too #digpedPaul Fyfebefore we concede these spaces to virtual ones, prolly shd reckon with what kinds of spaces promote engagement, creativity #digpedPaul Fyfe@pfyfe I agree. @ldhunter also thinks re this. What things can only happen when we get everyone into the same physical space? #digpedRobin Wharton@petradt #digped I'd like to be more *explicit* (w/ myself and w/ learners) about how my vid lectures invite learners to DO stuff with them.Brooke Lester@rswharton @ldhunter really think there is no single more important question for instructors, faculty, admins to be asking right now #digpedPaul Fyfe@AnummaBrooke Great point. I'm explicit act my analog pedagogy, too. Part of new needed digital literacy for student, teacher alike. #digpedPetra Dierkes-ThrunThe hour, as usual, flew by. I hope that you've found the Storify useful, and I hope that you'll consider continuing the discussion on Hybrid Pedagogy. Remember, Dear Readers, this is just the first installment. Stay tuned for another episode tomorrow!
Wow. Great discussion today, tweeps. I appreciate all the ideas flowing. @HybridPed ftw. #digpedTrent M KaysAs we wrap-up, feel free to continue the various threads in the comments here http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/Journal/files/Broadcast_Education.html and here http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/Journal/files/MOOC_MOOC.html #digpedHybrid PedagogyAlso, we invite you to submit an article to Hybrid Pedagogy, the journal: http://www.hybridpedagogy.com/Participation.html #digpedHybrid PedagogyRT @allistelling: I loved today's #digped. The best kind of fruit: messy, satisfying, and drips all over everything. Thanks for joining us @HybridPed.Hybrid Pedagogy

Tags: MOOCs, Open Education, Digital Pedagogy, MOOC

HYBRID PEDAGOGY

A Digital Journal of Learning, Teaching, and Technology

#digped Storify Pt. 1: We Interrupt This Broadcast . . .