Licensing and Learning: What New Research Suggests About How Streaming Video Can Support Student Learning

The COVID-19 pandemic forced educators accustomed to classroom-based instruction to deliver instruction to learners at a distance, creating conditions for research on the value of streaming video content in support of teaching and learning. This presentation brings together librarians, vendors, and researchers to consider what findings from two new studies suggests about how instructors use commercial streaming video and how libraries can support instruction by providing access to streaming video. 

Dr. Dylan Ruediger will share findings from large-scale research Ithaka S+R conducted this spring regarding instructors’ use of streaming video in pedagogical contexts, and libraries’ decision making regarding streaming media licensing. Together, this mixed-method research project raises important questions about the necessity for alignment across campus around how video can meet pedagogical goals.

Dr. Adam Frost, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Toronto, Scarborough will present data from undergraduate remote learning experiments evaluating the efficacy of streaming video to support scholarly communication, and students’ comprehension of scientific research. The results of these experiments demonstrate that students use and benefit from accessible explanations of primary scientific sources especially via video, which could provide a window into how librarians can better support the development of scientific and digital literacy skills.

Providing the librarian’s perspective around both research studies will be Lisa Forrest, Director of the Davidson College Library. She will share insights into how her SLAC institution is working to meet instructors’ needs for streaming content within the context of their wider acquisitions strategy, and offer actionable ideas that librarians might use to ensure that students have access to educational video content.

Michael Carmichael, Director Library Editorial at SAGE Publishing, will moderate and provide a vendor’s perspective on this topic. SAGE co-sponsored the University of Toronto, Scarborough research study and provided support to convene this panel.