Video-Supported Collaborative Learning: single page view

We seek to inspire teacher educators, student teachers, teachers at all educational levels and education organisation managers to try using videos to support learning and particularly collaborative learning.

Videos have been used in teaching and learning for decades. However, international studies have discovered that a lot of teachers still do not know how to use videos systematically in teaching and, in particular, in teaching that supports collaborative learning. Just showing a video is not enough to learn from it collaboratively.

Video-Supported Collaborative Learning (VSCL) offers possibilities for students and educators alike to develop their digital pedagogical competences, seen as crucial for navigating the increasingly knowledge-intensive and entrepreneurial working life and society.

This guide provides

•  a brief theoretical background of VSCL and

•  a description of the pedagogical model as well as

•  a business-higher education co-creation model developed in the Video-Supported Education Alliance (ViSuAL) project (2018-2020).

Both models are based on research done and experience with teachers using VSCL in 33 cases in five different European countries. The models developed in the project aim to support teachers in their pedagogical decisions and designing teaching practice by using videos and computer supported collaborative learning. We experienced that the partnership and co-creation and development together with education technology companies helps to capitalize on the latest video solutions and tools as well helping the companies in the development of useful environments for the school practice.

Our research, conducted over 3 years in 5 countries concerning 33 practical cases shows that video can be an excellent tool when combined with collaborative learning. Video bridges theory and practice, because the video is used by, for instance, teacher-students to record their teaching-practice on which students collaboratively reflected and built deeper understanding. The latter develops students’ reflection skills and supports the development of agency e.g. confidence to take ‘grounded’ decisions in their practice. The experiments also helped the teacher-educator to build confidence in decisions about how to use the VSCL in his practice. This Guide introduces some practical examples on how and why educators across Europe have applied pedagogical models in their teaching and learning activities.

Collaborative learning and knowledge building

• Beers, P. J., Boshuizen, H. P. A., Kirschner, P. A., & Gijselaers, W. H. (2005). Computer support for knowledge construction in collaborative learning environments. Computers in Human Behavior, 21(4), 623-643.
• De Jong, F. (2020). Knowledge In-(ter)-action: Responsive learning as knowledge building. Aeres Hogeschool Wageningen. https://doi.org/10.46884/2020.2 English - Dutch
• De Jong, F. (2015). Understanding the difference (het verschil doorgronden). Responsive education: A search for ‘a difference which makes a difference’ for transition, learning and education. Wageningen: Aeres University of Applied Sciences Wageningen. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.1.3470.0562
• Kirschner, P. A., Beers, P. J., Boshuizen, H. P. A., & Gijselaers, W. H. (2008). Coercing shared knowledge in collaborative learning environments. Computers in Human Behavior, 24(2), 403-420. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2007.01.028
• Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2014). Knowledge building and knowledge creation: Theory, pedagogy, and technology. In K. R. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (2nd ed., pp. 397-417). New York: Cambridge University Press.
• Scardamalia, M. (2002). Collective Cognitive Responsibility for the Advancement of Knowledge. In: B. Smith (ed.), Liberal Education in a Knowledge Society. Chicago: Open Court, pp. 67–98.

Agency

• Leijen, A., Pedaste, M., & Lepp, L. (2019). Teacher agency following the ecological model: how it is achieved and how it could be strengthened by different types of reflection, British Journal of Educational Studies, 10.1080/00071005.2019.1672855.
• Priestley, M., Biesta, G., Robinson, S. (2015). Teacher Agency: An Ecological Approach. Kindle Edition. /not freely available online/
• Biesta, G., Priestley, M. and Robinson, S. (2015). The Role of beliefs in teacher agency, Teachers and Teaching, 21 (6), 624–640.

Video pedagogy

• Berk, R. A. (2009). Multimedia teaching with video clips: TV, movies, YouTube, and mtvU in the college classroom. International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 5(1), pp. 1‒21.
• Blomberg, G., Renkl, A., Sherin, M. G., Borko, H. & Seidel, T. (2013). Five research-based heuristics for using video in pre-service teacher education. Journal for Educational Research Online, 5(1), pp. 90‒114.
• Brame, C.J. (2015). Effective educational videos. Retrieved 27 October 2018 from: https://wp0.vanderbilt.edu/cft/guides-sub-pages/effective-educational-videos/
• Brar, J. & van der Meij, H. (2017). Complex software training: Harnessing and optimizing video instruction. Computers in Human Behavior, 70, pp. 475‒485.
• Brouwer, N., Besselink, E. & Oosterheert, I. (2017). The power of video feedback with structured viewing guides. Teaching and Teacher Education, 66, pp. 60‒73.
• Cattaneo, A. & Boldrini, E. (2017). Learning from errors in dual vocational education: Video-enhanced instructional strategies. Journal of Workplace Learning, 29(5), pp. 357‒373.
• Cattaneo, A., Evi-Colombo, A., Ruberto, M., & Stanley, J. (2019). Video Pedagogy for Vocational Education. An overview of video-based teaching and learning. In. Turin: European Training Foundation.
• Cattaneo, A. A. P., van der Meij, H., Aprea, C., Sauli, F., & Zahn, C. (2019). A model for designing hypervideo-based instructional scenarios. Interactive Learning Environments, 27(4), 508-529.
• Gaudin, C. & Chaliès, S. (2015). Video viewing in teacher education and professional development: A literature review. Educational Research Review, 16, pp. 41‒67.
• Koumi, J. (2013). Pedagogic Design Guidelines for Multimedia Materials: A Call for Collaboration between Practitioners and Researchers. Journal of Visual Literacy, 32(2), pp. 85‒114.
• Schwartz, D. & Hartman, K. (2007). It’s not Television Anymore: Designing Digital Video for Learning and Assessment. In R. Goldman, R. Pea, B. Barron & S. Derry (Eds), Video research in the learning sciences, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 93‒100.
• Sherin, M. G. & van Es, E. A. (2008). Effects of Video Club Participation on Teachers’ Professional Vision. Journal of Teacher Education, 60(1), pp. 20‒37.
• Tripp, T. R. & Rich, P. J. (2012). The influence of video analysis on the process of teacher change. Teaching & Teacher Education, 28(5), pp. 728‒739.
• van Es, E. A., Tunney, J., Goldsmith, L. T. & Seago, N. (2014). A Framework for the Facilitation of Teachers’ Analysis of Video. Journal of Teacher Education, 65(4), pp. 340‒356.
• Zahn, C., Pea, R., Hesse, F. W. & Rosen, J. (2010). Comparing simple and advanced video tools as supports for complex collaborative design processes. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 19(3), pp. 403‒440.

Continuous Professional Development

• Cordingley, P. and Higgins, S. and Greany, T. and Buckler, N. and Coles-Jordan, D. and Crisp, B. and Saunders, L. and Coe, R. (2015) 'Developing great teaching : lessons from the international reviews into effective professional development.', Project Report. Teacher Development Trust, London.
• Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., Gardner, M. (2017) “Effective Teacher Professional Development”. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.
• H. Timperley, A. Wilson, H. Barrar & I. Fung (2007) “Teacher Professional Learning and Development: Best Evidence Synthesis”, Iteration Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education http://educationcounts.edcentre.govt.nz/goto/BES
• William, D. (2016) “ Leadership for Teacher Learning: Creating a Culture Where All Teachers Improve So That All Students Succeed”. Learning Sciences International
• Coldwell, M. and Greany, T. and Higgins, S. and Brown, C. and Maxwell, B. and Stiell, B. and Stoll, L. and Willis, B. and Burns, H. (2017) 'Evidence-informed teaching : an evaluation of progress in England. Project Report. Department for Education, London.
• Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership 2012, Australian Charter for the Professional Learning of Teachers and School Leaders, AITSL, Melbourne
• Harford, J. & MacRuairc, G. (2008) “Engaging Student Teachers in Meaningful Reflective Practice”, Teaching and Teacher Education
• Helen Chilton & Wendy McCracken (2017) “New technology, changing pedagogies? Exploring the concept of remote teaching placement supervision”, Higher Education Pedagogies

The Video-Supported Education Alliance (ViSuAL) was a consortium of six higher education institutions’ teacher education (HEIs-TE) organisations and six education technology (EdTech) companies that co-created an evidence-based pedagogical model for Video-Supported Collaborative Learning. The ViSuAL project started in January 2018 and ended December 2020. Its solution developed students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are important for navigating the increasingly turbulent, knowledge-intensive and entrepreneurial work-life, and society. The model bridges school and practice, which is important for vocational education and training (VET) and teacher-educators (TE). Furthermore, it encourages video content creation and sharing as a rising work-life competence. It is designed to be used and taught in teacher education so that student-teachers become familiar with Video-Supported Collaborative Learning as an educational tool.  Our solution combines evidence-based pedagogical use of video and computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) into Video-Supported Collaborative Learning. We argue that video can be an excellent tool when combined with collaborative learning. 

