by Michiel van Oosterzee and Kiara Billiau, The Open University of the Netherlands.
The overarching concept of quality in the context of educational videos can be made more specific by utilising the framework proposed by the authors, which delineates five distinct dimensions of quality: audiovisual, content, speaker, cognitive and educational. As a filmmaker, teacher or educational advisor, this framework can be employed to assess the quality of a video in an educational setting.
What is meant by the term ‘quality’ when discussing educational videos? The authors have developed a framework of five dimensions of quality, with the aim of facilitating discussion on this topic and providing a tool for checking and improving the quality of videos in use or in development. The framework was presented at two workshops at the Media & Learning Conference 2024 in Leuven.
The quality of educational video
In the production and implementation of educational videos, ensuring quality is a complex issue. What constitutes a good video? Is a video of high quality when the image is well lit and in focus? Or when the audio is of a high quality? Or when the subject matter is effectively conveyed? To provide some clarity to this discussion, we propose a framework of five different dimensions of quality, which collectively address all the elements that contribute to the overall quality of a video. This framework should help to clarify the discussion and promote better mutual understanding between different experts involved in video production, such as teachers, filmmakers and educational advisers.
The framework – five dimensions
The framework identifies five distinct quality dimensions.
- The first dimension is the audio-visual quality, which addresses technical aspects such as focus, light, and sound, as well as more cinematographic aspects such as composition, timing, music, background, and set dressing. It also contains the choice of video formats, including talking head, PowerPoint with voice-over, interview, animation, and others.
- The second dimension is the quality of the content itself, which addresses the overall calibre of the material presented in the video. Does the content meet the relevant standards, is it accurate and well structured?
- The third dimension is the speaker quality, which addresses the question of whether the speaker is convincing. In this regard, factors such as voice and gesture are significant, but more crucially, whether the viewer perceives the speaker as knowledgeable, sympathetic, and authentic.
- The fourth dimension is the cognitive quality. This addresses the question of whether the video is constructed in such a way that it is optimised for learning, using the rules from the theory of multimedia learning.
- The fifth and final dimension is the didactical dimension, which addresses the integration of the video into a specific course or learning unit. Has the video been linked to relevant learning objectives? Have meaningful tasks and instructions been provided? Has the level of prior knowledge of the students who view the video been considered?
The following schema gives an overview of the five dimensions.
Figure 1: schematical overview of the five dimensions of quality for educational videos.
The framework – relative weight
In addition to identifying five dimensions of quality, the framework addresses the issue of the relative importance of each of these qualities. The most significant factor influencing the relative importance of these qualities appears to be the level of relevant knowledge and expertise of the viewer. In summary, as students gain experience, the importance of the X dimensions declines while the Y dimensions become more significant. This is a topic that warrants further investigation, but a general trend can be illustrated by the following three charts.
Figure 2: relative importance of the five dimensions of quality, depending on the level of expertise of the viewer.
Workshop
The authors have presented their framework in two workshops at the Media and Learning Conference 2024 in Leuven. Participants watched and discussed several examples of educational videos, exploring the usefulness of the framework.
Figure 3: presenting the workshop on the five dimensions of quality at the M&L conference 2024.
Conclusion
So, the framework is a great tool for teachers and filmmakers who want to make sure they’re on the same page when they’re talking about the quality of a specific video used in an educational context. You can also use it to evaluate the video by checking its separate quality dimensions. It’ll help you figure out why you or your students aren’t satisfied with the video.
Authors
Michiel van Oosterzee is an educational advisor at the Educational Expertise Centre (ECO) of the Open Universiteit in the Netherlands. He has considerable experience as a law teacher and trainer, utilising and discussing educational videos.
Kiara Billiau is an educational advisor at the Educational Expertise Centre (ECO) of the Open Universiteit in the Netherlands. She is Belgian and graduated in educational studies (faculty of Psychology and Pedagogics) at KU Leuven. The Open University has its own media compartment. Kiara focusses on the didactical part of the use of video in education and helps teachers to deploy video effectively and thoughtfully in the Learning Management System.
