Mike Jones Digital Basin
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Self-directed learning - a survey of Video Tutorials

I was asked recently to compile a report looking at what was available online in the way of Video Tutorials for university media production students. The idea was to see what was out there, how relevant and useful it was, and identify any potential areas where the university might produce it's own original tutorial content. Obviously there's no need to replicate something hat already exists and is freely available. That said, the  student context and the university environment have specific demands that perhaps are unable to be addressed by existing materials.

What i thought might be a rather dreary bit of research turned out to be rather interesting. The findings are being compiled and likely to form the basis of a new online student resource but I thought it worth posting some of the things I found and decided upon  for those interested in self-directed learning and a initial survey of Video Tutorial landscape. (if nothing else you might learn about a good resource you didn't know existed)

In broad terms the range of online video tutorials related to the media production (with a focus on hardware rather than software) can be divided between the three groups:

Corporate:
Those tutorials developed by a company and intended as much for promotion and customer support of a product as for education and training. Such tutorials are most often highly specific to the functions and operations of a particular piece of equipment rather than more generally to processes and techniques engaged by that equipment.

Amateur:
Tutorials made by hobbyists and enthusiasts rather than professional practitioners. These  form the overwhelming bulk of online tutorials and the vary enormously; from those particular to a specific tool or model of equipment through to more broad concepts and processes. Production value of these tutorials is generally poor and there is a high propensity for incorrect or mis-information. Amateur tutorials tend to be discreet one-offs or loosely connected small groups rather than cohesive collections or series. They are also most likely to be distributed solely from open public systems such as YouTube.

Institution:
This large category encompasses those tutorials, and collections of videos, that are professionally produced but which are not dedicated to a particular brand or the products of a specified company. This category includes universities, non-government agencies, non-profit organisations and commercial ventures focused on training as well as online magazines and publishers. Such tutorials are more likely to be produced as a collection or series and distributed from dedicated websites - though they may also be re-published on, or utilise, hosting services such as YouTube, Vimeo and BlipTV.

The tutorial websites detailed below are in no particular order but are presented with an analysis of their Pros and Cons and a rating (out of 5) based on their suitability to be recommended to current students to assist with their studies and productions......

You can read the rest of the brief analysis HERE.

Posted at 03:42PM Jan 13, 2010 by Mike Jones in media education  |  Comments[2]