Digital Signposts

A 2 Speed YouTube?

image credit: theqspeaks CC Licnece BY_NC_SA

“Opening up a world of educational content with YouTube for Schools”

As a firm advocate of video for learning, I really hope Google’s recently launched YouTube for Schools service will get YouTube into more schools.  Then if those schools were to move from YouTube for Schools to the default open YouTube, that would  be even better.

As expected the initial reactions to the launch of YouTube for  Schools on the  educational blogs and twitter feeds has been welcoming and positive and .... largely.......uncritical.

Google’s  bold statement (above), has obviously struck a chord with lots of educators, despite the fact that the content on YouTube has always been open and available to schools should they wish to access it. There are of course many schools and administrations that have; (misguidedly in my opinion), chosen to block it,  but that is an entirely different matter.

Therefore is Google really opening or providing anything new?  No, what YouTube for Schools does is offer a filter switch by which school IT admins can allow access to the Youtube.com/education subdomain  i.e. YouTube Edu, whilst still allowing the blocking of  open YouTube. The keywords in Gooogles rationale are:  safety and distraction together with  school friendly/teacher friendly and free. Taking these points in order:

• if YouTube is really that dangerous;  why are many schools using it without any significant issues as Daniel Stucke points out in his post?  
• distraction; lots of glib references to cats and music; from both Google and commentators but no analysis of the causes of distraction
• school/teacher friendly is a pretty meaningless term, but could possibly be interpreted as spoon feeding.....having the spadework done for you.... avoiding issues of digital literacy?
• YouTube has always been free ... ‘no brainer’

The YouTube Edu content is sourced from over "600 partners” and indeed there are some excellent videos from the likes of NASA, RSA, Smithsonian and TED. Nevertheless there are also a lot of talking heads and dry lectures.  There is very little evidence of student authored videos or the student voice, instead it is very much a one-way street where video is used to "illustrate."  I think YouTube Edu focuses too heavily on 'subjects' and ‘grades’ rather than the interconnectedness of knowledge or the educational affordances of video. Perhaps it is just my take, but there seems to be a very US centric feel to the service. I have also noted; that many, if not the majority of clips still feature pre-roll and pop-up adverts.

There is of course no shortage of educational video being curated and shared on the web.  A good example is WatchKnow.org; a moderated wiki where and  teachers  recommend, aggregate and curate educational content from a number of video services including YouTube. Another developing service in the UK is EdmediaShare, where educators in HE and FE upload, share and discuss the videos they are using. The emphasis within EdmediaShare is on  how to leverage the pedagogical value of the videos and can be used in different learning contexts as well as subjects using the Dial-e framework developed at the University of Hull.

I am not convinced about new either; YouTube  hosts hundreds or even thousands of  channels and playlists that have educational value. I  would argue that this value is best determined by a community of educators curating and sharing, rather than a committee even if it does include teachers and Google educators. YouTube has become such a powerful educational platform because of its serendipity - the discovery, of new videos and channels, facilitated and promoted through social networks.

Of the 35 hours of video uploaded every minute to YouTube, a significant amount will be extremely current, relevant and topical. YouTube provides instantaneous access to many events of local and global significance as they happen, for example the recent Japan Tsunami, Arab Spring or a local Starling roost  - all good  examples. Teachers should have access to; and be able to decide; if, how, and when to use such videos; and also consider the age group and how to frame them in an appropriate learning context

In my opinion what YouTube should be doing, is helping teachers to understand and use the
excellent creative YouTube tools such as: Playlists, Editing, Captions, Video Manager  and promoting embedding YouTube content in other educational resources, as they do in YouTube for Teachers. Teachers should be encouraged to address the issues of raised by comments and how related videos algorithms work and evaluate their effectiveness. This is all part of developing digital and media literacies. Offering a solution based on 'removing' comments and related videos is pedagogically unsound.

To give Google some credit they have factored in a suggest option for  channels, but here's the rub - it must must be sourced from a YouTube partner! .... rather than selected for its true educational merit.

 

So in the final analysis what we end up with is a digital video library, a walled garden.

whereby a ‘committee’ and Google deems what is educational video, which can then be allocated to teachers on an individual basis by an IT admin. I think this is  a backward step for video for learning. It will will be interesting to watch how this plays out and follow the crossover, both ways,  between YouTube for Schools and Open YouTube. Of course my big worry is that some currently Open YouTube users would move to the YouTube for Schools.

