September 17, 2005

A mini-Video Learning Manifesto

I’m in the midst of preparing a full-blown “Audio Learning Manifesto” which I’ll attempt to have published soon on ChangeThis (more on that later) but I wanted to step away from that to talk about something that we haven’t discussed much on our site as of late: video learning. In addition to promoting audio books and podcasts our mission is also to promote video learning products. It’s certainly been somewhat of a secondary mission to date as much of our focus is currently on audio but we plan to devote an increased amount of resources to video learning in the near future.

Why video learning you ask? I’ll offer a number of reasons. First of all, there is a lot of material that simply works better on video than on audio. Let’s say that you are interested in studying art history and stumbled upon the Teaching Company course From Monet to Van Gogh. Now while this could be available in audio format I think you’ll agree that trying to learn art history without actually being able to view the art being discussed is less than optimal.

Video learning can also offer a richer experience for the viewer. A good example of this is an excellent PBS documentary on the life of Benjamin Franklin that I just finished watching. This documentary contains actors playing the parts of Franklin and his contemporaries, reenactment of historical events and paintings and portraits from the era. While there are a number of good audio resources on Frankin’s life (The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and the excellent Portable Professor course about him jump to mind), the PBS documentary was made truly special because some of the video elements that were incorporated.

Another reason why I love promoting video learning is that (for most of you!) it doesn’t require a huge shift in your behavior. According to Nielsen, the average person watches somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5 hours of television per day. I’m not asking you to give up TV cold turkey (although it’s not a bad idea) or switch entirely to educational content. But how about substituting some of those hours spent watching mind-numbing sitcoms and dramas with some cool educational and inspirational DVDs? Netflix has tons of awesome documentaries and other educational and self-development titles that you rent and their plans are now as low as $9.99 per month. Not a bad deal for what is essentially an unlimited supply of video learning material!

The final reason that I’ll offer for why I love video learning is that I think, like audio, that it’s an excellent opportunity for Dead Time Learning. At first glance this might not seem so obvious. After all, you can’t watch videos while commuting. But there are some creative ways to incorporate video learning into your daily life. Consider the opportunity to watch educational videos while you exercise or cook dinner. I just bought a new stationary bicycle and can pop in a DVD while I’m exercising. As a friend of mine recently told me, it’s like getting two workouts (a physical one and a mental one!) at the same time.

For these reasons and many more we’re going to continue to work hard to make it even easier for you to find good quality educational and self-development video content. It definitely falls under the category of “Learning Out Loud” and is something we’re very passionate about. We welcome your suggestions as to how we can best serve your needs.