Harnessing video as a medium for open and distance e-learning: Potentials, challenges and strategies

Luisa Gelisan
University of the Philippines Open University
Los Baños, the Philippines

Video has been shown to be a useful medium for imparting content; demonstrating the relationship between ideas and application; illustrating realities outside the student context; connecting learners and peers in different locations; and learner assessment. Despite the affordances provided by video, there are several barriers that prevent teachers from adopting it, both technological and behavioural. At the University of the Philippines Open University, video has been one of the media that course authors and teachers can use in designing and developing online courses. Faculty members either use university-produced videos or video materials available on the Internet. To maximize the use of video in online teaching and learning, there is a need to understand how teachers are currently using video for their courses and the issues they are grappling with in relation to its use. Using an online survey, this paper discusses the faculty members' perceptions of video as a medium for teaching and learning; the nature, level and purpose of its use for their courses; the teaching and learning opportunities they can see for video; the barriers they experience in using this medium; and their administrative, technical and instruction support requirements. The paper identifies issues in harnessing video to enhance learner experience and offers recommended approaches for addressing them.