Week 6 Blog - A Framework for Designing Video

Schwartz, D., & Hartman, K. (2007, January). It is not television anymore: Designing digital video for learning and assessment. (R. Goldman, S. Derry, & B. Pea R. Barron, Eds.) To appear in Video and Research in the Learning Sciences. Retrieved from http://deschm.byethost4.com/EDU800/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/schwartz.pdf

Due to the lack of empirical evaluations regarding designing video for learning (except for mass media), the authors attempt to provide a framework for students as well as instructors who are novices to make more effective use of video for learning. This is without the high production costs but with the cost benefit of “designed” video with an end state in mind that allows for assessment and learning. They then demonstrate how this framework can be applied when designing video embedded in multimedia environment for the benefit of educational researchers and instructional designers alike, (Schwartz & Hartman, 2007).

The authors provide an infographic (Figure 1.) with concentric circles separated into quadrants with each ring representing: (1) Classes of outcomes, (2) Learning Targets, (3) Assessments, and the outer ring (4) Genres of video. The class of outcomes desired, indicates the learning targets, the learning targets lend themselves to specific types of assessments, and to reach these outcomes, targets, and assessments, specific types of video genres are suggested that would align best with these categories. The paper does not go into “How” to technically make videos but it offers great insight into design and the importance of videos for learning as part of a larger context and with a thought through design up front.

The ideas and examples, as well as the infographic, provide an excellent tool for instructional designers as well as educational researchers seeking a framework or categorization of strategies for video production. Instructional designers would do well to use this tool in the same way we use Bloom’s Taxonomy to guide our learning outcome difficulty and expectation levels. Because of its value, I have provided a copy of the illustration within this blog for reference.