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.

August 10, 2005

EyeQ

How many hours a day do you think you spend reading? Between the newspaper, your favorite websites, stuff for work, the books you’re currently reading…it’s probably quite a bit. Most likely several hours a day for most people especially if you’re one of these “knowledge workers” we always hear about.

So if you spend several hours a day doing something, wouldn’t it make sense to become more efficient at it? Yet when it comes to reading speed most people take their current abilities as given. People tell themselves how they are “slow readers” while not taking into account that reading, like just about everything else, is a learned skill and one that can be improved upon.

You’re probably just about to ask what we’re doing talking about reading on an “audio and video learning” site. Well, here’s the deal. I’ve tried a number of “speed reading” strategies in my life. Some worked well for certain types of reading but not so well for others. For example, one technique had me tracing the words with my index finger. That tended to get the monitor a little grungy during all the computer reading I do… 🙂

The method that I’ve found the most useful and easy to learn is the EyeQ reading program. It’s not really a technique but rather a series of computer-based exercises that get you moving your eyes quicker and help you to filter out the words you do need to read from those you really don’t (an important part of increasing reading speed). It’s really easy to practice and because it’s a computer-based course the improvements work for both online and offline reading.

EyeQ is a bit expensive but in my mind, it’s well worth investment. Think about it. Let’s say you spend three hours a day reading. If you can improve your reading speed by 50% using EyeQ (very doable based on my experience) then theoretically that’s an extra hour every day that you’re saving. That’s more time to go to the gym, play with the kids, make love to your spouse (hey, whatever you want to do with your hour is none of my business!).

Seth just put up the EyeQ titles and I’d encourage you to check them out. I can’t think of very many skills which are more useful to spend some time polishing.

EyeQ: The Deluxe Edition
EyeQ: The Personal Edition

September 25, 2004

Trying out Netflix

So I bit the bullet finally and signed up for Netflix. In addition to using LearnOutLoud.com to enable and promote audio learning, we’re also focusing on video learning as well. One of our goals is to encourage individuals to substitute 10-20% of the time they would normally be watching regular television with more substantial and beneficial programs. While some channels (A & E, The Learning Channel, etc.) carry this type of programming, it’s often best to look towards DVDs and VHS tapes instead…

The benefit of subscribing to Netflix is that you can watch as many programs in a month as you have time for. And they do have some good ones. I’m currently watching Joseph Campbell’s interview with Bill Moyers entitled The Power of Myth. It’s quite interesting and well worth watching. If you’ve read any of Campbell’s books (e.g., “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”), you’ll definitely enjoying these discs.

The downside of Netflix right now is that they don’t have a ton of “video learning” material available. There are a few titles by Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer and Caroline Myss but the number if relatively small compared to what’s out there. Imagine a day when you can rent Teaching Company and Nightingale-Conant titles for a monthly fee. That will be really, really cool.

In the meantime we’ll just have to make due with what Netflix (and other similar services such as those from Blockbuster and Wal-mart) has to offer. If you’re interested in giving Netflix a test run, you can get a free trial at www.netflix.com.