Working collaboratively, the information exchange and use of each other’s knowledge and expertise in this co-creating alliance modernizes teaching and learning of HEI and VET teacher education and thereafter HEI and VET education.  

The ViSuAL project produced the following main outputs:  

1. Evidence-based, practical, pedagogical model for utilising video-supported collaborative learning.  

2. Practical principles for a sustainable HEI-TE and EdTech co-creation partnership.  

3. Pedagogical design principles and workable pedagogy practices for EdTech companies to enhance use of their products in education.  

Therefore, this MESHGuide is just one product in a larger range of products and services provided by the ViSuAL project. As such, it works best in conjunction with other free to use resources available at your discretion. For academia, some of these products and services include scientific publications. For educational purposes, products and services include this MESHGuide, Teacher’s manual, a MOOC, the pedagogical model, the HEI/EdTech collaboration model and the design principles. We encourage policy makers and executives to use these materials for continuous professional development amongst other goals. For EdTech companies, we encourage the use of all these resources and specifically the HEI/EdTech collaboration model. 

The information and views set out in this document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. Neither the European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Video pedagogy refers to the different possible ways to exploit the use of video materials in teaching and learning (comprising the setting, the objectives, and all the other dimensions of a pedagogical scenario) in formal, non-formal and informal contexts [1]. In this sense, we can also speak about video-based instruction, which includes different instructional strategies, from the more teacher-centred and supportive[2] (e.g. when the video is used to instruct on specific content, like in demonstration-based training[3] or in video lectures) to the more student-centred and generative ones (e.g. when the video is the result of a learning-by-design[4] activities by a group of students), and ranging from the design and creation to the direct use(s) of the video materials.

When it comes to collaborative learning, the use of video emerging from the scientific literature includes four main modalities[5]: 1. Observation & collaborative analysis of video-recorded practices, 2. Collaborative video-supported authoring, 3. Collaboration based on video-based educational content, and 4. Video-supported synchronous collaboration.

Knowledge Building Principles and constructive related actions: A frame to support knowledge building in your classroom

Frank de Jong

Adapted from the work of Marlene Scardamalia and Carl Bereiter by Monica Resendes and adapted again by Frank de Jong.

Using Video Supported Collaborative Learning in the classroom in a knowledge building way (Scardamalia and Bereiter 2014) leads to deeper understanding and improved ideas (e.g. knowledge) of students and teachers.

Research from several sources has identified principles and activity phases (Scardamalia 2002; De Jong 2020) which guide teachers and students in such a discourse.

In Figure 1. De Jong identifies different activity phases and roles at each phase for students, teachers and the technology. In the first phase, video is used to introduce an authentic problem by, for example:

- videoblogs of students’ initial ideas as a first step in creating a video constructed during the whole knowledge building process to tell the story of the process and ending in a video product where students present their understanding, solution of a problem etc.

- students’ video recordings of them trying out ideas in their own practice or community environment.

- students’ video recordings of their dialogues helping them to reflect on their content-progressions or social interactions and role taking to learn the necessary communication skills.

Figure 1: Knowledge-building in^-(ter)-action model as a basis for developing guidelines for students, teachers, technology (De Jong, 2020b)

Twelve Knowledge building principles and constructive actions

To advance knowledge building in this collaborative process, twelve knowledge building principles are formulated by Scardamalia (2002) as well as  ‘good moves’ e.g. constructive dialogic actions that can contribute to attaining goals of such dialogue – to solve problems, resolve disagreements, generate innovations, new concepts and conceptual structures (Bereiter and Scardamalia 2016) and constructive actions (De Jong 2020a).

These principles and constructive actions are described below. They relate to the principles and ‘good moves’ you can hear about in the related video in this MESHGuide and the VSCL video MOOC. Steps for gradually transforming content centered teaching and learning into more knowledge building oriented learning are described by De Jong (2020b).

The twelve knowledge building principles and examples of their application in practice are listed below:

1. IMPROVABLE IDEAS

Ideas generated by students e.g. through discussion, are treated as improvable rather than simply accepted or rejected; work proceeds continuously to improve the explanatory power, coherence and utility of ideas —> The goal is not searching for a perfect answer or the final state but for the best explanation, solution, product, or understandings on which we can build.

The teacher or e-environment (for instance Knowledge Forum) role:

- to support revision in all aspects of the design of ideas —there is always a higher level to take ideas, there is always opportunity to rework and refine contributions.

Things you may hear that reflect this principle...

“Let’s design an experiment,” “How does it work, REALLY?”, “We used to think..., now we think...”

Constructive actions

• The teacher makes it clear to students that all ideas are good and improvable. Students don’t have to think in terms of a complete, fully developed product before expressing their ideas.
• The teacher creates a socially safe environment in which ‘open minds’ can flourish.
• Collaborating on the development of an idea, vision, theory, solution, etc. that can be applied to, but also goes beyond, the intended problem area.

2. EPISTEMIC AGENCY

Learners are given agency to set goals, engage in long-range planning, monitor progress, evaluate idea coherence, support sustained knowledge advancement —> Learners are empowered to take charge at the highest levels.

Teacher or e-environment (for instance Knowledge Forum) role:

• to use scaffolds to help support high level knowledge work embedded in notes or conversations to help learners take charge in building knowledge (scaffolds include providing language to use: for students “My theory”, “I need to understand”, “Putting our knowledge together”, “We need an experiment to,” etc.).
• to provide support for viewing ideas in different contexts and assessment tools to help learners evaluate their own work.

Things you may hear that reflect this principle...

“I need to understand…;” “I think we should take this in a different direction altogether,” “So how does this address our problem?” “What’s our goal here?” “Let’s plan the next stage of our work now, so we can stay on course,”

Constructive actions

• Students write down, without constraints, whatever comes to mind.
• The teacher gives the students tools to effectively analyse authentic topics, to determine what the problem is and to define why an idea may be promising.
• Meta-dialogue, reflecting on the discourse, evaluating its progress, recognising and complimenting individual contributions and group performance. Solving problems if the discourse is going astray in terms of content or socially.

3. COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE, COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY

All students are legitimate contributors to community goals and take responsibility for advancing the community’s knowledge, not just their individual learning —> The community identifies shared progress and needed advances.

Teacher or e-environment role:

- to support use of an open, collaborative workspace which holds ideas that are contributed by community members. Community membership is defined in terms of reading and building-on the notes of others, ensuring that contributions are informative and helpful for the community.

Things you may hear that reflect this principle...

“Let’s create a You Tube video—the story of our knowledge advances,” “Our ideas don’t fit together,” “We’re all saying the same thing,” “How would you describe our current state of understanding?” “We need to organize this Knowledge Forum* view.”

*We suggest you explore the knowledge building and Knowledge Forum at the Institute for Knowledge Innovation and Technology.

