Interest in the use of web-based video in education is significant and on the increase. The technological possibilities of using, producing, and publishing video are, after all, developing rapidly. It seems like everyone these days is downloading, watching, and sharing videos from video-sharing sites like YouTube, Google Video, MetaCafe, and a ton of other similar sites.

Practically every phone nowadays is equipped with a video camera. According to Cisco, in 2013 the amount of data on the internet will increase five times compared to 2008. Ninety percent of this data will be video. Cisco would say that of course, but even if the percentage is only sixty or seventy percent, the quantity is huge and difficult to grasp. At the same time I am convinced that video can further improve the quality of both learning and teaching. After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is a goldmine. Kennisnet provides information about how to use video in the classroom, a video platform, and web conferencing and videoconferencing facilities.

Together with Surfnet, Kennisnet developed the MediaMosa platform, which allows visitors to search for, play, and upload educational videos. Examples of collection providers that use this video platform include Teleblik and Leraar24. Teleblik provides 10,000 hours of video for primary and secondary schools. Leraar24 is an online platform aimed at teachers who want to professionalize their teaching.

Kennisnet has also offered the video platform to primary and secondary schools, but this has proven too difficult from a technical point of view so far in that it requires both the creation of a user interface and changes to the network. In addition, Kennisnet offers a web conferencing and videoconferencing platform. Teachers can use these facilities just to get to know the potential uses of videoconferencing or to teach or coach at a distance. We have had several successful projects using videoconferencing, including a Frisian language course that was taught at two schools at the same time using videoconferencing.

Even though these projects were successful, videoconferencing still requires a lot of organization, and the technology can still sometimes be a stumbling block. This means that video is used a lot in education by innovators and early adaptors but not in a structural way by the early and late majority. The solution may lie in the integration of technology, pedagogy, and content.

In 2005, Koehler and Mishra introduced the concept of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). In short, Koehler and Mishra say that teachers who want to integrate ICT into their teaching should have knowledge in three areas: technology, pedagogy, and content - Not as separate entities but as an integrated, fine-tuned package.

TPACK represents a new direction in understanding the complex interactions among content, pedagogy, and technology that can result in successful integration of multiple technologies in classroom practice. Technology will evolve and improve without a shadow of a doubt. If we can successfully integrate technology in the classroom, video will be a valuable asset to teaching.


Eveline will be showing Kennisnet's video-based services during the Media & Learning Conference in Brussels on Friday, 26 November.