Re: Video training on WPD

Hi all,

I'm a bit of a lurker on this list, but as someone who has produced
training videos in the past I do have some thoughts on this topic:

1. Video training can go stale very quickly and it's more effort to update
a video than editing a wiki. If we are including this video training, who
would ultimately be responsible for updating it? My feeling is that far
fewer people are willing to contribute to maintaining such a thing. I would
hate to see WPD become littered with out-of-date videos that no one updates.

2. I am completely behind supporting people who learn in a primarily
audio/visual way. However, my own experience is that programming is
generally difficult to learn via video instruction. I suspect the majority
of people try to follow along with an example and code it themselves. This
often means frequently looking back and forth between the example and
whatever you're trying to work on. Pausing a video at just the right frame
can be frustrating if it is not designed with that in mind.

3. With regards to these particular videos, I concur with David that any
included videos should be technically accurate, relevant, and high-quality
to mesh with the quality goals of WPD. It's very difficult to do a video
that is sufficiently engaging to make learning enjoyable.

That said, I am not advocating against video training if it is done well. I
just think it introduces a level of complexity that should be carefully
considered beyond licensing concerns.

--Greg

On Wed, Oct 31, 2012 at 8:41 PM, David Bradbury <davidmbradbury@gmail.com>wrote:

> Regarding videos in general, I think as long as some basic standards and
> licencing guidelines are followed, it would be just fine. That said, I
> think some consideration needs to be given as to whether it would look like
> a blog and/or product is being endorsed by WP and its associated stewards.
> Video content also takes much longer to moderate assuming we are making
> sure to watch the videos that are embedded in the docs.
>
> Regarding these particular videos posted, I already have a few issues (not
> limited to his use of XHTML Transitional, break tags, and horizontal rule
> tags (complete with width/size attributes, etc...)). Those issues can be
> addressed in the QA post itself, but it demonstrates that we need to make
> sure that videos that are included are high quality, relevant, up-to-date,
> and hopefully make the learning process enjoyable.
>
>
> On Wed, Oct 31, 2012 at 6:12 PM, Jonathan Garbee <jonathan@garbee.me>wrote:
>
>> I just approved this [1] post on the Q&A and thought it would be a great
>> thing to bring up.
>>
>> What do you guys think of video training on WPD?  Licensing would need to
>> be worked out appropriately, but still worth thinking about.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> -Garbee
>>
>> [1] http://talk.webplatform.org/**forums/index.php/2472/video-**training<http://talk.webplatform.org/forums/index.php/2472/video-training>
>>
>>
>