Constructive actions

• Students conducting ‘small-group dialogues’ about each other's ideas to find out whether there is a common interest in working together as a group.
• Students putting forward useful ideas for the group or group members. Assuming shared responsibility for the group’s knowledge development (shared metacognition).
• The teacher creates virtual and physical spaces where groups can form and subsequently work.
• Finding and supporting common interests.
• Collaborating by reading, appreciating, building on, bringing together and rising above each other's contributions, with a focus on the group’s shared collective goals.

4. DEMOCRATIZING KNOWLEDGE

All students are empowered as legitimate contributors to the shared goals; all take pride in the knowledge advances of the community. Diversity and divisional differences are viewed as strengths rather than as leading to separation along knowledge have/have-not lines —> Everyone’s ideas are needed and encouraged.

Teacher or e-environment role:

- to ensure all students have access to and contribute to a community space; analytic tools allow students to assess evenness of contributions and other signs of the extent to which all members are engaging and making contributions towards the group’s shared goals.

Things you may hear that reflect this principle...

“What can we do to get everyone involved?” “We seem to have lost the interest of

several people,” “Interesting idea—how can we help?”

Constructive actions

• Sharing everyone’s ‘acquired’ insights and finding a content-based socio-cognitive match, whereby groups are formed through a sense of connection in relation to content.
• Conducting ‘small-group dialogues’ to find the most promising idea (question, curiosity, solution, etc.) to develop further together.
• Reflecting on the discourse, evaluating progress, recognizing individual contributions and group performance, and complimenting one another. Solving problems if the discourse goes astray in terms of content or socially.

5. IDEA DIVERSITY

Knowledge advancement depends on diversity of ideas, just as the success of an ecosystem depends on biodiversity. To understand an idea is to understand the ideas that surround it, including those that stand in contrast to it —> A wealth of ideas and out-of-the-box thinking.

Teacher or e-environment support tools:

Bulletin boards, discussion forums, and so forth, provide opportunities for diversity of ideas but they only weakly support interaction of ideas. Look for good Forums or dialogue e-environments (like Knowledge Forum), that facilitate linking ideas and bringing different combinations of ideas together in different contributions and perspectives to promote interaction that makes productive use of diversity.

Things you may hear that reflect this principle...

“I never realized there were so many ways to view this!” “That’s a new idea,” “I never

thought of it that way,” “Let’s try a different approach”

Constructive actions

• Students exchanging ideas and curiosities, face-to-face or by reading contributions from others.
• Instead of discussing you can empathize and take the perspective of the other, and look what your idea contributes the other perspective and both to the collective understanding.

6. KNOWLEDGE BUILDING DISCOURSE

Discursive practices are not simply for sharing ideas and opinions, but for transforming and advancing knowledge; problems are progressively identified and addressed, and problems deepened; new conceptualizations are built using contrasting ideas and analogies —> Ever-deepening questions, clearer explanations, better examples.

Teacher or e-environment roles:

- to provide support with rich multimedia and intertextual notes and views that support emergent rather than predetermined goals and workspaces. Revision, reference, and annotation further encourage students to identify shared problems and gaps in understanding and to advance understanding beyond the level of the most knowledgeable individual.

Things you may hear that reflect this principle...

“How does this work, REALLY? This doesn't explain how...” “We’re just grouping ideas

together—what’s the big idea?” “That’s just a topic, what’s the issue?”

Constructive actions

• Students are reading information, not to confirm one’s own ideas, but to look for what helps to answer a collective question, testing (promising) collective ideas (theory), curiosity or solving a problem.
• Students integrate knowledge by establishing relationships and connections, bringing together and rising above the group’s knowledge, reasoning and arguing as to why certain ideas and solutions are better than earlier ones – the latter also in relation to sustainability for people, nature and society. How do the ideas contribute (or not), and why, to the ‘good’ in practice – that is, society?
• Teachers and students are analyzing and defining the problem; clarifying the essence of the challenge, why it is important and why the idea has not emerged earlier.

7. REAL IDEAS, AUTHENTIC PROBLEMS

Identify problems that arise from efforts to improve practice and understand the world; pursue sustained, creative work surrounding ideas that matter —> The essence, as I see it.

Teacher or e-environment role:

- to create a culture for creative work with ideas. Notes and views serve as direct reflections of the core work of the organization and of the ideas of its creators.

Things you may hear that reflect this principle...

“The real issue, I believe...” “What I’d REALLY like to know...” “Authentic from my point of view would be.”

Constructive actions

• The teacher has a good connection with what is happening in current/future practice; they select relevant literature and establish the link with compulsory curriculum content. Interdisciplinary collaboration is an option here.     

• Teachers connect to students’ own practices and environment (Umwelt), so that they work on real ideas, authentic problems, issues or challenges in their environment or community, based on the ‘promising’ collective idea and goal.

8. RISE-ABOVE

Work with diverse ideas in complex problem spaces; transcend trivialities and over-simplifications and work toward more inclusive principles and higher level formulations of problems —> There’s got to be a better way!

Teacher or e-environment role:

- to support in-expert knowledge building teams, as in Knowledge Forum, conditions to which people adapt, change as a result of the successes of other people in the environment.

- to adapt to a progressive set of conditions that keep raising the bar.

- to support constructive discourse, stimulate and help students with ‘Rising-Above’ and progressive perspectives supporting unlimited embedding of ideas in increasingly advanced structures and support emergent rather than fixed goals. When students reflect on the preceding discourse from time to time by brining ‘their knowledge together’ and ‘rising-above’ they work toward more inclusive principles and higher-level formulations of problems. ‘Rising above’ means learning to work with diversity, complexity and messiness, and out of that achieving new syntheses. By moving to higher planes of understanding students transcend trivialities and oversimplifications and move beyond current best practices.

Things you may hear that reflect this principle...

“Let’s take this to a new level.” “I bet we are missing something important here,” “How

do we get beyond our current thinking?” “It can’t be that simple.” “We just keep going

back and forth—this or that.”

Constructive actions

• Students evaluate ‘promising ideas’ by considering which one has more potential for a solution; developing an understanding of the subject, understanding it, theory development and how the idea relates to alternatives.
• Reading and building on the contributions of others by asking questions, providing new information, bringing information together and ‘rising above’.
• Working towards more inclusive principles and higher-level (more abstract) problems. Rising above (over)simplifications and trivialities and thinking beyond the current ‘best’ or ‘good’ (practical) case studies.
• Teachers help students to rise above the information that they have gathered. Explaining the difference between summarizing, integrating and establishing relationships, and how searching for patterns can help.

9. CONSTRUCTIVE USE OF AUTHORITATIVE SOURCES

Find and critically evaluate source material; assess writer credentials; use source material to refine ideas, not as ultimate authority; show respect for expertise, but also freedom to question authoritative accounts —> “What do experts say?” “What makes you think this person is an expert?”

Teacher or e-environment role:

• encourage students to use authoritative sources, along with other information sources, as data for their own knowledge building and idea improving processes.
• students are encouraged to contribute new information to central resources, to reference and build-on authoritative sources; bibliographies are generated automatically from referenced resources.

Things you may hear that reflect this principle...

“How would someone with more knowledge handle this?” “There seems to be agreement among experts that...”; “How does this expert’s idea fit with ours?” “Here’s what someone who knows a lot says.” “I found an explanation but I need help to understand the relevance to our work.”

Constructive actions

• Students discussing the literature together, in-depth exploration of terms that the group uses to find out what each individual and the group as a whole understands by the term.
• Teacher and students analyze the core concepts, concept map, (individual) word clouds and word clouds based on the relevant literature.
• Teachers provide adequate and authoritative literature or help students to develop effective searching skills.
• Teachers support design thinking: brainstorming, bringing information together, creating, testing, evaluating, rising above and properly substantiating ideas.

10. PERVASIVE KNOWLEDGE BUILDING

Knowledge building is not confined to particular occasions or subjects but pervades mental life—in and out of school and across contexts —> Everywhere an opportunity.

Teacher or e-environment role:

• encourage knowledge building as the central and guiding force of the community's mission, not as an add-on.
• contributions to collective resources reflect all aspects of knowledge work.

