Video killed the writer?
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I don't know about you, but I prefer reading technical info over watching a video. If I want to install a Minecraft Server (a task I performed on the weekend for The Boy(TM)) it's about five simple steps - mainly command line based. So, give me a web page of instructions & I can not only go at my own pace, but I can copy/paste the commands where necessary. when searching, though, I seem to come across more and more videos rather than texts (it occurs to me that this was on The Boy(TM)'s computer, so much searching will have been done on you tube previously) What do you prefer? When is a video a good idea vs text? (And I know CP have recently introduced videos, but don't let that slant your POV - I just noticed on there a $1.99 video explaining just a single function (IF or WHILE or something - it seems to be down right now) - so is money the motivating factor- do people pay to watch videos with information they wouldn't pay for in written form?)
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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I don't know about you, but I prefer reading technical info over watching a video. If I want to install a Minecraft Server (a task I performed on the weekend for The Boy(TM)) it's about five simple steps - mainly command line based. So, give me a web page of instructions & I can not only go at my own pace, but I can copy/paste the commands where necessary. when searching, though, I seem to come across more and more videos rather than texts (it occurs to me that this was on The Boy(TM)'s computer, so much searching will have been done on you tube previously) What do you prefer? When is a video a good idea vs text? (And I know CP have recently introduced videos, but don't let that slant your POV - I just noticed on there a $1.99 video explaining just a single function (IF or WHILE or something - it seems to be down right now) - so is money the motivating factor- do people pay to watch videos with information they wouldn't pay for in written form?)
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
Videos don't "stick" for me. To me they are like seminars where you just fast forward all the way through trying to find the relevant parts. Written text I can skim very quickly (Plus there are no accents :)) Books are helpful, but I find a good online site where, like you, I can cut and paste the code and change it to suit my needs.
It was broke, so I fixed it.
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I don't know about you, but I prefer reading technical info over watching a video. If I want to install a Minecraft Server (a task I performed on the weekend for The Boy(TM)) it's about five simple steps - mainly command line based. So, give me a web page of instructions & I can not only go at my own pace, but I can copy/paste the commands where necessary. when searching, though, I seem to come across more and more videos rather than texts (it occurs to me that this was on The Boy(TM)'s computer, so much searching will have been done on you tube previously) What do you prefer? When is a video a good idea vs text? (And I know CP have recently introduced videos, but don't let that slant your POV - I just noticed on there a $1.99 video explaining just a single function (IF or WHILE or something - it seems to be down right now) - so is money the motivating factor- do people pay to watch videos with information they wouldn't pay for in written form?)
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
Videos are problematic for me for a few reasons:
- Guilt. At work, the servers that host our site use the same bandwidth that employees use to browse the internet. So, when I watch a video, that takes bandwidth away from our site visitors.
- Bandwidth. My work network is stupidly slow.
- Pace. Videos generally make it hard for me to go at my own pace.
- Skipping. I can't easily skip past sections in video (not precisely, anyway).
- Resuming. It's hard to quickly find where I left off in a video.
- Search. It's hard to search a video like you could with the text of an article in a browser.
- Overview. It's hard to get a quick overview of the video.
- Intrusive. Videos are intrusive (they either make unwelcome noise for my coworkers, or require I wear headphones).
That being said, videos can be a great resource, and most of the above problems have been solved by some people. For example, Lynda.com (and maybe CodeProject... haven't really looked at their video offering much) has in-video named bookmarks, text transcripts, a table of contents that links into the video, text overviews, and so on. Also, when I was learning Umbraco, I found Umbraco TV's video resources to be fantastic. I had trouble staying awake through the videos (speakers were monotone), but them navigating fluidly through the Umbraco GUI as they explained was much faster than they could have explained things in an article. Also, I do wish a pay method would work for all of Code Project (articles included). Good that they are making it work with videos.
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Videos are problematic for me for a few reasons:
- Guilt. At work, the servers that host our site use the same bandwidth that employees use to browse the internet. So, when I watch a video, that takes bandwidth away from our site visitors.
- Bandwidth. My work network is stupidly slow.
- Pace. Videos generally make it hard for me to go at my own pace.
- Skipping. I can't easily skip past sections in video (not precisely, anyway).
