What is it about?
Many online videos feature people sharing their opinions on different topics, and children frequently watch these videos. This study examines whether videos or text-based webpages are better for helping young students learn about complex topics. Researchers worked with 207 primary school students (grades 4–6) and asked them to learn about the pros and cons of bottled water by using either text-based webpages or videos. The results showed that the medium (video or text) did not significantly affect students' ability to remember where the information came from. However, videos had a stronger impact on shaping students' opinions—they were more likely to agree with the arguments presented in videos than those in text. Additionally, students who learned from text-based webpages made nearly twice as many inferences in their answers, suggesting that reading encourages deeper thinking and integration of information.
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Why is it important?
This study highlights the strengths and weaknesses of using online videos for education. While videos are engaging and persuasive, they may not encourage as much critical thinking as text. Understanding these differences can help educators and parents make better decisions about how to use digital resources for learning.
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Using Internet videos to learn about controversies: Evaluation and integration of multiple and multimodal documents by primary school students, Computers & Education, April 2020, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.compedu.2019.103796.
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