Things you may hear that reflect this principle...

“In a movie I saw there was this cool demonstration—it worked like this,”, “I wrote a note—I’ll put it in our group space tomorrow.” “I took a picture so I’ll remember,” “I thought of this while I was walking in the park,” “Let’s enter data from this recorder.”

Constructive actions

• Looking beyond one’s own practice or problem by studying similar problems and solutions and bringing them to the dialogue; crossing boundaries by connecting ideas from other groups, practices and problems.
• Teachers promote in-depth dialogues by inviting experts to give guest lectures, from both a theoretical and practical perspective; contributing one’s own expertise, organizing face-to-face-meetings to discuss the literature.
• Teachers create situations that promote cross-boundary encounters between practices and groups.
• Reflecting with expert on group’s conceptual ideas.
• Teachers help to point out important ‘sources’, viewpoints, theories that have been overlooked.

11. SYMMETRIC KNOWLEDGE ADVANCE

Expertise is distributed within and between communities and team members; “to give knowledge is to get knowledge” —> The growing edge of knowledge / inner-outer community dynamics.

Teacher or e-environment role:

• to encourage students to use authoritative sources, along with other information sources, as data for their own knowledge building and idea improving processes.
• to encourage students to contribute new information to central resources, to reference and build-on authoritative sources; bibliographies are generated automatically from referenced resources.

Things you may hear that reflect this principle...

“Scientists cannot explain...,” “I found a report of a breakthrough...” “What’s special about our approach?” “Another team discovered...” “What would those who disagree say?” “I’m going to put this idea out there so others can help advance it.”

Constructive actions

• Including direct practice in the discourse from the outset, giving a voice; entering into co-creation with fellow students, colleagues, people from your living environment about the insights and how they think these can contribute to their practice.
• Creating situations that promote cross-boundary encounters between practices and groups.
• Encouraging students to think beyond the current problem situation, more future-focused as well as environmentally sound or understanding the impact, longer-term consequences for the well-being and prosperity of nature, people, animals, plants, the organization and society.

12. EMBEDDED, CONCURRENT, AND TRANSFORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Assessment is integral to Knowledge Building and helps to advance knowledge through identifying advances, problems, and gaps as work proceeds —> Self and group assessment, feedback that enables advances.

Teacher or e-environment role:

• provide standards and benchmarks as objects of discourse, to be annotated, built on, and risen above.
• support increases in literacy, twenty-first-century skills advance in parallel as work to advance knowledge proceeds.

Things you may hear that reflect this principle...

“Let’s look at our data and see how we’re doing,” “We seem to be stuck. Let’s see how much progress we’ve made,” “Good we caught this mistake early,” “Our best insight so far,” “The idea that really needs work,” “We haven’t advanced our ideas beyond”

Constructive actions

• Reflecting on the discourse, evaluating its progress, recognizing individual contributions and collective accomplishments, troubleshooting when the discourse is perceived as not going right socially or conceptually.
• Subgroup’s word clouds or concept maps and those of experts or topic models based on the literature to reflect content and stimulate dialogue.
• Word-growth tracking to analyze the increase in the use of keywords related to core curriculum concepts.
• Presenting the assignment; sharing insights in presentations, assessments, videoblogs, on social media, in their own practice, Umwelt. Writing papers, creating visualizations, preparing appearances.
• Providing a platform for the dissemination of insights; co-publications; co-creation sessions with practitioners, etc.

Further reading:

Bereiter, Carl, and Marlene Scardamalia. 2016. “‘Good Moves’ in Knowledge-Creating Dialogue.” Qwerty - Open and Interdisciplinary Journal of Technology, Culture and Education 11 (2): 12–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764202045008013.

Jong, F., de. 2020a. Knowledge In-Ter-Action. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Aeres Applied University Wageningen/Open University, The Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.46884/2020.2.

Jong, F., de. 2020b. “E-Didactick for Collaborative Learning & Knowledge Building.” LinkedInn, March 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/e-didacticpedagogy-important-use-technolo.... This MESHguide.

Scardamalia, M. 2002. “Collective Cognitive Responsibility for the Advancement of Knowledge.” In Liberal Edcuation in a Knowledge Society, edited by B Smith, 67–98. Chicago: Open Court. http://ikit.org/fulltext/inpressCollectiveCog.pdf.

Scardamalia, M, and C Bereiter. 2014. “Knowledge Building and Knowledge Creation: Theory, Pedagogy, and Technology.” In The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences, edited by R K Sawyer, 397–417. New York: Cambridge University Press.

In the context of professional learning, teacher agency is the capacity of teachers to act purposefully and constructively to direct their professional growth and contribute to the growth of their colleagues.

The agency model describes how agency is achieved - it helps to think systematically of the factors that influence you when considering alternatives and making decisions, including professional decisions about Video-Supported Collaborative Learning (VSCL) topics. Agency embodies both personal and professional values, beliefs and knowledge (i.e. the main components of competence).

Considering alternatives while making professional decisions is influenced by:

1. your personal and professional background from the past - the professional competence of teachers (reflecting teachers' educational background as well as work experience).
2. your professional  purposes - the short- and long-term future goals, aspirations and values.
3. conditions arising from the working environment - Cultural aspects characterize the ways how and what is talked and thought about, what values are considered important, what are the prevailing beliefs and aspirations. Structural aspects are related to organizational matters and social structures. Material aspects relate to existing or missing resources and the overall physical environment in which and through which agency is achieved.

In other words, decision making is influenced by professional competence (your past), professional purpose (your goals) and cultural, structural and material conditions in the workplace. Therefore, when choosing between different alternatives in the future, it helps to think through the three dimensions of the agency model before making decisions. Analysing your past, your future and work environment will give a better vision when choosing between alternatives to make decisions to use Video-Supported Collaborative Learning in teaching and/or learning.

Agency in VSCL

Video bridges theory and practice, which develops students’ reflection skills and supports the development of agency. Video-supported learning has also been used as a strategy to promote the development of teacher agency. Additionally, in the pedagogical model for VSCL agency is depicted as the base for the three pillars. Agency applies to both teachers and learners and is a kind of pre-condition for the engagement of the actors in the VSCL system and for learning.

Model of the formation of agency (based on Biesta et al., 2015; Priestley et al., 2015)

References:

Leijen, A., Pedaste, M., & Lepp, L. (2019). Teacher agency following the ecological model: how it is achieved and how it could be strengthened by different types of reflection, British Journal of Educational Studies, 10.1080/00071005.2019.1672855.

Priestley, M., Biesta, G., Robinson, S. (2015). Teacher Agency: An Ecological Approach. Kindle Edition.

/not freely available online/

Biesta, G., Priestley, M. and Robinson, S. (2015). The Role of beliefs in teacher agency, Teachers and Teaching, 21 (6), 624–640.

CPD, or Continuing Professional Development, refers to the ongoing learning activities that professionals engage in to maintain and enhance their knowledge and skills needed to deliver a professional service. CPD is important for ensuring that one continues to be competent and advance in their profession.

When it comes to teacher CPD, its importance is even greater because quality teaching is vital for improving student learning and there is a strong body of evidence that shows that high-quality CPD for teachers can have a significant effect on pupils’ learning outcomes [1].

Some studies point to the gains for students to be equal to more than two years’ progress in one year. These gains have been shown to be even greater for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, therefore having the potential to improve the life chances of all students [2].

Furthermore, teacher professional development could increase teachers’ confidence and self-efficacy, leading to better job satisfaction, sense of well-being and therefore the likelihood they remain in the profession [3]. That is an important consideration for tackling the teacher recruitment and retention issues experienced in many parts of the world.

High-quality CPD is based on the best available evidence about teaching and learning. Professional development is most effective when it is relevant, collaborative and focused on student outcomes, and when it supports teachers to reflect on, question, and continuously improve their practice [4].

Effective CPD uses lesson observation as a basis for discussion about its impact and is supported by coaching or mentoring. Video can play an important role in facilitating authentic and objective classroom experiences.