Looking inside video...

Within current discourse on video for learning, there are many concurrent ideas on how to use video in educational contexts. These cover a wide spectrum, ranging from recorded lectures,  or the Khan Academy video tutorials, (which have inadvertently given rise to the flipped classroom meme), to dedicated educational platforms that aggregate online video, for example  Watchknow.org  Sometimes video is mixed with other content using APIs, as on the HistoryPin website.

Other platforms such as EdMediaShare which uses the Dial-e framework, (developed at the University of Hull), are designed to promote an alternative way of using video. However the most frequent use of video in learning  is still to illustrate or amplify subject matter or to present didactic information in the form of a recorded  lecture or presentation.

This is understandable, one of the drawbacks of using video, as opposed to text, is that it cannot be searched in as easily as texts.  Whilst it is straightforward to search search a library of documents for a word - sentence or paragraph but with video search relies on title or associated metadata. This may be about to change.  Research at the Hasso Platter institute has come close to making 'semantic video' a reality. Using  semantic media analysis;  in the near future, it will be possible to conduct searches  within video, (collections, and individual videos), directly by the content within them

Here are a few thoughts on how this might work, using some clips from EdMediaShare to illustrate:

•  OCR, (search for text in shots of maps or signposts) 
• Audio  (the stirring music, so common in old newsreels,  used to illustrate the Berengeria clip)
• Speech recogniton (look for topics with  specific terminology, eg, Mobile learning.
• Motion Vectors  (Tacoma Narrows)
• Visual analysis (identify structural  changes in video;  tone/colour/pace  as in this JISC resource on copyright)
• Face recognition (identify specific speakers in the  JISC collection) 

It seems likely that such tools will completely redefine the ways in which we can learn through video. Hopefully some of these tools them will also be found within YouTube in the not to distant future.

The Slideshare presentation from Hasso Platter gives a very detailed overview of the underlying process and there is also a demo screencast here.

Mapping the Past, Present and Future

 

I have recently spent quite a bit of time watching, David Rumsey's inspirational keynote describing how digital technology and visualisation can aid the understanding and interpretation of historic maps; thus building new knowledge, not only of the maps, but about people, the societies they lived in and  the prevailing culture and values of the time.

Using Google Earth overlays, historic fly-throughs, 30ft globes, and virtual worlds
this 40 min video is awesome, the screen capture above offers a flavour.  Indeed it is one of the best uses of virtual worlds that I have come across in a long time. 

The Creative Commons licensed Rumsey Map Collection accessed through the Luna Browser,  is a good example of how digital technologies can refocus our interpretation of other cultural artefacts, for example, posters, photographs or moving images, in order to shed new light on our past and our present.

The idea of digitally synthesing of old and new is beginning to gain momentum, and there are projects, open to students and educators, including Hypercities which explores layers of time through city maps, or HistoryPin which crowdsources old photographs and superimposes them on Google Street View. 

Even if mapping isn't  your personal interest, digitised archives or artefacts can provide a stimulus for meaningful learning designs and contexts for all stages of learning. Applying digital tools to data we already have allows new interpretations and ways of using the data which makes this a very rich field for educators to explore using digital technologies.

And whilst at first glance, some of the artefacts and ideas from the past may seem absurd today;  in context, they reveal the hidden codes for our future, which are gaining recognition amongst an emerging cohort of paleo-futurists, digital humanists, digital anthropologists and archaeologists who participate in innovative projects and networks.  As Tom Seinfield from the Found History blog states:

"innovation in digital humanities frequently comes from the edges of the scholarly community rather than from its center—small institutions and even individual actors with few resources are able to make important innovations."

 This is highly encouraging and it is certainly an area I plan to spend a lot more time studying and working in.

Domesday Reloaded (Part 2)

Domesday System by ljw Licence CC  BY-NC-SA

Riding on the wave of excitement generated through BBC Domesday Reloaded project makes this a good time to take an objective look at some of the wider issues arising out of Domesday for learning technology, and if possible learn some lessons for the future.

