More of my thoughts on Vloggercon, asks Paul Baker. Thanks for the prompting!

It’s a bit difficult to sort through all the Vloggercon-connected stir created by the news that Robert Scoble is leaving Microsoft for Podtech, a podcasting and video blogging start-up. I’m glad that Robert got all the attention that he’s seen in the blogosphere (not to mention the mainstream media), but I have to wonder whether the seriously hip and happening Vloggercon got the worst of it, with all that mindshare going to the Scoble story. There are some amazing developments taking place in the world of vlogging and video online, and Vloggercon is at the epicenter.

I was most interested to see what the conference had to say on the subject of vlogging in education. First of all, I was impressed that there was an entire session dedicated to the topic. (I posted some running, scattered commentary and photos here). It was great to see educators who are so passionate about videoblogging. (I got Jonny Goldstein’s thoughts on how teachers should start thinking about videoblogging–will share the video soon.)

The examples presented were enlightening–how students at secondary and post-secondary levels are learning to videoblog, but this prompted me to think about what wasn’t presented. Beyond teaching kids how to create their own vlogs, there is incredible opportunity for vlogs both in the in the world of learning proper, and also for professional communicators working in higher education.

Many of you know my thoughts on the idea of learning through creating and presenting. One of the best ways to learn new material is to teach it. Russell Ackoff often says that because of this, teachers learn more than students, and I tend to agree with him. I feel strongly that new communications tools–blogs, podcasts, vlogs, etc., represent a key opportunity for learners in early part of the 21st century. If we can teach kids to use these tools, we have given them a dynamic, low-cost tool that they can use to present and interact in any educational setting–whether it’s learning to give speeches or sharing a lesson on local history or politics. For example, a class learning about local politics may ask students to go out and use video cameras to interview local politicians for their perspective on a given issue and then post video to a class vlog. The act of presenting and re-presenting ideas in a coherent way requires students to learn about their subject, and the video aspect brings a dynamic element simply not present in past media. We have to get beyond thinking of vlogging in education as relating to teaching film majors how to vlog, and we have to begin to think of teaching kids to vlog because vlogging is a tool that can help them learn anything.

Moving beyond education proper, vlogging is a significant opportunity that should have the attention of every professional communicator, marketer, and recruiter working in higher education. USC used a videoblog of sorts to showcase their star players in a recent football season. A year ago, the admissions department at Oklahoma Christian hired two media students to vlog their college experience. Fordham Law School’s Law Clinic recently launched a “TV channel“–really a video blog–highlighting the work of the clinic through interviews with students and professors involved at the clinic. More and more is being invested in online video–just look at all the attention that Google Video and others have received, and the VC money flowing into the Podtechs of the world. Videoblogging is the beneficiary, as the tools for posting video online and embedding them in your blog become simpler and cheaper. (Have you tried VideoEgg? It lets you upload your video and make a blog post from within a single interface, and it talks with several common blog platforms.) The tools are here to communicate and interact with your community in a dynamic way, and saavy schools have already started using them to their advantage.

I began this post talking about how the Scoble announcement seems to have overshadowed a really cool and important conference, but with an individual as charismatic and Scoble going to work for a company that’s so invested in video blogging and related technologies, I’ve a feeling that next year’s Vloggercon will be a much different event. Many see Scoble’s work on his blog; not everyone knows that Microsoft originally assigned him to develop Microsoft’s Channel 9, a video blog for and about Microsoft. My guess is that by the time the next Vloggercon rolls around, the world of videoblogging will have exploded thanks to Scoble and others, and the emergent tone in this year’s event may be a distant memory. So in a weird way, although the conference itself was somewhat overshadowed, the weekend marked a turning point for the fledgeling vlogging industry–and I’m sure that future Vloggercons will benefit.

Tag: Vloggercon