Why using video in education makes a difference

Why using video in education makes a difference

In teaching and learning, the innovative use of video can open up a range of educational benefits.

For students, some of these include the facilitation of critical thinking, developing autonomy and video acting as an instructor in communicating facts or demonstrating procedures.

For teachers, video can provide learning resources for future cohorts to use, as well as opportunities for staff development.

Last week, the 2018 State of Video in Education report was released, providing some insights into the impact video is having on education and where educators see the future of video.

Based on a survey of over 1,500 educational professionals, staff, technologists and students from around the world, the fifth annual report, from technology company Kaltura, revealed that 88% of respondents in K-12 education already use ‘lecture capture’ or intend to in future.

The use of video by students for assignments is on the rise, at 69% this year, up from 59% in 2017. Interestingly, video feedback on student assignments is also growing and is now used by more than a third of institutions (35%) – up from 27% last year – perhaps due to the growth in remote learning.

The survey also found there is a groundswell of adoption of more advanced video functionality. Closed captions are in use at over half (52%) of institutions today, while 34% use interactive video quizzes to help students learn more effectively.

Mobile apps that make it easy for students to watch videos on the move, or offline, are used by 39% of institutions, and a further 53% are eager to add this capability.

Other findings include growing momentum for video creation among students in K-12 (primary/secondary) institutions, where 21% report that over half of their students are involved in creating (as opposed to simply watching) video; among higher education respondents, the figure is a little lower at 15%.

Digital literacy remains high on the agenda as a critical skill for today’s students in an era of fake news and 95% view video as an important part of digital literacy. A resounding 97% feel it is important to continue to raise the level of digital and video literacy among both teachers and students.

The good news is that 83% of students are already considered to be highly digitally literate, with teachers snapping at their heels with 78%.

Looking ahead, 97% think that interactive videos, which encourage engagement and help students to learn, will be important; similarly, 97% anticipate that self-paced curriculums and personalised learning paths will be of considerable value to many students; and 94% see predictive analytics as a game changer in education, helping to boost learning outcomes.

The study also found that video has a positive impact on student achievements (84%), on increasing educator collaboration and professional development (83%), and on streamlining the on-boarding process for new students (80%).