“In 1986 the BBC launched an ambitious project to record a snapshot of everyday life across the UK for future generations. A million volunteers took part…”

This an interesting statement, because it was never realised through the original project format; but now may be with the release of the Reloaded project, and even more so if the data on the National Disc is finally released. Unless folk were associated with a school or had access at a library it is unlikely they would have had  hands-on experience of the Domesday system.

Many blogs and tweets suggest that Domesday Reloaded is a complete reconstruction of the original 1984-86 project, but that is quite far from the truth. It does not contain any of the rich data from the National Disc. The National Disc contains a great deal of, (authoritative), media and statistics. Just how much can be gauged in the first  section of this promotional video,  specifically from 03:15 > 9:32, on the timeline. It is clear that the Community disc data is culturally significant and  the National data disc completes that anecdotal snapshot of the UK picture with an even and focused coverage.

Neither is it true to suggest that the only reason for the loss of the Domesday data is obsolescent technology. Human shortcomings are just as much, if not more to blame. Although obsolescent technology may have contributed to the the loss of the Domesday system, it was not the only cause. This is evidenced by the fact that researchers based at Leeds University and the University of Michigan working on the Camileon Project were successful in accessing and emulating the BBC's Domesday project on a PC.

Although the systems were superseded by digital optical media, many of the surviving systems, (c.1000 sold), were just left in cupboards or as I heard through trusted anecdotal evidence - in one LEA (Local Education Authority), 2 were simply thrown in the skip when moving offices. Again the human factor... one wonders how many times this was replicated?

Evidence, from Charlesworth. University of Hull, (2002); suggests that the greatest obstacle was clearing Copyright. Nearly all the content, including both data and software has IP rights attached. It appears to be an extremely complex web of rights. Charlesworth’s report also indicates, even at the time of writing (2002),  some rights holders were untraceable and it could be 2090 before all data would be in the public domain.

Should ever such a venture be undertaken in the future (using public funds and contributions) it would make sense to ensure that content providers and contributors were asked to make their work available under a Creative Commons licence, or at least the BBC Creative Archive Licence.  Unfortunately this is not a requirement of the Reloaded initiative and there is no real licencing guidance for contributors other than the BBC’s normal T&Cs. (Even so, everyone should contribute because of the cultural significance of the project).  Similarly it would be hoped any future venture would be developed using Open Source software.

In addition to the  Domesday Reloaded will achieve is to generate awareness and of Domesday, (including the original Domesday Book, which is also online), judging by blog post and tweets this is already happening.  In order to fully appreciate the nature of the BBC Domesday Project it is worth reading this detailed description of Domesday and also the work of  Darlington, Finney and Pearce describing the recovery of the data on the discs. Sadly; Adrian Pearce died in 2008 and his original site is no longer available but the http://www.domesday1986.com/ URL now links to the Domesday Special Interest Group.

Update
There are indications from the Centre for Computing History that they are working with the National Disc and hoping to make it live in the near future. Great news if it happens.

 

If there are any factual errors in this post please let me know and I will amend as appropriate.

 

It's not really about YouTube

Image attribution;  AlexMuse under this CC licence

The perennial debate on filtering and blocking of web sites, in education, has been lively on several fronts recently, including Twitter, ETR (Ed Tech Round -a group of teachers and others who meet online weekly), and the Naace advisory list of UK ICT education professionals, reaching over 50 posts in a few days. The idea of creating a Google Maps mashup to demonstrate blocking on a national and local level was one of the ideas proposed. Whilst I don't think a name and shame list will do much to change the situation, the data might be useful as  a broad indicator, especially if there is some creative detail, that others can add to. What is clear is the increasing degree of irritation with the status quo by a growing number of teachers, whilst advocates of blocking show little sign of changing their thinking, no matter what evidence is brought forward.

