“(I’m r)Ready! Let’s shoot that video now!”: Learning by recording videos in class

Abstract

In recent years, the production and reception of videos have increased in education, due to the widespread use of mobile phones, free editing programs and the popularity of social networks. This study explores how video is used in Spanish secondary schools, with a survey of teachers (1561 responses), in-depth interviews with 11 teachers, and a corpus of 201 videos of students. We analyzed the data with descriptive statistics (survey) and qualitative content analysis (interviews and videos). The results indicate that video visualization in the classroom is a common practice for almost all teachers, while only around half of the teachers engage in video production tasks. These tasks are typically organized 1-2 times per course and are rarely used to assess learning, indicating that writing remains the predominant assessment tool. The students’ videos are short (2-6'), made in collaboration between several students, linked to a specific subject and with different genres, but tend to have the verbalization of knowledge as a common thread. Overall, making videos is a profitable task to achieve curricular objectives, to increase student-centered learning and to develop three relevant transversal competencies such as cooperation, digital skills and creativity. These results also suggest guidelines for teachers and educational authorities to develop this new educational practice