@edu

I ran across an article last week from a well-known educational website, touting the glorious revolution of education . . . in instructional videos. As if they were all the rage, the new thing. They are not; videos are old-school, and while they do have their place, their benefits are likely to be minimal because they are not interactive. When I looked more closely at the site, I saw that it was plastered with ads, selling software and yes, videos.

Students like videos, anything to break up their day of typical instruction, but mainly they like them because it allows them to be passive for a chunk of time while they are entertained. If the instruction is presented well, they will pick up some useful information, but they won’t know it until they themselves present.

Take a look at how this happens. Click on this first video explaining how iambic pentameter works. This is typical old-school academic instruction, done well.

Now, watch this video: highly untypical student-centered instruction, done . . . well, see for yourself!