Innovations in Education and Teaching International Vol. 43, No. 4, November 2006, pp. 397���408 ISSN 1470���3297 (print)/ISSN 1470���3300 (online)/06/040397���12 �� 2006 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/14703290600974008 Sink or swim: taking advantage of developments in video streaming Karen Fill * and Roger Ottewill University of Southampton, UK Taylor and Francis RIIE_A_197301.sgmLtd 10.1080/14703290600974008 Innovations in Education and Training International 1470-3297 (print)/1470-3300 (online) Original Article 2006 Taylor & Francis 43 4 000000November 2006 KarenFill K.E.Fill@soton.ac.uk Amongst the many recent developments in learning technology, video streaming appears to offer a considerable range of benefits for tutors and learners alike. For these to be fully realised, however, various conditions have to be met. Merely making streams available and directing students to them, does not necessarily result in quality, or indeed any, learning. Drawing on material from the literature and the World Wide Web, as well as recent project experience, this paper discusses the potential effectiveness of video streams as learning resources in higher education within the context of current and possible future technologies. Introduction Video in the twenty-first century is a well-established medium for communication, entertain- ment and learning. With respect to the latter, the British Universities Film and Video Coun- cil, which was established in 1948, still exists ���to promote the production, study and use of moving image media for higher education and research��� (British Universities Film and Video Council, 2001). The value of video, and moving images more generally, as a learning resource is well recognised. For example, in describing the goals of the Moving Image Collections portal, the developers��� overview states that: ���Moving images are unique in the use of multiple information streams (audio, visual and textual) to provide a compelling and immersive educational experience��� (Moving Image Collections, 2003, emphasis added). Arguably this applies, regardless of whether the video content is fictional (e.g. Pride and Prejudice , Universal Pictures, 2005), ���factional��� (e.g. Video Arts, 2006) or factual (e.g. Life on Earth , BBC, 1979). Developments in digital technologies, particularly streaming to desktop and portable computers, are adding a new dimension to video-enhanced learning, by enabling learners to dip into a video resource, as they would a book, in search of relevant information. * Corresponding author. Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK. Email: K.E.Fill@soton.ac.uk

398 K. Fill and R. Ottewill The objectives of this paper are to: ��� review the emergent literature on video streams and initiatives designed to stimulate video- streaming applications in higher education (HE) ��� explore the hypothesis that video streams are most effective as a learning resource when certain conditions are met ��� indicate what needs to be done if the contribution of video streaming to student learning is to be maximised ��� highlight technological developments that will impact on streaming in the future and consider their pedagogic implications. In pursuing these objectives, the authors draw upon their own experiences of developing and evaluating video streams for educational purposes, as well as material from paper based and electronic sources. Both pedagogic and technological aspects are considered, since either can serve to drive innovation in this area. What has been happening? In recent years, much of the impetus for the application of streaming technology in UK higher education has come from the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). The JISC website defines and describes video streaming in the following terms: Transmission of moving images over the Internet in compressed form as a continuous stream. A recip- ient equipped with suitable ���player��� software can decompress and view the images in real time���as distinct from the alternative of waiting while a video file is downloaded and viewed subsequently. (JISC, 2003) In order to promote the cause of video streaming, JISC funded two major projects ���Click and Go��� (August 2000 to July 2002) and ���Lifesign��� (August 2000 to March 2003). ���Click and Go��� was very much concerned with establishing the ���pedagogically sound��� use of video and produced a guide (Thornhill et al. , 2002) which can be ordered or downloaded from the project website (Clickandgovideo, 2003). The site also offers papers, case studies and an online virtual workshop, part three of which covers pedagogic issues. This neatly uses video streaming, under the control of the user, thus underlining some of the benefits. However, while viewing the site one becomes unavoidably aware of some of the pitfalls and drawbacks, both technical and pedagogic. These are explored more fully later in this paper. As its full title suggests, the principal aim of ���Lifesign: Networked Moving Images for the Life Sciences��� was to cultivate and evaluate video-streaming applications in disciplines such as biology and medicine. This involved both the streaming of existing videos and the peda- gogical evaluation of video streams in terms of their use by, and impact on, learners and tutors. Figure 1. Example of Lifesign video streams The project also explored appropriate ways of describing video streams and providing access points for users through the application of metadata theory. Findings, reports and case studies are still available on the Lifesign website (Lifesign, 2003). Overall, the project highlighted the need for creative collaboration between learning technologists, media producers, educational developers, librarians and, of critical importance, front-line teaching staff, if streaming is to be