- Resuming. It's hard to quickly find where I left off in a video.
- Search. It's hard to search a video like you could with the text of an article in a browser.
- Overview. It's hard to get a quick overview of the video.
- Intrusive. Videos are intrusive (they either make unwelcome noise for my coworkers, or require I wear headphones).
That being said, videos can be a great resource, and most of the above problems have been solved by some people. For example, Lynda.com (and maybe CodeProject... haven't really looked at their video offering much) has in-video named bookmarks, text transcripts, a table of contents that links into the video, text overviews, and so on. Also, when I was learning Umbraco, I found Umbraco TV's video resources to be fantastic. I had trouble staying awake through the videos (speakers were monotone), but them navigating fluidly through the Umbraco GUI as they explained was much faster than they could have explained things in an article. Also, I do wish a pay method would work for all of Code Project (articles included). Good that they are making it work with videos.
Quote:
Overview. It's hard to get a quick overview of the video.
Rightly said, you can even go over a piece of text with speed, but in case of watching video you can't do so!
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Videos are problematic for me for a few reasons:
- Guilt. At work, the servers that host our site use the same bandwidth that employees use to browse the internet. So, when I watch a video, that takes bandwidth away from our site visitors.
- Bandwidth. My work network is stupidly slow.
- Pace. Videos generally make it hard for me to go at my own pace.
- Skipping. I can't easily skip past sections in video (not precisely, anyway).
- Resuming. It's hard to quickly find where I left off in a video.
- Search. It's hard to search a video like you could with the text of an article in a browser.
- Overview. It's hard to get a quick overview of the video.
- Intrusive. Videos are intrusive (they either make unwelcome noise for my coworkers, or require I wear headphones).
That being said, videos can be a great resource, and most of the above problems have been solved by some people. For example, Lynda.com (and maybe CodeProject... haven't really looked at their video offering much) has in-video named bookmarks, text transcripts, a table of contents that links into the video, text overviews, and so on. Also, when I was learning Umbraco, I found Umbraco TV's video resources to be fantastic. I had trouble staying awake through the videos (speakers were monotone), but them navigating fluidly through the Umbraco GUI as they explained was much faster than they could have explained things in an article. Also, I do wish a pay method would work for all of Code Project (articles included). Good that they are making it work with videos.
I've seen some FANTASTIC educational videos in my time - and have seen kids learning from them much more effectively than from a book - so your post made me wonder if us oldsters just learn that differently?! Most of the stuff I am looking up and learning is building on a wealth of experience - so skim reading and looking for just the info I am interested in makes sense. I wonder if the less experienced folk need more of a 'whole thing;' approach - making video more appropriate. this guy[^] does great science videos that I have shown to kids and actually seen Ah-ha moments IRL
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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I don't know about you, but I prefer reading technical info over watching a video. If I want to install a Minecraft Server (a task I performed on the weekend for The Boy(TM)) it's about five simple steps - mainly command line based. So, give me a web page of instructions & I can not only go at my own pace, but I can copy/paste the commands where necessary. when searching, though, I seem to come across more and more videos rather than texts (it occurs to me that this was on The Boy(TM)'s computer, so much searching will have been done on you tube previously) What do you prefer? When is a video a good idea vs text? (And I know CP have recently introduced videos, but don't let that slant your POV - I just noticed on there a $1.99 video explaining just a single function (IF or WHILE or something - it seems to be down right now) - so is money the motivating factor- do people pay to watch videos with information they wouldn't pay for in written form?)
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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I don't know about you, but I prefer reading technical info over watching a video. If I want to install a Minecraft Server (a task I performed on the weekend for The Boy(TM)) it's about five simple steps - mainly command line based. So, give me a web page of instructions & I can not only go at my own pace, but I can copy/paste the commands where necessary. when searching, though, I seem to come across more and more videos rather than texts (it occurs to me that this was on The Boy(TM)'s computer, so much searching will have been done on you tube previously) What do you prefer? When is a video a good idea vs text? (And I know CP have recently introduced videos, but don't let that slant your POV - I just noticed on there a $1.99 video explaining just a single function (IF or WHILE or something - it seems to be down right now) - so is money the motivating factor- do people pay to watch videos with information they wouldn't pay for in written form?)