There is evidence that video technology used synchronously, and particularly asynchronously, can extend the quantity and quality of lesson observation. This is achieved by enabling teachers to rewind and review the recording as many times as necessary in order to study more easily the complexities of the classroom setting and develop their capacity for comparative and critical reflection on their own practice [5].

Video supports collaborative professional learning by overcoming the challenges of distance and time and co-creating a library of recorded practice for ongoing development, sharing and knowledge building.

[1]  Cordingley et al. (2015) and Darling-Hammond et al. (2017)

[2] Timperley et al. (2007) and William (2016)

[3] Coldwell et al. (2017)

[4] Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership 2012

[5] Harford & MacRuairc (2008) and Chilton & McCracken (2017)

A comprehensive literature review consisting of 120 studies was conducted in the ViSuAL project to discover existing pedagogical models to facilitate collaborative learning and teachers’ professional development with the help of videos. 

Based on the analyses, four main pedagogical models of video-supported collaborative learning and knowledge building to support learning and professional development were determined:

1. Observation & collaborative analysis of video-recorded practices

The model involves VSCL – activities entailing the collaborative observation and analysis of teachers, professional video-recorded practices (either their own or others’). This pedagogical model includes four subcategories: teachers’ video clips, video cases, video clubs and video traces, in accordance with the different findings as regards VSCL recording practices and use.

2. Collaborative video-supported authoring

Collaborative creation of videos is a central element of collaborative learning and authoring. This model is based on the conducting of “video projects” as a specific type of media project (Baake, 1999; Stack, 2009, Tetloff et al., 2014). In this paradigm, video is used as a means of design, by which students engage in the active production of videos as a motivating and authentic collaborative task (Zahn et al., 2005). The model is best used as a fundamental resource embedded within student-centered pedagogical perspectives – for example, project-based learning or inquiry-based  learning, where students become producers and collaborators (Berg, 2016) and also  authors and developers as members of online communities of e-practitioners based on virtual learning environments (Larsen, et al., 2008).

3. Collaboration based on video-based educational content

This model is rooted in collaborative learning activities carried out using educational video-based content. Here the video is explicitly designed and built in order to function as an instructional resource. In this sense, the content in the video is not necessarily related to professional practice but to other kind of content (e.g. physics phenomenon, a historical event…).

Video-based content is a resource for teaching and instructional purposes, video-based lessons, video courses, video modules and other online digital video resources involving a number of types of video formats, such as demonstrations, tutorials, screen casting, and video lectures, as well  as documentaries, chronicles, narratives, films, and other formats. Video content provides a good opportunity for the fostering of different kinds of collaborative learning processes and for promoting collaborative discussions.

4. Video-supported synchronous collaboration

The fourth model is based on collaborative learning practices found in online synchronous and interactive communication environments. This pedagogical model involves the exploitation of synchronous communication among teachers and learners,  using live video conferences (other labels were live streaming, videoconferencing and web conferencing).

Reference:

Ramos, J.L., Cattaneo, A.A.P., De Jong, P.P.C.M., & Espadeiro, R.C. (submitted, Aug 2021) Pedagogical  models for the facilitation of teacher professional development via video-supported collaborative learning. A review of the state of the art. Journal of Research on Technology in Education (under review).

As we can easily infer from its name, our Video-Supported Collaborative Learning (VSCL) pedagogical model is grounded on two main pillars: a collaborative pedagogy on one side and the use of video technology on the other. 

As per the former it can be realized through many different activities based on collaboration, like it is in the case of group interactions, negotiations and sharing of meanings (Beers, Boshuizen, Kirschner & Gijselaers 2005; Kirschner, Beers, Boshuizen & Gijselaers 2008; Stahl, Koschmann, & Suthers 2014, De Jong 2020). This happens in activities like consultations, discussions, conversations, dialogues, as well as in processes like providing feedback, reflecting, using authoritative sources, analysing practices and situations, and the like. Such a dynamic and dialectic exchange often takes the form of creative processes leading further than collaborative learning, to real knowledge building (Scardamalia & Bereiter 2014). A provisional, incomplete list of illustrative activities of this first pillar appear in the yellow circle on the left of Figure 1. 

As per the latter, the use of video technologies interacts with the above-mentioned pedagogy in providing tools that support collaborative processes. In this sense, illustrative activities appearing in the blue circle on the right of Figure 1. refer to the possibility of viewing, capturing (recording), editing, enriching, and annotating videos; these are all activities related to a video pedagogy (Cattaneo et al. 2019; Evi-Colombo et al. 2020; Ramos et al. 2020).  

What we are proposing here is a pedagogical model. Therefore, it is important to make explicit that the interaction and intersection between the two pillars from which we started is aimed at fostering learning and professional development. For this reason, a third pillar appears from the combination of the previous two, giving immediate relevance to the intentional learning objectives which any VSCL activity is functional to (see intersection in Figure 1.). We set learning objectives at the beginning, we design and plan an effective use of our video solutions and our collaborative pedagogies, and finally we aim at specific learning outcomes that can be measured (side view in Figure 1. on the right). 

Click here for more detailed view

Figure 1. The main pillars (Collaborative learning activities; Learning objectives; Video-based technology use; Agency) of the pedagogical model (top view above, front view at bottom, side view on the right). 

Finally, in Figure 1. one can also realize that there is a further base on which our pillars are based, i.e. professional agency. This applies both to teachers and learners and has to be meant as a sort of pre-condition for the engagement of the actors in the VSCL system and for learning, agency. Agency implicitly concerns both personal and professional values, beliefs, and resources (knowledge, skills, and attitudes, i.e. the main components of competence), as well as the actor’s engagement and final behaviour enacted in a situated activity (Leijen, Pedaste & Lepp 2019). 

So, basically, this constitutes the foundations – and at the same time the support – of our model, this being the first layer that gives the impulse to in-form (to give form) to the model itself. The model represents the instructional choices on which a VSCL pedagogical scenario is based and is constituted by two axes. The x axis represents time. The y axis represents a set of possible VSCL learning activities, as previously mentioned. Just to mention a few, these include for example creating, designing, analysing videos (through reflections, comments, discourses, use of authoritative sources, dialogues etc.) in different learners’ group compositions (couples, small groups, circles, whole class), including or not tutors and coaches (see Figure 2. y axis). Such activities can happen in presence or at distance, and in this latter case synchronously or asynchronously. Moreover, we can distinguish if the analysis and reflection activities happen within the video (e.g. via writing, e.g. through a video annotation tool) or out of the video (e.g., via an oral discussion), and by whom (e.g., peers or teacher). As a result, the model can be used as a designing tool to visualize complex VSCL scenarios. 

For example, in Figure 2. we see the representation of a teacher education scenario. It starts from the individual video capturing of a professional situation (a lecture) happening in presence individually. The next step is an asynchronous activity where peers give feedback on the video-recording putting their comments directly in the video. After that, again at distance but synchronously, a group session based on feedback follows, preluding to a next session in presence for dialoguing with the whole group. Something similar then is repeated again, but this time the conclusion comes to an assessment at distance. 

Figure 2. Illustrative example of a VSCL scenario. We used shape coding to represent synchronous vs asynchronous, in presence and at distance activities, and colour coding to represent different kinds of collaborative activities. 

Although the y axis also gives somehow a hint on the social implications of the scenario, what is still missing is a third dimension, explicitly referring to the nature of the collaboration (See Figure 3). This last can be further integrated in the design graph or not, but it is surely worth explicit consideration when designing the learning scenario. 

Figure 3. The third dimension of the model, concerning the nature of the collaboration in the VSCL scenario. 

References

Beers, P. J., Boshuizen, H. P. A., Kirschner, P. A., & Gijselaers, W. H. (2005). Computer support for knowledge construction in collaborative learning environments. Computers in Human Behavior, 21(4), 623-643.

