Why e-books?

Simply stated, e-books have the potential to change the way our students read and consume text
because of their interactivity and convenience. Although traditional picture books might include words,
pictures, and graphics, e-books may also include multimodal features such as sounds, animations,
videos, and narrations. Certainly, these added features could distract from reading (which we discuss
later); however, the benefits for engaging readers and differentiating instruction are immense, even
though research has yet to fully explain why these phenomena may or may not exist. Although we
certainly espouse the benefits of having traditional home libraries, mobile devices enable readers to
easily maintain personal libraries while also allowing students and teachers to keep a vast array of texts
(including dictionaries and encyclopedias) on their devices that are diverse and readily accessible.

E-books and comprehension

A simplistic relationship between e-books and comprehension has not been identified. Research
that specifically examines that relationship is scarce (Pearman, 2008; Zucker, Moody, &
McKenna, 2009), and it fails to clearly identify e-books’ features as either supports or
impediments to comprehension. For example, Roskos, Brueck, and Widman (2009) reported that
studies clearly identify benefits of design features such as animated illustrations and embedded
vocabulary aids. However, Brueck cautioned that close analysis of e-book design is critical
because the availability of e-books that truly support literacy development is limited (Guernsey,
2011) and because children often read e-books with minimal adult involvement (Roskos &
Brueck, 2009).

Similarly, other researchers have recognized that e-books’ features can be alternatively
beneficial or problematic. Verhallen, Bus, and de Jong (2006) noted the potential of multimedia
features (e.g., video, sounds, and music) to support children's inference making about
characters’ actions, feelings, and states of mind. However, those authors also warned that the
multimedia richness that results from such features can actually tax children's working memory.
Consequently, they argue that children may benefit more from on-screen texts that include only
print and oral renderings “without sound, music, visual, or other special effects” (Bus, Verhallen,
& deJong, 2009, p. 155).

A similar lack of clarity emerges from the research concerning children's comprehension of story
content. Pearman (2008) reported stronger retellings among readers of e-books. In contrast,
deJong and Bus (2003) found that electronic texts did not efficiently support internalization of
story content and that children spent 43% of their e-book engagement time playing games
rather than reading the text. The authors concluded that the attractive digital options diminished
children's attention to the text rather than providing meaningful interactions.

 video lesson or lecture is a video which presents educational material for a topic which is to be

learned.
The format may vary. It might be a video of a teacher speaking to the camera, photographs and text
about the topic or some mixture of these. The Khan Academy has been successful in teaching
mathematics using notes written using Yahoo!'s doodle pad with a voiceover by Salman Khan
(educator). These were then loaded onto YouTube where they have been popular and influential.
Such lectures are a key part of flip teaching in which the initial work of communicating the essentials
of the topic is done by the video lesson.[1][2][3]
A study shows that there is hardly any difference in correctly answered questions when students
were divided into two groups that used either live lecture or video lecture.[4] But there were some
differences in subjective evaluation: 48% of students preferred live lessons, 27% preferred video
lessons and 25% stated ‘neutral’. Another meta-study [5] investigated more than 100 studies and find
out that about 75% of the time, students learned better from the video. On average, the effects are
small (about +2 marks) but consistently favour videos. Effects are much larger when videos replace
books (+7 marks), or when videos are used to teach skills (+6 marks) instead of knowledge.

6 Benefits Of Educational Videos For Teaching

When people become teachers, that doesn't mean that the learning process ceases.
A successful teacher is always eager to learn new ways to teach the same concept
over and over again.

1. Flexibility in Teaching

Video tutorials act as a flexible teaching medium. If a student does not understand
a concept in one go, the teacher can pause the video any time and explain it again.
Replaying the video again also solves many problems even without taking any help
from the teacher. This feature provides an enhanced level of flexibility. An excellent
teaching technique is to pause the video in the middle and let the students predict
the outcome of a particular situation. Problems can be easily demonstrated, and
concepts can be repeated as and when required. Repeated experiments and
demonstrations help students in understanding the concepts at a whole new level.

2. Provides a Realistic Experience

When teachers teach various subjects by using video presentations in teaching, the
students can get a more realistic experience. It is hard to remember facts about
people that lived centuries ago, but video learning makes absorbing knowledge
much easier. Another example is while studying the laws of motion or any other
physics topic for that matter, students are able to get an insight into the space and
movement of particles. As far as other subjects are concerned, it enables students
to hear the actual sound and look at the exact figures that they have only read in
books in action. When students encounter the diversity of different cultures on
their computer screen, the understanding of geography increases to a whole new
level. The ideas actually come alive, and this helps students expand their attention
span.
3. Easy Access

One of the most important and amazing features of video lessons is that both the
teachers and the students can access them anywhere. The use of video-based
instruction has been made easier with the development of mobile devices such as
smartphones and tablets. All you have to do is ensure that the format of the lecture
that you are about to watch is supported on the device that you use. The best thing
to do is to play the videos in Flash & HTML5 format so that it is compatible with all
devices and web browsers. Even if you are absent in class, you can send the link of
the video to your students and give them assignments based on it to save time.

4. Support Of Effective Tools

Video lessons are normally accompanied by the support of effective video tools
that are used to increase the ease of use. These tools enable a complete
investigation and understanding of the topic. Online videos are also supported by
an interactive glossary, thesaurus, dictionary, and online encyclopedia. Written
notes used in combination with the 'Watch and learn' strategy is known to provide
the maximum benefit as the advantages of both the techniques are availed in
conjunction.

5. Unlimited Access to Effective Educational Videos

Teachers can provide unlimited access to the students for their lectures so that
students can take reference at any time they want. They can upload their lectures
online or forward relevant links to students. They can also make a CD that
combines lectures with online visual aids and distribute it to all the students.