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
I think it depends on what you're trying to gain information on. If it's some procedure I need to follow to make something, for example, cooking, I prefer written material with diagrams or photos as appropriate. If it's general information on how things work (science, engineering) or how things happened (history) I prefer videos although written material isn't bad. If it's some instruction I need to follow to perform something, like Yoga or a dance, I think videos work better.
Almost, but not quite, entirely unlike... me...
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Recently I had more of a hardware problem.[^] It's obvious that a video is a great help when you have to take something apart and better put it back together the way it was.
Sent from my BatComputer via HAL 9000 and M5
CDP1802 wrote:
It's obvious that a video is a great help
Not to me. I'd still prefer something written, with pictures maybe, but hard copy nonetheless A video can be helpful as an addition to that, no doubt - especially for something requiring manual dexterity like, oh, I don't know, changing the rotor on a toy helicopter ;)
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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Quote:
Overview. It's hard to get a quick overview of the video.
Rightly said, you can even go over a piece of text with speed, but in case of watching video you can't do so!
Monster Maker wrote:
you can even go over a piece of text with speed, but in case of watching video you can't
do so!Well, within reason, you can. It's pretty usual for me to watch TV shows at 1.5x speed.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Recently I had more of a hardware problem.[^] It's obvious that a video is a great help when you have to take something apart and better put it back together the way it was.
Sent from my BatComputer via HAL 9000 and M5
CDP1802 wrote:
a video is a great help when you have to take something apart and better put it back together the way it was.
Dunno. If there's movement involved, then I suppose a video can show that better (e.g. one of our UC instructors gave us a book with loads of photos, which was a bit of a joke), but I usually prefer a walkthrough with photos/pictures, where all I have to do to advance or back up a step or two is move my eyes.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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I don't know about you, but I prefer reading technical info over watching a video. If I want to install a Minecraft Server (a task I performed on the weekend for The Boy(TM)) it's about five simple steps - mainly command line based. So, give me a web page of instructions & I can not only go at my own pace, but I can copy/paste the commands where necessary. when searching, though, I seem to come across more and more videos rather than texts (it occurs to me that this was on The Boy(TM)'s computer, so much searching will have been done on you tube previously) What do you prefer? When is a video a good idea vs text? (And I know CP have recently introduced videos, but don't let that slant your POV - I just noticed on there a $1.99 video explaining just a single function (IF or WHILE or something - it seems to be down right now) - so is money the motivating factor- do people pay to watch videos with information they wouldn't pay for in written form?)
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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I've seen some FANTASTIC educational videos in my time - and have seen kids learning from them much more effectively than from a book - so your post made me wonder if us oldsters just learn that differently?! Most of the stuff I am looking up and learning is building on a wealth of experience - so skim reading and looking for just the info I am interested in makes sense. I wonder if the less experienced folk need more of a 'whole thing;' approach - making video more appropriate. this guy[^] does great science videos that I have shown to kids and actually seen Ah-ha moments IRL
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
_Maxxx_ wrote:
I've seen some FANTASTIC educational videos in my time - and have seen kids learning from them much more effectively than from a book
I think it depends on the subject. I've seen good videos also (not only for children) - on Photohop, how to paint the house etc. But could you imagine implementing https from scrach having video as the only spec? ;)
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I don't know about you, but I prefer reading technical info over watching a video. If I want to install a Minecraft Server (a task I performed on the weekend for The Boy(TM)) it's about five simple steps - mainly command line based. So, give me a web page of instructions & I can not only go at my own pace, but I can copy/paste the commands where necessary. when searching, though, I seem to come across more and more videos rather than texts (it occurs to me that this was on The Boy(TM)'s computer, so much searching will have been done on you tube previously) What do you prefer? When is a video a good idea vs text? (And I know CP have recently introduced videos, but don't let that slant your POV - I just noticed on there a $1.99 video explaining just a single function (IF or WHILE or something - it seems to be down right now) - so is money the motivating factor- do people pay to watch videos with information they wouldn't pay for in written form?)
