YouTube Across the Disciplines: A Review of the Literature

YouTube has grown to become the largest and most highly visited online video-sharing service, and interest in the educational use of YouTube has become apparent. Paralleling the rise of academic interest in YouTube is the emergence of YouTube scholarship. This article presents the results of a review of 188 peer reviewed journal articles and conference papers with YouTube in the title that were published between 2006 and 2009. Four questions were answered through the review of YouTube literature: (1) What is the overall distribution of publication activity for refereed journal articles and conference papers with YouTube in the title? (2) How are publications with YouTube in the title distributed across academic disciplines? (3) What have scholars written about instructional methodologies involving YouTube in a sample of literature containing YouTube in the title? (4) What have scholars reported about the results of studies involving YouTube in a sample of literature containing YouTube in the title? An analysis of the publications revealed that the literature emerged from multiple academic disciplines. The sample of literature included 39 articles and papers describing methods for teaching with YouTube. A total of 99 articles and papers containing the results of research studies were identified and categorized. This literature review is particularly relevant to those online educators who are interested in learning what scholars from their own academic disciplines are writing about YouTube. An emphasis is placed on trends in teaching and research discussed in the sampled literature

Teaching Qualitative Research Methods Online: A Scoping Review of the Literature

Online education has become well established as an avenue for flexible access to educational opportunities. Those who teach qualitative research methods online may find it difficult to locate research or best practice literature to inform practice. A scoping review was conducted to identify and synthesize the literature about teaching qualitative research methods courses online. Eleven peer-reviewed journal articles were identified through a scoping review of the literature. The TPACK framework, which defines teacher knowledge in terms of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge, was used as a conceptual framework. Results from this scoping review indicate that online qualitative research methods educators choose course goals, instructional modules, and topics in a manner consistent with instructional design approaches. Pedagogical approaches included orientation strategies, strategic use of instructional media, online discussions, applied research activities, and writing projects. Technology was used for course management, to develop content, for communication, and to enable online teaching strategies in an online environment. The literature informs teaching practice in qualitative research methods education, but more research is needed to develop knowledge in this under explored area

Web-Based Video in Education: Possibilities and Pitfalls

In recent years, Web-based video-sharing sites such as YouTube have emerged and filled so quickly with video clips that millions of short video segments are now available online. Through these sites both amateur and professional video content covering a wide array of topics has been uploaded for free distribution to the general public. The presence of so much video on the Internet is intriguing due to the potential value as a content repository that may be tapped into for educational purposes. The value of video as a visual representation can be used advantageously to show faraway places, historic film segments, animals in the wild, digital stories, and more. A drawback for educators is that the purpose of most video-sharing sites is not primarily educational. Because of this a great deal of video content currently available is not suitable for traditional educational needs. Access to some video-sharing sites such as YouTube is blocked at many schools due to the presence of inappropriate content. The challenge is to identify usable video resources and instructional strategies that are enhanced with online video. This paper illustrates how online video can be effectively used in online discussions, video case analysis, virtual field trips, and WebQuests

Virtual Design Based Research

Instructional materials for the online course may be designed with rich multimedia content and innovative approaches. Student engagement with these materials is unseen and left to be inferred. Design based research is an approach used to study intervention in the context of an authentic classroom. It can be applied to the online course to study the impact of instructional design decisions and the effectiveness of multimedia integration. The technology used to support the online course can be used to collect usage data and participant evaluations

Designing Dynamic Online Lessons with Multimedia Representations

The focus of this paper is on the use of multimedia representations in the online lesson. The information presented here may be of interest to online instructors with varied levels of experience, yet it is geared more toward those who are new to online teaching. A central feature of this paper is the importance of the lesson plan, which can include identification of how multimedia will be used to create instructional messages for the lesson. The potential exists to increase the quality of instruction through the careful use of static and dynamic multimedia representations. Support for the use of multiple representations is documented in the research literature

Digital Storytelling in a Web 2.0 World

Digital storytelling has arisen as a form of narrative expression that is crafted into a media production. While there appears to be general agreement that digital storytelling integrates meaningful stories with media, and characteristics of digital stories have been described, the definition of and purpose for digital storytelling remains somewhat open to interpretation. Even more unclear is how the growing array of interactive Web 2.0 video-sharing technologies are being used to facilitate digital storytelling. This paper presents a pilot study conducted to begin learning how digital storytelling is manifesting on YouTube, which is currently the most widely used of all video-sharing services. A relevance sample of 100 digital stories was obtained from YouTube. The videos were analyzed to determine how closely they match published characteristics of digital stories and to what extent interactive features of YouTube were utilized. Results indicated variation among the stories in terms of adherence to the classic model and the media elements used. Interactive tools such as ratings, comments, and video responses were used, but not extensively

From Silent Film to YouTube™ : Tracing the Historical Roots of Motion Picture Technologies in Education

This article traces the historical roots of YouTube™ and online video to examine it within the context of educational motion picture history. The current state of online video is discussed first followed by a thematic analysis of the history of educational motion pictures from silent film to YouTube. The historical literature reveals recurring themes and issues, which include: (1) the intrinsic advantages of motion picture technologies, (2) differing opinions about the benefits of film and video, and (3) access and equipment issues. Previous historical accounts fall short of addressing how these themes connect to online video. The potential future of online video is discussed in the conclusion

Micro-Level Design for Multimedia-Enhanced Online Courses

Micro-level instructional design refers to the practice of designing and producing small units of instruction. At the microlevel processes such as shifting focus to small-scale design, applying learning theory, managing the technology, and evaluating the micro-design are implemented. The shift in focus to small-scale design centers attention on design of the multimedia products implemented in the online classroom. Theories of multimedia learning are selected and applied to the micro-level design to maximize the potential for effective instructional communication and learning. Managing the technology involves accounting for issues of compression, file size, and appropriate format for Web-based delivery. Evaluation, supported by Web server technologies, may be conducted through iterative cycles in a design based research approach. The result is incremental improvement of micro-design products in addition to new insights about multimedia-enhanced online instruction. This paper describes these processes as they apply to multimedia-enhanced online instruction

In Search of a Better Understanding of Social Presence: An Investigation into How Researchers Define Social Presence

Research on social presence and online learning continues to grow. But to date, researchers continue to define and conceptualize social presence very differently. For instance, at a basic level, some conceptualize social presence as one of three presences within a Community of Inquiry, while others do not. Given this problem, we analyzed how researchers in highly cited social presence research defined social presence in an effort to better understand how they are defining social presence and how this might be changing over time. In this article, we report the results of our inquiry and conclude with implications for future research and practice

Persistence Factors Revealed: Students’ Reflections on Completing a Fully Online Program

Despite the rapid growth in online programs, online programs routinely face student attrition. How to retain students and help students successfully complete an online program is usually a top priority for online programs. This study investigated persistence factors that contributed to students’ successful completion from one of the largest and most successful online programs in the United States. Results show that both personal and program attributes contributed to students’ successful completion of a fully online program. Main individual attributes include interest in or career goals related to technology, time and effort invested, and perceived utility of learning. Main program attributes include relevancy of courses to individual or professional needs, satisfaction with courses and program, and ties between coursework and job promotion. Results of this study have implications for online programs in terms of prioritizing different attributes and strategizing resources to improve completion and graduation rates for fully online programs