One of the areas in which I have a strong background is in media production, especially when it’s applied to education and training. My track record goes back to 1977 when I began work for the BBC Open University Production Centre producing television programmes, radio programmes and audio cassettes (and later video cassettes) to accompany Open University courses. (See Producer BBC) This was a very fruitful environment in which to learn the duel crafts of media production (film, television and radio) and learning design. The reputation of the OU and the quality of the BBC’s television and radio output that accompanied its courses, both in terms of production quality and educational effectiveness, set the gold standard which I absorbed and to which many organisations still aspire.
Following the BBC I moved into ‘corporate’ television – first as head of a video and film unit at the Central Electricity Generating Board dedicated to producing training and technical videos, and later as a freelance producer, writer and director. (See Head of Section and Freelance) The production skills I had learnt at the BBC stood me in good stead in this new environment, but in particular the leaning design skills were extremely valuable in turning what can be a very superficial and transitory medium when in the wrong hands into something more substantial and effective (and that does not mean pedantic or tedious). During my five years as a freelance I was regularly brought back by the BBC Open University Production Centre as a freelance producer to produce television, video cassettes and radio programmes for OU courses.
In 1994 I applied for, and was offered the post of Director of the well regarded Sheffield University Television. As well as taking responsibility for the strategic direction of the unit I also kept my practicing hand in by acting as one of the unit’s producers (see Director, Sheffield University Television). The television unit was a centrally administered grouping that produced video material to meet the university’s needs, including the support of teaching. This was an interesting experience for me because at that time Sheffield was very ‘traditional’ in its approach to learning and teaching and the use of video and other media was often regarded by academics as frivolous and ‘light weight’, especially if it was intended to be ‘motivational’ or ‘illuminating’. This was in strict contrast to my experiences at the OU. Consequently it forced me to question hard the role of video and audio in learning so that I could understand and then debate with teaching colleagues the role of media in learning alongside other modes, such as lectures and tutorials. It was this very process that stimulated me to read for Sheffield’s MEd in Teaching and Learning, and it formed the basis of my dissertation, “Imagine This: an investigation into the ‘imaginative’ use of video in teaching” produced in 2003. Although the dissertation focused on video for reasons of keeping the study contained, it had wider applicability to the use of e-learning materials more generally.
With the growing emphasis throughout the higher education sector on the learning aspects of learning and teaching, together with a growing acceptance of the value of the internet and e-learning for campus based students as well as distance learners, in 1999 Sheffield University Television amalgamated with other groups in the University to form the Learning Development and Media Unit, of which I was made overall Director. (See Director, Learning Development & Media Unit) ‘Traditional’ teaching was now being moved aside and this gave me a much wider overview of the ways student learning could be enhanced and of the ways various approaches, including the application of ICT and media, should be integrated. In this period the video production staff within the unit went through a rapid transformation in adapting their video production skills to embrace the range of new, interactive web based technologies. At the same time there was a much greater emphasis on the pedagogy underpinning all aspects of design. Although by this stage I was not in a position to become involved in the hands-on aspects of this transition in terms of ‘driving’ the software etc., I did keep on top in terms of strategic direction and impact, particularly in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the new technologies on student learning.
When I left the University of Sheffield at the end of 2007 I had amassed a total of thirty years experience in the use of media to enhance learning – experience that has embraced learning in higher education, industry, commerce and the public sector.
See also recent work.