Video for Online Learning
Research Review Website
Context
In R678, a course on emerging technology that I took in the spring of 2020, students were empowered to create something that would be timely, personally interesting, and professionally relevant. I chose to create a website summarizing the research and recommendations on how to effectively use video in online learning. Given the recent onset of the pandemic and the predominance of video in 2U's online courses, it was incredibly useful to me.
Summary
Video isn't exactly an emerging technology, but with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, more people were using video for online learning than ever before. At 2U, we had always used a lot of video, but we had always taken a production-centric approach, rather than a learning-centric one. As part of this project, I reviewed approximately 50 different sources to pull together insights on when and how to use video for online learning.
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My goal was to create an informational site that could serve teachers who were being forced now to use video for the first time and wanted some reliable tips and tricks to making it effective and engaging for learners. The site covers creating interactivity with video, how to format video, how to design and deliver it, using visuals, and recommendations on equipment.
Reflection
As someone who was responsible for setting the direction of how a company designs and develops learning experiences, it was and is very important for me to be informed on evidence-based best practices. This project let me dive deep into the research, follow long trails of citations, read original studies, pull together trends from across articles, and synthesize insights and recommendations into an easily digestible narrative. I learned so much from this project that I continue to draw on today. In an ideal world, I'd love to do a project like this once a quarter on different topics to continue to evolve and grow my knowledge.
Key Takeaways
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Research review: This project helped me build skills in reviewing research, tagging themes, and pulling them together in a synthesis.
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Knowledge of video best practices: This project exponentially grew my knowledge of evidence-based best practices for using video in online learning--something that makes me better at my job and earns me the respect of my peers and team.
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Communication: This project helped me hone my skills for compiling insights from research and distilling them into clear and compelling narrative that can be used by anyone. Communicating complex ideas in easy to understand ways is a skill I'm always using as a leader.