Cattaneo, A., Evi-Colombo, A., Ruberto, M., & Stanley, J. (2019). Video Pedagogy for Vocational Education. An overview of video-based teaching and learning. In. Turin: European Training Foundation.

De Jong, F. (2020). Knowledge in-ter-action. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Aeres Applied University Wageningen/Open University The Netherlands.

Evi-Colombo, A., Cattaneo, A., & Bétrancourt, M. (2020). Technical and Pedagogical Affordances of Video Annotation: A Literature Review. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 29(3), 193-226.

Kirschner, P. A., Beers, P. J., Boshuizen, H. P. A., & Gijselaers, W. H. (2008). Coercing shared knowledge in collaborative learning environments. Computers in Human Behavior, 24(2), 403-420.

Leijen, Ä., Pedaste, M., & Lepp, L. (2019). Teacher agency following the ecological model: How it is achieved and how it could be strengthened by different types of reflection. British Journal of Educational Studies, 1-16.

Cattaneo, A., De Jong, F., Ramos, J., Laitinen-Väänänen, S., Pedaste, M., Evi-Colombo, A., Monginho, R. M., Bent, M., Velazquez Godinez, E., & Van Steenbergen, R. (submitted). Video-based Collaborative Learning: A Pedagogical Model and Instructional Design Tool emerging from an international multiple case study. European Journal of Teacher Educartion.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2014). Knowledge building and knowledge creation: Theory, pedagogy, and technology. In K. R. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (2nd ed., pp. 397-417). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Stahl, G., Koschmann, T., & Suthers, D. (2014). Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge Handbook of the Learning Sciences (2 ed., pp. 479-500). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Making cooperation-partnerships between teachers, school and the company delivering the educational technology is useful. On the one hand because IT-persons, teachers and students may need explanations and help by installing, using and building confidence in using the educational technology environment. The educational company needs the feedback about how their products are used in the teaching and learning practice and the experience of the users to improve their product which in turn leads to a better use in the teaching practice.  Based on such local partnerships experience in the ViSuAL project the lessons learned are captured in a business – (higher)education (BUS-HEI) cocreation partnership model. This model might be an interesting frame for teachers but also for their team leaders and mangers.

In the video-supported collaborative learning a joint pedagogical vision of teacher educators and education technology companies and the collaboration between them is enhancing innovation through knowledge exchange. Educational institutions need education technology companies that offer services and platforms for storage and edit videos produced by teachers or students. The purpose is to define the significant factors of university-industry collaboration in the context of video-supported collaborative learning (Parjanen, Hyypiä & Laitinen-Väänänen, (forthcoming)). Within the ViSuAL project, a model describing the Business (BUS) - Higher education (HEI) co-creation was collaboratively produced (Figure 1) 

The business - higher education (BUS-HEI) co-creation model 

Higher education institutions play a key role in generating the knowledge, innovation and human capital required to increase international competitiveness in a knowledge-based economy. To accomplish this task, universities require modern and fresh approaches towards research, innovation and knowledge transfer. One of the core strategies is the university-industry collaboration (Parjanen, Hyypiä & Laitinen-Väänänen, (forthcoming); Mora, Detmer & Vieira 2010). The constructed BUS-HEI model consists of three layers around the core target of the process: video-supported collaborative learning of the students. The layers describe different factors referring to the societal environment, the prerequisites, processes, and key-actors in facilitating the development of video-supported collaborative learning. 

(1) Knowledge building ecosystem  

The outermost layer refers to the understanding that the collaboration between partners builds each partner’s knowledge and the networks have similarities with the ecosystem way of working. Virolainen, Heikkinen, Laitinen-Väänänen & Rautapuro (forthcoming) consider the use of the learning ecosystem concept to describe the nature of contemporary cooperation between education and the world of work. In the model, the concept knowledge building ecosystem refers to a process where knowledge is considered to be co-constructed in collaboration between equal partners. 

(2) Goal setting, commitment, continuing dialogue, reflective assessment and trust building   

The second layer focuses on the pre-requirements relevant to the development of the video-supported learning. These factors are necessary for the BUS-HEI collaboration. Goal setting is necessary for directing the joint process. Commitment is something each partner individually is responsible for. Continuing dialogue and reflective assessment are processes done together with the partners to build trust and shared understanding. 

(3) Open innovation process, research-based service development, practice-based research 

Third layer consists of processes crucial in opening the possibility for both HEIs and companies to receive added value from the collaboration. In the open innovation process, organizations use ideas and knowledge of external actors in their innovation activities (Laursen & Salter 2006). The search for new product or service ideas and solutions to existing problems goes beyond the organization’s boundaries (Chesbrough 2003). In this model, the technology users (teachers and students) are active participants. User-driven innovation processes are often interpretative - the goal is to discover new meanings via interaction and continuous dialog among people and organizations with different perspectives and backgrounds. The process is on-going and open-ended. (Lester & Piore, 2004.) In this kind of process, the commitment of the participants is essential. Research-based service development and its measurable outcomes help assess the effects of the used technology and thus provide effective teaching and learning. The goal of the company is to gain such knowledge of their product or service, that can be polished to better serve current and potential users, and thus, make the collaboration profitable for them. The scientific objectives may not be in parallel with the company view. It is important to chart the common motives together at the beginning, to help them jointly build a process that benefits both sides.  

According to practice-based research approach organizational contexts should be studied by adopting a ‘pragmatic view’ able to explore the dimension of knowledge ‘localized, embedded and invested in practice’ (Carlile, 2002, 445). It is essential to explore how users of the technology solve their problems, how they construct their competence in practice. Practice is the dimension able to convey the process by which an actor’s know-how is built: the ‘trial and error’ process (Carlile, 2002, 446). Understanding the practices of teachers and students enables interpretation of the situated learning processes that take place in teaching and learning. 

(4) Teachers, Education technology companies and Higher education institutions are seen as key actors in the collaboration. Education technology companies need to be in contact both with the teachers or teacher educators and institutions. Teachers bring the ideas into the institutions and after that the formal contract between businesses and institutions are made. The collaboration itself takes place in many different ways and forms. However, the early mentioned prerequisites and processes need to be considered and applied to ensure the co-constructive nature of the collaboration. 

Digital and distance learning has taken a huge leap recently. Digital learning practices ask for platforms and tools to promote studying and interaction taking place during the learning process. HEIs in needing those tools will collaborate with companies providing such utilities. From the company perspective, in further developing their products and services, companies need users’ feedback and for that teachers and students are an important source. On the other hand, teachers need experience to make full use of the potential of digitalisation so that it is in line with HEI’s pedagogical approaches and practices. In order to achieve the goals of both, cooperation and close interaction together with research are needed (Parjanen, Hyypiä & Laitinen-Väänänen, (forthcoming)).  

(5) In the core of the model are the learners involved in video-supported collaborative pedagogy. The use of videos in education has an impact on different stakeholder groups like teachers, students, educational technology personnel and technology providers (Hyypiä, Parjanen & Melkas 2020). Collaborative learning is thus an activity that takes place both in education, in working life and in between those. It is important to make students’ perceptions explicit and take them into account when designing teaching processes. A multi-faceted, human-oriented vision and a very clear aim for using video-supported collaborative learning solutions in a higher education are essential (Hyypiä, Parjanen & Melkas 2018). 

 References

Carlile, P.R. (2002) A Pragmatic View of Knowledge and Boundaries: Boundary Objects in New Product Development. Organization Science 13(4), 442-55.

Chesbrough, H. (2003) Open Innovation. The New Imperative for Creating and Profiting from Technology. Harvard Business School Press, Boston.

Hyypiä, M., Parjanen, S. & Melkas, H. (2020). Human impact assessment of video use in education. EAPRIL 2019 Conference Proceedings, 27-29 November 2019, Tartu, Estonia, Issue 6 - April2020, Issn 2406-4653.

Hyypiä, M., Parjanen, S. & Melkas, H. (2018). Students’ perceptions of video utilization in higher education. Presented at EAPRIL2018 conference, 12-14 November 2018, Portorož, Slovenia.

