Video in the age of participation - article

In the article “Video in the age of participation” by Glen Bull talks about the technological advances that have made digital video feasible in the classroom.
The Discovery Education Web site provides digital video resources in a format that provides connections to explicit curricular objectives. These resources are keyed to content area and grade level with links to state standards. The Discovery Education site provides a preview of some of the features we can expect to find in schools of the future. Discovery provides a variety of mechanisms to ensure that its video is available in a way that fits within a school framework. For example, it is possible for teachers to download video clips ahead of time so that they will be available even if the school network is limited or unreliable. The author argues that with combined efforts, the gap may be shrink between the explosion in use of video on the Internet at large and effective use in schools.

What does Discovery Education Web site provide? It provides resources and these resources primarily consist of copyrighted content from the Discovery Channel and similar sources. The site has approximately 4,000 video programs, but these programs have been separated into 40,000 shorter segments that facilitate integration into lessons. These shorter segments allow teachers to quickly locate the exact clips that fit their specific teaching objectives without wasting time cuing and re-cuing cassettes.

What about Web 2.0, what kind of educational resources provide? A new generation of Web 2.0 site provides online digital video editing, enabling teachers and students to create montages of video clips on the Web. MotionBox, JumpCut, and VideoEgg offer free sites that let people upload, store, and edit videos.