6. Improvement Of Teaching Skills

Only a good learner can be an excellent teacher. When the teachers look at the
educational videos, they can improve upon their own presentation skills. It also
increases the confidence of the teacher, which reflects positively on the results of
the students.

The impact of using multimedia on students academic achievement:

Sometimes reading through notes and textbooks can turn monotonous and make
studies boring for students. But when an interactive and fun way of learning is
devised, it can take the academic performance of the student to soar higher. Let us
take a look at how video lectures positively impact the overall academic
performance of the students.

1. Demonstration For a Deeper Practical Knowledge

Books are a rich source of theoretical knowledge, but what they lack is a display of
the practical application required to attain perfection in a subject or a topic.
Procedural topics can be easily understood by watching the videos multiple times
rather than cramming books or notes as they are attention-catching and develops
the interest of the viewer. Mechanical procedures, clinical processes, or
demonstration of case studies can easily be done to ensure that the information is
completely fed in the mind of the student.

2. A Boon For Visual Learners

Different students use different techniques to master various concepts. Some like
to read their notes out loud and learn. They are mostly auditory learners. But those
who are visually expressive and grasp information the fastest with the help of visual
aids are benefitted the most by this approach to learning. If you are someone who
understands everything when it is laid out in an interesting pattern in front of you,
then you are the perfect candidate for video lessons. Regardless of the difficulty
level of the topic you wish to develop an expertise in, you will find it online with
great ease. The amazing audiovisual experience will guide you through each
process of the subject, and you will be able to learn everything thoroughly. Whether
it is a science or a math concept you wish to master or a problem you want to
figure out, video lectures are the go-to solution for almost all the academic issues
that arise in the student life.

3. Independent learning

In today's world, everything is electronic, including education. For e-learning, a

student must have access to the internet and is good to go! With the ability to find
everything online, learning is becoming more independent as long as you have a
working internet connection. You don't have to be dependent on anyone to drop
you to a specific location as you can access your videos anytime, anywhere. While
going to school, you can plan out how to carry out your academic tasks on the ride
itself. This way, when you reach school or college, you will have a clear picture as to
how you are going to spend the day. Online video learning also provides shortcuts
to various lengthy methods. Apart from studies, if you wish to learn tasks related to
your hobby, the online video tutorials can provide information as well as act as a
mind freshener. A video of short duration will suffice when you are trying to learn
to be creative in your own ways.

4. To The Point Learning

When you search the internet for video tutorials, you will find exactly what you are
looking for. Even though there are multiple results for every query, the variety
offers to the point solution, thus, avoiding any confusion. Specific information can
easily be found in bits and pieces so that you don't have to sort through large piles
of books and files when you are looking for something specific. For example, you
are looking for how to use a particular photoshop tool. You don't have to look
through how to use the entire software. There are different short tutorials for
individual tools that will clarify your query once and for all.

5. Stirs The Problem Solving Capacity

A video is composed of both audio and visual elements. This stirs the problem-
solving capability of the brain and encourages the student to think harder and
more creatively. This is known as multi-sensory learning, where more than one
senses are involved in learning. When a learner attempts to understand the
concept with the help of multiple senses, it strengthens the cognitive conditions
and enhances the problem-solving ability of a student. They understand concepts
from a different and unique perspective, which enhances the ability to think faster
and at a deeper level.

6. Cost Reduction

The cost of formal education is on the rise, and this pattern never seems to
stabilize. Therefore, when new methods of teaching arise that don't break the bank,
it causes a stir among the student community and their parents. One of the
cheapest methods of studying is taking online video lessons. There are various
websites that offer video tutorials on almost all topics that contain relevant
information and specific to the point concepts. Most of these websites require the
user to register online for free or have a negligible subscription fee. But the content
offered makes sure that not only you get the complete worth of your money, but
you also gain an in-depth knowledge of various subjects at an affordable price.

Also, delivering the content to any part of the world does not cost a penny, well,
except for the internet charges. But as compared to traditional methods of
delivering information to those far away, such as courier or speed post, online
video lecturing is much handier. Once a video is uploaded, millions of students all
over the world can avail of the benefit of shared knowledge.

7. Increases Retention Capacity

All students study in class and just before the exams. But the ones who are able to
remember all the points in various subjects during the time of the examination
succeed academically. The trick behind these students scoring good marks is a
better retention capacity. Of course, that is not God-gifted. Toppers adopt various
tricks that ensure maximum learning in a minimum amount of time and helps the
students retain information in their minds for a longer duration. One of those tricks
is watching video tutorials on different topics. When a student visualizes a concept
and hears it at the same time, it becomes easier to retain that information in mind.
It gets absorbed at a deeper level, and complete excellence is then a sure thing.

8. Variety Of Animations

The video tutorials need not be only a person lecturing a crowd or a slideshow of
various images. The variety of animations is what makes video learning fun and
imaginative. The modern way of learning suggests the use of learning avatars, e-
white boards, and animate tools for grasping new concepts.

9. Revision Tool

Every student should read the textbook in order to gain complete knowledge of a
particular topic. But it is not possible to cram your way through the entire textbook
right before the examination. It wastes a lot of time, plus, it is not an effective way
of learning. Therefore, to avoid barely clearing the exams with superficial
knowledge and achieve academic success with a proper strategy, you can use video
learning as a revision tool. When you watch a video of some topic that you have
already studied, it acts like a precise summary that can prove to be extremely
beneficial at the last moment.

In conclusion, an endless supply of study material with the freedom to study at

one's own pace plays an important role in ensuring that a student succeeds
academically. Therefore, make sure you include video learning as a part of your
regular study routine and let technology work its magic!