LaitinenVäänänen, S., Parjanen, S., Hyypiä, M., Küüsvek A., Cattaneo, A., & De Jong, F. (submitted). Building Higher Education - Business partnership model for collaborative learning. Journal of Education and Work

Laursen, K. and Salter, A. (2006) Open for innovation: The role of openness in explaining innovation performance among U.K. manufacturing firms. Strategic Management Journal, 27, 131-150.

Lester, R. and Piore, M. (2004) Innovation the Missing Dimension. Harvard University Press, London.

Mora, J-G., Detmer, A. & Vieira, M-J. (2010) Good Practices in University-Enterprise Partnerships report.

Parjanen, S., Hyypiä, M. & Laitinen-Väänänen, S. (forthcoming). The university-industry collaboration in the video-supported collaborative learning. Submitted to the EAPRIL2020 conference.

Virolainen, M. H., Heikkinen H. L. T., Laitinen-Väänänen, S. & Rautopuro, J. (forthcoming). Ecosystems of learning and adult education: The transformation of learning organizations and their actor networks toward a landscape of ecosystems. In M. Malloch, L. Cairns, B. N. O’Connor & K. Evans. (Ed) 2020. Handbook of learning and work. SAGE.

There are several technologies and platforms for videos. Here are six tools to realize a good VSCL pedagogy.

In the ViSuAL Knowledge Alliance consortium six educational technology companies, each with its specific tool, were involved. In the experiments we built experience with these tools and the companies adapted and improved their tools on the basis of the experience. Each tool has a different functionality going from storage of videoblogs, video enabled professional development, video in combination with traditional schoolbooks, Hyper video, annotating and interaction to video story-telling.

Of course, you can easily find a lot more tools surfing on the Internet. However, here you get a nice impression of different functionalities and purposes of some of the tools we experimented with.

Flowboard Online Video Platform

Flowboard Online Video Platform provided by Flowbox is an interactive environment for producing, managing and sharing video content.

Each user can create their own unique video environment by creating channels and folders and sharing them or individual videos to anyone. Video content can be shared via direct links and embedded in other web sites and environments – like LMS, intranet or social media.

Video: Flowboard - Video for everyone

More information at Flowboard

IRIS Connect

IRIS Connect is a video-enabled professional learning platform. It gives teachers the opportunity to record classroom-based teaching and learning using the Discovery Kit or mobile app, or capture online teaching using the IRIS Connect App and integrated screen-capture tools.

All videos are securely transferred to the teacher’s personal, password protected account on the cloud-based platform. From there, teachers can reflect on teaching and learning, analyse practice, add time-stamped comments, edit their videos and – if they want to – share with colleagues for feedback.

IRIS Connect is a collaborative teacher development space enabling teachers to work together in groups, share their resources and participate in online courses. It has been shown to help teachers develop new skills, refine their instruction, improve collaboration and deliver improved learning outcomes.

Video: IRIS Connect Demonstration: Video-Based Professional Learning

More information at IRIS Connect

Bloco Grafico

The company Bloco Gráfico, S.A. is constituted as the graphic division of Grupo Porto Editora.

Developed by the Porto Editora Group, the Virtual School is a study platform geared towards students of the 21st century. Here students find thousands of tests, interactive lessons and other materials, from the 1st to the 12th year, to train and test their knowledge.

In an increasingly demanding world, the Virtual School helps students to develop essential reasoning, critical thinking, autonomy and creativity skills and to become competent, confident and successful citizens.

When accessing the platform, the student is challenged, in each new subject, to test their knowledge. The tests presented are always different and can be performed as many times as they wish. In the end, the student easily checks what they know and what they do not know. With this system, the student quickly understands what topics they have mastered and those they need to study more. To support students in their learning, the Virtual School offers classes with videos, tutorials, animations and exercises that allow them to understand all the material at their own pace.

 Escola Virtual

iVideo.education

iVideo.education explores the possibility of creating interactive videos using small pieces of footage, to promote learning.

Although audiovisual material offers considerable potential for integration in didactic activities, this is not often done. It is difficult to find the right material that truly satisfies the needs of teachers and trainers. There is a great deal of documentation, but it is pre-established and not very useful.

iVideo.education allows all teachers and trainers, with no particular computer skills, to customise and structure didactic material for their own teaching or training activity, using existing footage and and linking it to all sorts of different resources (text documents, images, audio files etc.). It also enables individual learners or groups of learners to insert notes directly onto the video.

Video: iVideo.education - Interactive, innovative, iVideo

More information at iVideo.education

EdVisto

Build a story, learn together. EdVisto is a video storytelling platform which provides a pedagogical tool for creating a video story from design phase to sharing it. EdVisto combines the most ancient teaching method of storytelling with modern video and social sharing technology for a powerful learning solution.

Students can create video stories individually or in groups. They can comment and discus the stories throughout the process - from the design phase to editing and published videos.

Video: Introduction to EdVisto: Learning through stories

More information at EdVisto

Nordic simulators

Nordic Simulators offer modern and innovative simulation training systems - such as Audio-Visual Simulation Recorders, Sound Systems and Virtual Reality Facilities - for more efficient learning.

Video: Nordic Simulators

More information at Nordic Simulators

The VSCL MOOC will take you through the pedagogical and technological perspectives on video-supported collaborative learning. It was developed as part of the ViSuAL project, which has been co-funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliance Programme.

This MOOC is a non-stop MOOC which means you can sign-up and start studying at any time. We estimate you should spend about 10-12 hours working on the course depending on your level of engagement. The MOOC has three modules.

It starts with an introduction which will guide you through the aims, structure and topics of the course.

Module 1 focuses on collaborative learning and knowledge building, agency and introduces pedagogical models for VSCL.

Module 2 takes you through the role of video in teaching and learning; the type of video technologies available and what considerations are important for deciding which tools and technologies to use for video-supported collaborative learning.

In Module 3 we provide you with some tools and examples on how to create a video-supported collaborative learning scenario for your own teaching.

This Teacher's Manual is based on the VSCL pedagogical model. Like the model, the manual is based on the experimental data and the practical experiences. The manual is an output of the VISuAL project. Other outputs are a MOOC (see preceding cell in this MESHGuide), this MESH guide, several scientific journal articles, a YouTube channel, LinkedIn and facebook page, and the project website.   

This Teacher’s Manual seeks to inspire teacher educators, teachers at all educational levels and education organisation managers to try using videos to support learning and particularly collaborative learning. It provides a brief theoretical background of video-supported collaborative learning and a description of the pedagogical model as well as a business-higher education co-creation model developed in the ViSuAL project. Our solution combines: evidence-based pedagogical use of videos and computer supported collaborative learning into Video-Supported Collaborative Learning, as well as co-operation and development together with education technology companies to capitalize on the latest video solutions and tools. 

We argue that video can be an excellent tool when combined with collaborative learning. Video bridges theory and practice, which develops students’ reflection skills and supports the development of agency. This Teacher’s Manual introduces some practical examples on how and why educators across Europe have applied the pedagogical model in their teaching and learning activities. The manual can be used at any educational level to start implementing the principles and ideas of video-supported collaborative learning.  

The goal of the experiment was to find out how video diaries suit reflection and learning from each other's experience in the first school practice of teacher training. Students had an aim to analyse learning and teaching activities during a one-week practice period. One group kept written diaries in Moodle and the other uploaded video diaries onto Flowbox Online Video Platform. Students were asked to comment on their fellow students’ diary posts to enable collaborative learning and group reflections. The experiment was conducted in the University of Tartu, Estonia with student teachers.

Have a look at teacher’s reflections on experiment on this vBlog.
Read more in the Teacher’s Manual, on page 23.

For more vblogs see: the ViSuAL website  and YouTube channel.

This experiment is related to teachers’ (1) professional competence development, (2) delivering feedback and (3) reflection on action via a collaborative video-annotation process on teaching professional practices. The experiment aimed to test the use of collaborative video-annotation as a means to support multiple feedbacks on teaching practice and to foster teachers’ reflective capacity.

