Saturday, September 15, 2007

I Wouldn't Want To Be A Network TV Executive...

I'm not sure I would want to be a network TV executive right now. There are just too many other choices for people these days to entertain and amuse themselves with, not to mention all of the new and diverse learning opportunities being presented to them - and network TV isn't even near the top of the list. Cable TV, video games, the Web, computers, MP3 players, on-demand video, the list goes on and network TV isn't even on it.

And the news isn't getting any better for the TV executives either. According to an article from Macworld, more and more people in the US are watching online video than ever before - 181 minutes a month and an average of 68 clips - that represents time away from TV (and lower ratings and less advertising revenue, and...). It also represents some very important trends for educators. If people are watching more and more on-demand video, then that seems to be an educational learning tool that we need to use more of. Focus on developing useful video-based resources that learners can get access to whenever they want - the continuing development of the PLE.

There are still issues of access - not everyone has high-speed Internet access which is necessary for the "live" viewing of online video, but even that mountain is slowly becoming a mole hill. I see all sorts of opportunities now to create and distribute learning objects and materials through video - if the learners are watching, let's give them something to look at... Hmmm...


(Photo - "Forgotten television" by autowitch)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

More and more Americans are watching video on the Internet. But the average time spent doing it is just 2.7 minutes so it would seem for now people still prefer the longer forms on TV.

But I love watching the longer stuff on my iPhone -- I'm a very early adopter, but down the road there will definitely be more choices for everyone with regard to how they watch video content.

Dr. Ian H. MacLeod, EdD,CD said...

Good point we do live in a "bite-size" society these days - everyone seems to have developed nano-second attention spans.

Saw my first iPhone today (not yet available up here in Canada) and I can completely understand how you would want to watch video on it - and like you say there will be more and more choices in the future. As an adult educator, I can't wait...

Thanks for the comment.