I’m not sure about this whole videoblogging or videocasting trend. Podcasting was something that I got right away. Whether it was downloaded to my mp3 player or whether I listened to it on my computer, the best part was it meshed so well into my multitasking world. I could listen, keep working or walking, and it was another way to learn that mixed in nicely with my world.
Videoblogging is pretty new but now with the new ipod video, it’s going to get pretty popular I imagine. Alan Levine wrote about this back in June and has the same questions I have.
I see David Warlick is testing it out as part of his Connected Learning Podcasts. I subscribe and enjoy his podcasts but I must say, the episode about the Marching Band, lost me. Partly because I felt compelled to watch and wasn’t sure how much the video added to the message. Yes, it’s nice to see the kids in action but given the time it takes to produce one, is it worth the time? Even the one from the conference in Minnesota, tended to be more of a talking head style. It’s not a knock against David and I applaud him for being somewhat of a pioneer. I’m wondering if it’s the same as podcasting.
Probably not.
Podcasting is naturally mobile. That is its main advantage. It also allows for multi-tasking. I wonder if videocasting (not sure that’s what its officially called but I’ll go with that for now) will find a different identity. I think podcasting and blogging are distinctive and serve different purposes. Videocasting will likely do the same, I just don’t see what it is yet. Since it involves the most combinations of media that is, audio, text, still and moving images, it requires much more attention that a single communication mode. Don’t get me wrong, I love video and work hard to include it as part of instruction but since it’s so time consuming to produce quality, coherent video, (you’ll have to move down the page to see the video list) it doesn’t seem well suited to the easy publishing, suscribeable nature of weblogs and podcasts.
As always, I welcome comments from those who see things differently.
PS. One major frustration I was having was the inability to keep either quicktime or itunes on top of all windows. Is there a way to do this? I couldn’t find this in the settings. This made me feel compelled to focus on the video rather than continue with other tasks.
Dean,
I agree that video blogging is a different animal and I have commented in a similar vein here
It reminds me of the phone to videophone transition that never happened. By the way, it looks like you have plenty of snow now – it reminds me of my winters in Sudbury…
Interesting point about the video blogging. I agree that video blogging, although kinda cool, won’t go mainstream until the tools get better.
Podcasting has proliferated so fast primarily because of its ease of use. In order for any technology to take off and do well, it has to be easy to use as well as offer geater benefits than the traditional means.
There needs to be better tools that are easy to use that will allow the development of high quality video. These tools could be in the form of better software to better suit the video author’s needs. Voice over automation would help as well. The most important tool would be better portablility of video from the actual video camera to the computer. Once this bridge is gapped video blogging might well proliferate across the web like podcasting has across America.
P.S. As far as I know Quicktime doesn’t have an “Always on top” feature. Winamp has this feature, but not all video formats will play through Winamp. You may need to install the appropriate codecs on your computer to use certain video with Winamp.
Thanks,
Joe McLaughlin
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