Two other applications that were useful were PowerPoint and YouTube. PowerPoint was used to create the slides for the videos and the animation sequence at the beginning of the tutorials. To create the close captioning for the videos I first used YouTube's close captioning feature. I then edited the words and the timing from that initial captioning generated by YouTube to better sync with the soundtrack.
The Camtasia application was used to create four screencasts for the administrators of the NorthWest Sailing Association. These tutorials will help prepare future technology directors to assist the club members with their interaction with the website.
There are many benefits to video based training. The convenience of watching videos at anytime and anyplace creates opportunities to reflect on the subject longer because you are able to stop the video at any time, rewind, replay or download for later review. When students are engaged watching an educational video and interact with the video through note taking, thinking or applying concepts, retention and knowledge transfer will occur. Animation keeps the learners engaged and studies have shown that videos have the potential to enhance learners’ retention and motivation to learn.
Instructional videos help in building a comfort level that helps build the learners confidence in understanding the presented educational materials. Video can also be a way to create dialog to enhance the learning experience among adult learners as well as children. Video is a way for the trainer to add a personal presence to their instruction, which may help with building an online community.
Steve Revington on his website states, “Authentic learning is real life learning. It is a style of learning that encourages students to create a tangible, useful product to be shared with their world” (http://authenticlearning.weebly.com/). My hope in creating the tutorials for NWSA members is that the members gain confidence and are successful in interacting with the website. They can contribute and share articles, blog posts, photos and their own videos to the website that will become a historical record of the club’s activities and it’s members. I plan to create several more screencast for other components of the nwsail.com website.
Illustration by Peggy Draver
Source: Royalty free clipart by clker.com