Ross A. Perkins

From Silent Film to YouTube™ : Tracing the Historical Roots of Motion Picture Technologies in Education

Abstract This article traces the historical roots of YouTube™ and online video to examine it within the context of educational motion picture history. The current state of online video is discussed first followed by a thematic analysis of the history of educational motion pictures from silent film to YouTube. The historical literature reveals recurring themes and issues, which include: (1) the intrinsic advantages of motion picture technologies, (2) differing opinions about the benefits of film and video, and (3) access and equipment issues. Previous historical accounts fall short of addressing how these themes connect to online video. The potential future of online video is discussed in the conclusion.

Review of Educational Research Methods in 3D3C Worlds: Framing the Past to Provide Future Direction

This chapter describes educational research methodologies being used in the investigation and evaluation of desktop virtual world environments as used to teach a variety of subjects in higher education. Ellis’ research framework on innovations and Reeves and Hedberg’s research goals were used as lenses to examine the state of educational research methods within 3D3C Worlds. An extensive search that resulted in 127 peer-reviewed papers chosen, was carried out to locate journal articles in the fields of educational technology, computer science and information systems, virtual reality/virtual worlds/gaming, science and health education, human-computer interaction, media and communications, psychology, social science, cognitive science, and library science. Results showed that while small-scale research is common, research with broader goals (i.e. program evaluation, developmental research) is lacking. Implications include the need for signature developmental researchers to make their virtual world applications open source, and for researchers to explore collaborative research opportunities with postmodern, education researchers in order to shed more light on important issues of equity, gender, politics, and culture that impact education.