- Context/background of project; Video is ubiquitous, two thirds of knowledge on the internet is now in video format and YouTube statistics (“Statistics”, 2015) reveal that, since March 2014, there has been a 40% increase in the number of people engaging with video - either producing it or viewing the content. Videographics (the use of visual images) and infographics (the visual representations of data) are areas of increasing importance. Forbes Insights (“Executives embrace non-text world”, 2010) highlight that executives and business people prefer using non-text formats for a wide range of goals. Visual thinking strategies, video storytelling and Vlogs (video diaries/blogs) for reflection are also on the rise. The National Commission on Writing (2006, p.15) says "Thinking on the screen" is as important as "thinking on paper" in the 21st century. This under researched area is rising in importance and competence in video and visual thinking is crucial for communication in education and business.In Higher Education(HE), the EU is lagging behind the rest of the world in modernisation and internationalisation, e.g. in the UK the bienniel UCISA Technology Enhanced Learning survey (2014) found that Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have made little impact on HE however, video recording of lectures is increasing. Video technologies are being increasingly used in online learning and particularly in MOOCs. MOOCs have great potential for opening up education and making it accessible to all irrespective of institutional boundaries, national borders, or educational context. The need for competences in video/visual thinking is increasing and especially useful for supporting dyslexic learners.- Objectives The ViLi project aims to improve the performance and efficiency of education and training by:- developing the competences of educators in video and visual thinking strategies, by delivering a MOOC that is open to all in e.g. vocational training, business and further education.- supporting the opening up of education by providing pedagogical materials and open educational resources (OERs) developed and evaluated through two MOOCs on video/visual thinking strategies.- Activities and MethodologyTo achieve these objectives the project will:- research current practice in the use of video/visual thinking strategies and to combine it with a review of literature to develop an innovative theory that encapsulates best practice and theory and draws from experience in multiple fields. Pedagogical materials will be developed based on this new theory with a mosaic of case studies that show how to improve knowledge representation or construction exploiting the potential of visual/video thinking strategies.- to promote the use of video and visual thinking strategies in online learning and MOOCs through the dissemination of OERs developed and evaluated through two MOOCs on video/visual thinking strategies.A design based research methodology will be used to develop and evaluate the OERs and pedagogical materials and informed grounded theory methodology will be used to generate the innovative theory of best practice in video/visual thinking. Social media will be used to inform stakeholders and recruit participants to the MOOC. The MOOC will enable testing and evaluation to lead to refinement of the resources, as well as the creation of a supportive learning community that co-creates a WIKI of case studies to showcase examples and encourage re-use of resources. - ImpactThere are two major intellectual outputs produced: pedagogical materials; and open educational resources (e.g. MOOC on video/visual literacies, WIKI, videos). The pedagogical materials and OERs can be freely reused by educators, vocational trainers and those working in human resources, wholly or in part. The supportive learning community and WIKI will help to ensure the sustainability of the resources produced. The potential impact on HE, vocational training and business is increased competences of educators in communication through video/visual literacies, and support for the development and use of MOOCs within Europe through open educational resources and the MOOC on visual literacies. Papers in academic and practitioner conferences and journals will open up further research and innovation on video/visual literacies and MOOCs in education. Long-term benefits are stimulating lifelong learning and business communication, enhancing competitiveness and modernisation of HE, promoting education for all. The project is led by Dr. Julie-Ann Sime, Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning, LANCASTER UNIVERSITY (UK), with: Dr. Ramón Reichert, DANUBE UNIVERSITY KREMS (Austria); Mr. Ioannis Arapoglou, WIDE Services (Greece), a MOODLE e-learning company; and Prof. Charlambos Vrasidas, CARDET, a leading research and training centre (Cyprus); with EUROPALSA association of vocational training centres (Greece).
Video is ubiquitous, two thirds of knowledge on the internet is now in video format and YouTube statistics (“Statistics”, 2015) reveal that, since March 2014, there has been a 40% increase in the number of people engaging with video - either producing it or viewing the content. Videographics (the use of visual images) and infographics (the visual representations of data) are areas of increasing importance. Forbes Insights (“Executives embrace non-text world”, 2010) highlight that executives and business people prefer using non-text formats for a wide range of goals. Visual thinking strategies, video storytelling and Vlogs (video diaries/blogs) for reflection are also on the rise. The National Commission on Writing (2006, p.15) says "Thinking on the screen" is as important as "thinking on paper" in the 21st century. This under researched area is rising in importance and competence in video and visual thinking is crucial for communication in education and business. In Higher Education (HE), video technologies are being increasingly used in online learning and particularly in MOOCs. MOOCs have great potential for opening up education and making it accessible to all irrespective of institutional boundaries, national borders, or educational context. The need for competences in video/visual thinking (or visual literacy) is increasing and especially useful for supporting dyslexic learners in an inclusive manner alongside other learners without special support. The objectives were to improve the performance and efficiency of education and training in a sustainable way by (a) developing the competences of educators in visual literacy in a technology-rich environment, by delivering a MOOC that is open to all in e.g. vocational training, business and further education, (b) supporting the Opening Up Education policy by providing pedagogical materials and open educational resources (OERs) developed and evaluated through two MOOCs on visual literacy. First, using Informed Grounded Theory (Thornberg 2012) methodology we developed an innovative theory of visual literacy in a technology-rich environment. Data was gathered from interviewing 21 experienced online educators from multiple disciplines (from Europe, USA, Mexico, Turkey, Malaysia) about their use of visual media and visual technologies in teaching practice). The participants were recruited through relevant social media sites, professional associations, associated organisations and partner organisations including the project website, FaceBook page, Twitter, and LinkedIn group. The data was analysed using Informed Grounded Theory and combined with a literature review to create a new theory of visual literacy in a digital age. Secondly, we developed pedagogical materials (OERs) with a mosaic of case studies that show how to exploit the potential of visual media aimed at educators in HE but open to all. Using a design-based research methodology we developed, delivered and evaluated two iterations of a MOOC (5 weeks beginning on 23 April and on 8 Oct 2018). E.g. 8 webinars were added to the 2nd MOOC as a result of feedback from the 1st MOOC with 1 webinar. Qualitative/quantitative data was gathered from 5 surveys on learning experience, 2 impact surveys and a focus group. The impact on people/organisations in HE, vocational training and business can been seen in the enhanced competences, motivation and knowledge of 745 MOOC participants (mainly from second language teaching and higher education). The MOOCs illustrate how to teach online using the pedagogy of Networked Learning which emphasises the social concept of community, and discussion, as a support for peer learning and exchange of practical experience. This resulted in high levels of participation between weeks 1 and 4 and high levels of social presence. The impact on practice can be seen in exchanges within the supportive learning community where participants shared a wide range of case studies, lessons learned from experience, useful technologies and theoretical frameworks that they found useful as reported in survey and focus group feedback. The pedagogical materials and OERs are still available and can be freely reused by educators, e.g. webinars, videos, infographics, WIKI, and presentations of case studies. The impact on policy is seen in stimulating lifelong learning and business communication, enhancing competitiveness of Europe and 2011 EU Modernisation of HE, and promoting 2013 Communication on Opening Up Education. Research papers encourage further research on visual literacies, educational technologies and online pedagogy. The project was led by Dr. Julie-Ann Sime, Centre for Technology-Enhanced Learning, LANCASTER UNIVERSITY (UK), with DANUBE UNIVERSITY KREMS (Austria); WIDE Services (Greece); and CARDET (Cyprus). The project team also collaborated with EUROPALSO (Greece), Louisiana Tech University (USA), LearnBrite (USA) and American College of Greece.