Using Videos to Learn?
1) Flipped Classroom – It is pointless doing the same
lecture 10,000 times by 10,000 different professors at 10,000 different
colleges around the world. It is a colossal waste of time and money. You can rather let one subject expert do a high quality, high
visual, high intensity talk and then upload the video of this talk online. This
should be available for students all around the world. Personally I knew I
could not change the system but I could change the way I reacted to this issue.
So I developed a flipped classroom learning model. For my subjects at college,
I would watch the best lectures and talks related to my subject, available
online and then come to class with my questions ready for discussion. I would
also use class time to complete projects and assignments. This helped me
understand the subject matter so much better though I had to maneuver through
the system.
2) Power of the Second Class – Adopting the flipped
classroom model also gives you the power of the second class. For example when
you listen to content for the first time, you are just absorbing it for the
first time and very often need to go through it again. But by listening to
lectures online beforehand by world experts in the field , you will be able to
understand the content much better. You also give yourself the power of a
second class. You can understand the concept better, if it is repeatedly explained to you
3) Ability to take control of learning – You can watch
the videos online on your time. You can fast forward it, rewind it and pause it
whenever you want to. If you do the same at school or college, they will throw
you out of the class.
4) Learning subjects through online learning websites –
MITedX, Khan’s Academy offer some high quality video content on their website
and video channels online. You can also take certificate courses at these
links.
5) Invest in a good internet/wifi connection and learn to
use it intelligently – I call this an investment, because if you know how to
use it effectively you get much more value than the amount you invested, using
the learning resources available online. If you have a limited download limit
on your internet connection, then you must also understand how to use your
internet connection effectively. Downloading videos of YouTube is alright, but
downloading media of other websites is often illegal and can lead to your
computer being tracked. But a 20 minute TED Talk takes 250 megabytes of
bandwith while a 1 hour lecture on the Harvard School of Education website
takes 250 megabytes of bandwith as well. Longer time duration but same download space. It varies based on the quality of the video. If you have a limited internet
connection and you watch ten-fifteen TED Talks in the first few days of the
month, your internet connection will often get over. You do not want this to
happen as you need it to last for the whole month. It is also very expensive to
keep renewing it every time. What I recommend is you get a good online video
downloader. For my Macintosh, I personally use ISkysoft Downloader. I just have
to paste the URL of each video on the program and then the download space
(bandwith) of each video will be shown while the video downloads. If the video
takes up too much space you can cancel the download or watch it when you have
access to a good WIFI Connection. If you have a good WIFI Connection at home,
then you will not have to worry about this.
6) Organize TED Style Video Meet-ups and Discussions –
Get a few great lectures and videos of the internet. Then get a few friends together
at your home. Arrange a projector, sound system and some snacks and watch them
all. You can discuss the videos you saw after watching them all.
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