Read more in the Teacher’s Manual, on page 35.

This experiment focused on exploring the suitability of video-recorded microteaching activity (VRMT) for professional teacher development at the School of Professional Teacher Education in JAMK University of Applied Sciences. Other studies on VRMT have found promising results, such as enhanced teaching competencies, developed teacher identity and increased self-confidence (Shin, Takashi & Masao, 2019; Dixon, Hall & Shawon, 2019). In our experiment, VRMT activity was used in order to enhance student teachers’ process of professional development as a facilitator of learning. 

Have a look at teacher’s reflections on experiment on this vBlog.
Read more in the Teacher’s Manual, on page 41.

This study was conducted in the authentic setting of a Nurse Education course. It focused on a collaborative Learning-by-Design (LBD) scenario with a digital video authoring and video annotation tool (iVideo.education), with the goal of enhancing participants’ knowledge on the procedure of inserting a urinary catheter.  

Read more in the Teacher’s Manual, on page 44.

This experiment was designed with the aim of supporting the development of students’ informational, digital and collaboration skills and help them to learn from, for and with each other. It took place in primary school in Évora (Portugal). Groups of students were created and each one was given a different topic to research and make a video report.

Read more in the Teacher’s Manual, on page 49.

This experiment took place at the School of Music in JAMK University of Applied Sciences (UAS) in a degree programme from which students graduate as musical instrument teachers. The students taking part in the experiment specialised as music teachers with an instrument called, kantele. Kantele is an old Finnish national 39 string instrument that is played and studied by only a small number of individuals nationwide. The experiment focused on exploring how video-observations could support collaborative learning in kantele music teacher training among the small number of students.  

Have a look at teacher’s reflections on experiment on this vBlog.
Read more in the Teacher’s Manual, on page 54.

This experiment took place at YZ-Generation Management Development Project (JAMK University of Applied Sciences, School of Business). The purpose of the experiment was to improve managerial behaviour utilizing reflections enhanced by video-recorded managerial contemplations and situations with YZ-generation. The role of videos was to awaken and support the process of becoming aware of consequences of their own behaviour when dealing with younger employees. Hence, videos were utilized as a starting point in discussions to enhance collaborative learning and to develop leadership skills and management practices at work. 

Have a look at teacher’s reflections on experiment on this vBlog.
Read more in the Teacher’s Manual, on page 59.

In this experiment students at the Aeres University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands) created a digital demonstration of their floral creation lessons. The videos were created by student teachers as teaching materials for VET students who studied floral education in their own college. Students worked in pairs planning and creating videos and giving  comments and feedback to others.

Have a look at teacher’s reflections on experiment on this vBlog.
Read more in the Teacher’s Manual, on page 63.

This experiment was conducted in the AERES University of Applied Sciences, The Netherlands, with student teachers. Student teachers recorded videos of their teaching and reflected together on the teacher roles by discussing and giving feedback on each other’s lesson recordings. The goal was to facilitate collaborative learning and connecting practice to theory on activating didactics and collaborative learning. 

Have a look at teacher’s reflections on experiment on this vBlog.
Read more in the Teacher’s Manual, on page 67.

This MESH guide presents a three-year Erasmus+ knowledge Alliance project with a multiple case study – some cases involving teacher students, some involving vocational students – on the implementation of a collaborative pedagogy based on video use, with the aim of deriving a possible instructional design model for teachers from the analysis of the different instantiations.

The model is based on evidence that using VSCL is effective for learning. Therefore, we used a mixed method approach of several methods of analysis, applying them to the dataset collected across cases. Experimenters (teachers leading the cases) and students have both been considered in the analysis. The results coming from the different qualitative and quantitative analysis are completely consistent with each other and show the effectiveness of VSCL to sustain learning and professional development.

See upcoming publications:

Bent.M., Velazquez-Godinez, E., & De Jong, F. (submitted). Becoming an expert teacher: assessing expertise growth in peer feedback video recordings by lexical analysis. European Journal of Teacher Educartion.

Cattaneo, A., De Jong, F., Ramos, J., Laitinen-Väänänen, S., Pedaste, M., Evi-Colombo, A., Monginho, R. M., Bent, M., Velazquez Godinez, E., & Van Steenbergen, R. (submitted). Video-based Collaborative Learning: A Pedagogical Model and Instructional Design Tool emerging from an international multiple case study. European Journal of Teacher Educartion.

The resulting artefacts of the project are:

-  a hands-on pedagogical model based on contemporary learning scientific insights, practical experience and internal case based evidence

- a teacher guide, 

- the VSCL-introductory MOOC and this MESHGuide.

Other products from this project are:

Ramos. J., Cattaneo, A., & De Jong, F. (2e submission after (minor revisons)). Pedagogical models for the facilitation of teacher professional development via video-supported collaborative learning. A review of the state of the art. Journal of Research on Technology in Education.

Bent.M., Velazquez-Godinez, E., & De Jong, F. (submitted). Becoming an expert teacher: assessing expertise growth in peer feedback video recordings by lexical analysis. European Journal of Teacher Educartion.

Cattaneo, A., De Jong, F., Ramos, J., Laitinen-Väänänen, S., Pedaste, M., Evi-Colombo, A., Monginho, R. M., Bent, M., Velazquez Godinez, E., & Van Steenbergen, R. (submitted). Video-based Collaborative Learning: A Pedagogical Model and Instructional Design Tool emerging from an international multiple case study. European Journal of Teacher Educartion.

LaitinenVäänänen, S., Parjanen, S., Hyypiä, M., Küüsvek A., Cattaneo, A., & De Jong, F. (submistted). Building Higher Education - Business partnership model for collaborative learning. Journal of Education and Work

For more information see the ViSuAL project website.

The ViSuAL Knowledge Alliance has developed research in The Netherlands, Finland, Estonia, and Switzerland.

• PhD-research is still running, and new PhD-research is started up for instance in Portugal, or submitted for instance in the Netherlands
• Advance semantic analytics (NLP topic modeling, lexical analysis, KBDeX) on video supported collaborative dialogue, students’ (peer)feedback is going on.
• Implementation and research on Video Supported Collaborative learning is continued by various partners

ViSuAL Knowledge Alliance community welcomes dialogue and collaboration and is actively forging partnerships with other researchers in this field, including those working in other cultures. Indeed, the group already has links with senior academics and practitioners in the field worldwide networks, for instance EAPRIL and Knowledge Building International  Visual particularly welcomes approaches from teachers and educators, students and education technology designers who might like to collaborate on the further development of video supported collaborative learning or send an email.

This MESH Guide has been developed by the ViSuAL Knowledge Alliance (ViSuAL-KA). The Alliance consisted of 6 European Higher Education Institutes and 6 Educational Technology Companies. The 12 partners in this project co-created 1) an evidence-based pedagogical model for Video-Supported Collaborative Learning and 2) a co-creating BUS-HEI-partnership model. Both outputs are described in this MESHGuide.

The ViSUAL-KA developed solution for using video in teaching practice to support students’ critical thinking, problem solving skills and design thinking (e.g. knowledge building competence. Those skills and competencies are important for navigating the increasingly turbulent, knowledge-intensive and entrepreneurial work-life. The Video Supported Collaborative Learning (VSCL) pedagogical model bridges the gap between school and practice. This is especially important for vocational education and training (VET) and teacher-educators (TE). However, also for regular education the connection between the issues in society and the learning in the school becomes more and more important, especially if we think about developing inclusive education and learning for sustainability.

The alliance is keen to establish a global community of practitioners (e.g. teachers, teacher-educators, Educational designers) students and researchers interested in encouraging video content creation, sharing and knowledge building as rising work-life competences.

So if you are interested in Video-Supported Collaborative Learning, you are welcome to visit our community at the website or become a member of one of our social media channels: LinkedIn; Facebook page or our public group; Blog; YouTube channel; or Twitter account.