CLEM Model – Literature around YouTube in learning

Following on from my previous post on the CLEM model….

   by  Sean MacEntee 

In response to the comment from David Jones on my post about what particular aspects of YouTube make it such a good learning resource, I have delved into some of the literature around this platform.

2. The Literature

Buzzetto-More’s article “An Examination of Undergraduate Student’s Perceptions and Predilections of the Use of YouTube in the Teaching and Learning Process” has helped me to better understand why YouTube was such a helpful learning tool for me in trying to learn a new Irish Tune (see further details on my learning challenge here).

YouTube is currently the most popular video sharing site, with 1 billion users on average per month (Buzzetto-More, 2014). In a recent comparison of existing video sharing platforms available online, which considered the ease of use and range of features available – YouTube was rated the best, with a perfect score (Buzzetto-More, 2014). It seems no wonder then that there have been a number of studies conducted recently into the benefits of YouTube as a pedagogical tool. In the article, Buzzetto-More provides an overview of these recent studies and the many virtues of this popular platform for learning, which include:
• Increasing depth of engagement in, and understanding of, subject matter.
• Stimulating “greater interactivity with content, increased engagement, more rigorous discourse, and enhanced knowledge transfer and memory building” (Buzzetto-More, 2014, p.20)
• Improving information recall by providing students with memory cues and clarifying understanding.
• Enhancing online courses by facilitating discussions, enhancing lectures, encouraging independent learning, and assisting in tutoring.
• Having a greater appeal to students due to the 15 minute limit on videos.
• Meeting the learning needs of the Digital Natives who are visual spatial learners.
• Ability to support learning for mature and international students by providing easy access to “alternative views and opinions on subjects, variety in delivery mechanisms, and the use of every day examples to illustrate points” (Buzzetto-More, 2014, p.21).
• Supporting conceptualisation through visualisation.
• Providing students with increased choices and control over the direction of learning i.e. supporting activity learning.

The article also looks specifically at undergraduate students’ perceptions of the value of YouTube as a learning tool, concluding that the “incorporation of YouTube enhances instruction and increases student interest” (Buzzetto-More, 2014, p.30). One reason being that students could access YouTube from a range of device, such as their mobile without requiring specific computer software. As a student of the NGL course, this one reason I feel I have been more engaged in this particular course, compared to others is because I have been able to access the Word Press app on my phone easily, at any time and from anywhere.
Another reason the undergraduate studies surveyed in the article, considered YouTube an engaging and valuable tool was because of the short length of the videos (maximum 15 minutes). As a student of NGL and as in my role as a learner this is something which has certainly appealed to me with my limited study time, due to having to balance study with full time work.

Reference
Buzzetto-More, N. A. (2014). An Examination of Undergraduate Student’s Perceptions and Predilections of the Use of YouTube in the Teaching and Learning Process. Interdisciplinary Journal Of E-Learning & Learning Objects, 1017-32.