It will come as no surprise that much of the debate was centered around YouTube, so in this post I will consider some of the the wider issues relating to YouTube, though much of it could apply equally to other online services. I visited a, (primary), school a couple of weeks ago which allowed access to YouTube, parents are aware and supportive and the world has not come to an end. Quoting; Lisa Stevens, the languages teacher who speaks regularly in the UK and Europe on creative use ICT, including Web 2.0, in school:

"We make them, (children), aware rather than blocking. I use YouTube a lot in lessons. I like the fact that it not blocked and I can be spontaneous, but I always check before I show it to the kids. I think it's a great resource. There's lots of cultural information, especially  songs, I can find for Spain. If you ask my children to name the planets they will burst into a Spanish song. There are times when they will go on to YouTube and find things, then, I have to say to them could we not go ever there, now is not the time and explain to them why. I know there is TeacherTube but to be honest there isn't as much good stuff there

We made an animation about the Carnival of the Animals and shared it on you.' and they were so excited  "Miss Miss we are on YouTube,"  Look at the hits that can't just be my Mum." I say "no its not - and they are on iTunes as well".  The kudos of being in a place  place where others than their peers can see them.  And, parents like to see what their children have been doing.

Access and Control with the number of mobile devices and Internet connected laptops growing,  and students playing the bypassing filters game, it is probably only a matter of time before blocking may no longer be a realistic option. Indeed, a great deal of blocking seems to be a knee jerk reaction to behavioral issues rather than seriously concerned with pupils e-safety. YouTube itself does have a notification process, perhaps not ideal in everyone's eyes, but it is available. Probably of much greater concern might be the 'comments' left by those who use comments features to abuse others, (and their right to free speech). Teachers may find Comment Snob a very useful  addition when using YouTube with a class.

The inappropriate Content case is a Straw Man, it is unlikely anyone will disagree there is much low level rubbish, both from user generated, and professional sources, and some may say YouTube has a dark side, but that is easily counterbalanced by the growing number of good educational channels, including recently digitised treasures from the BFI.  It is the breadth and freshness of content, that generates YouTube's value for teachers, often addressing current issues such as this video analysis of a topical 'copyright' issue, (Satriani v Coldplay). In fact YouTube reflects our culture at all levels, and future social anthropologists will be far more likely to study YouTube than the professional produced, authoritative media preferred by Andrew Keen.

From the discussions it is clear, many teachers 'download' the video streams from YouTube to use in different ways and contexts. Even though everyone's doing it, (many possibly unaware), that it breaks YouTube's, (restrictive), terms and conditions. It is not my role here, or in my nature to suggest teachers stop downloading, but, is important to know, in order to make  informed decisions on using use YouTube materials. Considering the hundreds of tools available to download video, it would be naive to assume YouTube (Google) will be unaware of this, but since 2006 there seems to be no official response from YouTube, and from their point of view it may now be case of, 'let sleeping dogs lie'.

This leads naturally on to Licensing, along with many others, I maintain YouTube could do much more here, for example allowing users to add Creative Commons licences to the videos they upload, as is the case with Flickr and Blip.tv. I suspect that is because a large number of videos may have copyrighted materials embedded in them. Lawrence Lessig extrapolates on the issues, in depth, here. 

Finally the Technology. YouTube continues to improve its services, recent developments included: captions and video annotations, deep linking, wide screen format, a bigger player  and HD quality video. Add to this low cost easy to use mini video cameras, (now including HD) and visual quality is set to improve dramatically. There are a  now number of third party services allowing you to deep link  or edit  online with more likely to appear. There are also  tools that will transform the use of video in learning now emerging from the research labs.

The future
All this suggests that, (online), video including YouTube is here for the long run, and as technical standards, cost and ease of use will continue to improve there is a great untapped potential for learning. It is up to (educational) users of YouTube to make sure their voice is heard as YouTube evolves, rather than it be left to the media industry, repressive regimes or governments that should know better.

Scare tactics, or how (not) to treat your customers

image credit Sam Judson

With tactics not dissimilar to those used  by the Music Industry, it is not surprising one could get the impression that digital content providers work against the best interests of their potential customers or users. Using the medium of the BBC Education News pages this latest example could be seen as a deliberate attempt to scare schools about their use of digital images.

Whilst the 'advice' offered by Jean-Louise Green may be legally correct, she does not provide any constructive or positive suggestions as to how schools might review the way they use and access digital images; for example, there is no mention, of using  Creative Commons image search,  (currently with over 61 million images to choose from), or pointers to any of the excellent collections and other sources of digital images schools could draw upon.

Perhaps this is hardly surprising because, Jean-Louise also runs Picture Nation, an image library and brokering service, which sells images to schools at prices, that many  would consider, exorbitant, with restrictions on use and access. Is it a coincidence that this item appears at a time when schools have to seriously consider spending their elcs before the funding runs out in August?  Perhaps it is in the interests of content providers to try a create a climate of worry and uncertainty, and on the back this offer schools an easy, (and possibly expensive) option.

