It's a known fact that learning from a live person produces a better understanding of the information that is being presented, as apposed to reading the material. This presents a problem of restricting the information presented to only those that have access to the live presenter. But in todays high tech world, we have the opportunity to present the same infromation in a somewhat "live" presentation to many more people via video over the internet.
The resulting understanding of the material is equal to a live presentation in that we are still able to use sight and sound to create a real connection to the material being presented. We remember what we see and hear, better than what we are told. We remember what we see and hear over 93% better than what we read. When we were young, our teachers used sight and sound by verbally presenting the subject matter and then writing the key points on the blackboard.
Remember the first time you traveled to a new location, maybe a friend's home in a new town. The first time you made the trip, you followed your friend's directions and either made a wrong turn or, at the very least, paid very close attention to the directions that you were given. But once you've made the trip, you now have a better understanding of where to go, when to turn and what landmarks to look for. Imagine if you were able to see a video of the entire trip before you left your home. If you missed something you could go back and replay the video. You would better understand where you needed to go on your trip before you left your home.
This same theory has been used in training simulators, such as flight simulators. And look at all of the "how to" shows that are on TV. The producers of infomercials have understood this for many years. Sight and sound combine to bring a greater understanding of whatever it is you wish to learn. When you combine this with the explosion of the internet and the growth of broadband internet in homes across the country, you provide access to information to many more people and that information is accepted and retained more readily than with printed words.
In this article I have tried to come as close as possible to using sight and sound by placing images of teachers and road trips into your thoughts, so that you could better understand my point. Being a computer technician and trainer I use this methodology to create online video tutorials to teach my customers some of the basics of computer software. Many websites are now using this to teach, sell, and inform the masses about a procedure or a product, and in the future, the use of video in the classroom and on the internet is sure to grow. |