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
It really depends on what the subject is: if it's anything that needs typing in, then written is much, much better - if only because you can see more easily exactly what to type and where. Video tends to be less clear on this. But video excels (if done properly) when if comes to complex disassembly / assembly: did you ever try to rebuild a gearbox from a Haynes Book Of Lies? A video of the disassembly and reassembly process would be a lot, lot easier to follow (if only because the author can't accidentally forget to mention the bolt hidden under the flange - they would have to explicitly cut that step from the video, which would be more obvious).
The universe is composed of electrons, neutrons, protons and......morons. (ThePhantomUpvoter)
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It really depends on what the subject is: if it's anything that needs typing in, then written is much, much better - if only because you can see more easily exactly what to type and where. Video tends to be less clear on this. But video excels (if done properly) when if comes to complex disassembly / assembly: did you ever try to rebuild a gearbox from a Haynes Book Of Lies? A video of the disassembly and reassembly process would be a lot, lot easier to follow (if only because the author can't accidentally forget to mention the bolt hidden under the flange - they would have to explicitly cut that step from the video, which would be more obvious).
The universe is composed of electrons, neutrons, protons and......morons. (ThePhantomUpvoter)
OriginalGriff wrote:
Haynes Book Of Lies?
Yes - very similar to the Ikea sheet of inaccuracy! Speaking of which, I once stared to develop a web-based (java applet) applicatoin that was to display ikea-like constructions as a series of user-rotatable/zoomable etc. animated models. So each step would have a short animation of the step being performed, and the viewer would be able to zoom pan rotated the view, so they could see what the hell was going on. I didn't get too far with it, because my Java skillz weren't up to it. I still think it would be a great thing to have, though (I bet there's something out there!)as long as the animations were relatively easy for companies to set up for their products. Much more effective than either text n piccies or video
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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I don't know about you, but I prefer reading technical info over watching a video. If I want to install a Minecraft Server (a task I performed on the weekend for The Boy(TM)) it's about five simple steps - mainly command line based. So, give me a web page of instructions & I can not only go at my own pace, but I can copy/paste the commands where necessary. when searching, though, I seem to come across more and more videos rather than texts (it occurs to me that this was on The Boy(TM)'s computer, so much searching will have been done on you tube previously) What do you prefer? When is a video a good idea vs text? (And I know CP have recently introduced videos, but don't let that slant your POV - I just noticed on there a $1.99 video explaining just a single function (IF or WHILE or something - it seems to be down right now) - so is money the motivating factor- do people pay to watch videos with information they wouldn't pay for in written form?)
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
75% of time, I prefer a good written tutorial, _with pictures_. So I can use it asynchronously, I can print it and get away with it and look at it offline.
~RaGE();
I think words like 'destiny' are a way of trying to find order where none exists. - Christian Graus Do not feed the troll ! - Common proverb
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Monster Maker wrote:
you can even go over a piece of text with speed, but in case of watching video you can't
do so!Well, within reason, you can. It's pretty usual for me to watch TV shows at 1.5x speed.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
Quote:
It's pretty usual for me to watch TV shows at 1.5x speed.
Not usual for everyone! But reading familiar text fast,or which you have read before is what everyone can do. Both medias have there pros and cons!!
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I don't know about you, but I prefer reading technical info over watching a video. If I want to install a Minecraft Server (a task I performed on the weekend for The Boy(TM)) it's about five simple steps - mainly command line based. So, give me a web page of instructions & I can not only go at my own pace, but I can copy/paste the commands where necessary. when searching, though, I seem to come across more and more videos rather than texts (it occurs to me that this was on The Boy(TM)'s computer, so much searching will have been done on you tube previously) What do you prefer? When is a video a good idea vs text? (And I know CP have recently introduced videos, but don't let that slant your POV - I just noticed on there a $1.99 video explaining just a single function (IF or WHILE or something - it seems to be down right now) - so is money the motivating factor- do people pay to watch videos with information they wouldn't pay for in written form?)
MVVM # - I did it My Way ___________________________________________ Man, you're a god. - walterhevedeich 26/05/2011 .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
I prefer videos for learning. (Like Pluralsight). I also prefer videos for light interactive learning. Whenever I want to accomplish something, I prefer text. Like the walkthrough type of thing you mentioned. So, to answer your question.... yes
If it moves, compile it