I believe, what could be more helpful to schools would be focussed CPD, workshops and communities of practice to help teachers and children use digital images and other digital assets legally and confidently . This is becoming an increasingly important element of digital literacy, and schools could benefit from exploring these issues in contexts that include, searching, tagging sharing and file formats, rather than a list of  rules. What they probably don't need is threats and warnings from Linda Macpherson, the lawyer quoted in the piece. Mmm... it is also interesting to note the close relationships between all the sources of input to the article.

"RIAA notice" image credit Wesley Fryer

Digital Trompe-l'œil

Ironically, because the Guardian 'Special' on Building Schools of The Future  was not available online, Ian Usher used Issuu to create this superb online document from pdfs. In doing so Ian has done what the Guardian failed to do; offer the information online in a form that is aesthetically pleasing,

Using a digital camera and taking no more than a few minutes to photograph the newspaper, and upload the images; Ian has created a very tactile experience.  I think  there is something very reassuring and satisfying about turning these creased pages.

So here we have it, a simple creative process that is crying out for children and teachers to use, and achieve some wonderful, (and as yet unforeseen), results.

Not forgetting of course that Ian's article firmly hits the nail on the head with regard to the issues of BSF (Building Schools for The Future) and LPs (Learning Platforms).

Catering; for whom?

image credit Larimdame

I read with interest, the other day, that some high profile companies, namely: McDonalds; FlyBe and Network Rail have been accredited to offer  'qualifications' that support A Levels or diplomas.  Whilst I think we can rest assured these companies have good training schemes for their employees, or new recruits; a training scheme is not the same as an opportunity to study. I would also like to know:

• Who are the main beneficiaries of the 'qualification'; the company, or the student's life chances.
• Will the skills on offer really be transferable? Either to a competing business or to other jobs. How many would want McDonalds 'written' on their certificates?
• Some of McDonalds other dubious educational ventures.
  
• Network Rail's poor track record.
• What was the process that approved these companies to become qualification awarding bodies?  Was there a tender or bidding process?  Was this debated/announced publicly, or a deal done behind closed doors?
  
• What about small enterprises and innovators, could they become part of this initiative?

No matter how you dress it up; when commercial companies are allowed to award qualifications; by default they will serve their own interests first, which is likely to be (and arguably rightly), making a profit. And lets not forget, even big companies are at the mercy of market forces.

Now if companies and organisations such as Google, Lucasfilms or the BBC, were involved would that change how we view such schemes? Or is it time to seriously consider removing the running of education from both government and business,  sure they can fund and advise, but lets have a body whose commitment is firmly based on learning and providing real educational opportunities for all, not serving political masters or specific  business interests.

All set for BETT

Gloucester Sq. tube from Bailey's hotel room this evening

Its that time of year again, the BETT show.  As a seasoned BETT veteran, (I think my first was in the mid 80's when it was still held at the Barbican), something tells me this one will prove to be a different experience, for myself.

Unlike the Scottish Learning Festival there will be no wifi  available (even though we are now the 21st century), the organisers prefer to maintain their cash cow by charging the exhibitors whacking fees for a wired connection, which unfortunately means no wifi for the rest of us. Realising this, I decided to get a Broadband 7.2 USB modem, and it is working a treat, so I will be able to blog, Flickr, etc. live from the show, and remain connected in all respects.

I will be with the University of Hull on stand S97, which  we are jointly sharing with  Mirandanet.  We are keen to talk to all who are interested in using digital assets and archives and Web 2.0 for learning. Please come and join Kevin and myself, we look forward to meeting friends old and new.

Having attended two previous events in Glasgow, I suspect Teachmeet08 on the Friday will be one of the highlights, and its great to see so many signed up; and still doing so.

Interactive Map of Education and the Future

I was excited by this interactive map from the KnowledgeWorks Foundation. Based on research data, it suggests the  forces and drivers of educational change and their possible impact. One can explore the map intuitively, or collaboratively, possibly in a CPD setting. The nodes on the map expand and offer opportunities for further study or to engage in online discussions, it is also intuitive and satisfying to use. (Source:  Information Aesthetics ).