Internet Learning Volume 5, Number 1, Fall 2016/Winter 2017 | Page 49

Internet Learning ture live lectures for long-life recordings. There are other applications, such as to record and present research results for papers and personal professional development, and to assess students. The methods and the technologies are important, but only if the video content informs, educates, and entertains the audience. The craft of achieving these three objectives is integral to resources that enhance learning. These principles can be achieved in the hands of lecturers, but that means learning the craft, not the theory. It is hands-on, practical, and physical. It is a whole-body activity. Background A lecturer interested in video for internet learning may have an uphill task. There are good reasons why. There are practical problems such as shortage of time to learn new skills. There are also the conflicting priorities of teaching and research. Time spent developing teaching methods can affect research output. To be a main stream media performer can be a hurdle to an academic career. Mainstream media appearances are by the most senior staff with recognized authoritative published standing. Younger enthusiastic popularizers must tread with care. Academic staffs, who work with professional film crews, become aware of the value of recording, and presentation and communication methods that work well in academic life. There is little incentive to share these methods with colleagues. A similar situation in the United States is known as the Sagan Effect; Carl Sagan was the superstar science popularizer who lost out on prestigious appointments in the 1960s and 1990s. Martinez-Conde, Powell, and Macknick, (2016) report an unsuspecting high-quality researcher recently received unintentional acclaim in the press and online TED only to find applications for research funding refused and very unfavorable anonymous review of his papers. There is disinclination to appear in front of a camera. It is not part of serious academic life. These attitudes are changing: there is a determination to use media, but in an individualized way. We do things differently: an approach that is logical, because the professional acceptable method to assimilate new teaching ideas is through research. Theory must inform practice. It is a lonely path, for the awards are for individual endeavor. New discoveries come with career rewards for papers and recognition of teaching excellence. The process of creating resources for their own students is a challenge, and an exciting, fulfilling personal learning journey. However, there is also much unnecessary reinventing of the wheel. Research into new online learning technologies has value. But it is the experience of the author that the principles behind the quality of creative content for the technologies were solved by the BBC Radio and Television education broadcast department staff long ago. For example, PowerPoint and Keynote are only digital versions of the analogue BBC Radiovision Filmstrips which began in 1953 with full screen photos; color graphics; stereo sound on 48