Poll of the Day > What are your thoughts on educational videos?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I must have these answers.

entirely depends on the situation and what the subject matter is.

usually an article, but occasionally a video can be better, like for figuring out how to open something

I'm more of a visual learner.

I made this topic because about half of the material in my Python certification course is contained in video format. I'd much rather read a tutorial of the material, rather than watch a video of it. I admit that it's petty that I complain about this sort of thing, since there are countless articles of documentation available on the internet, in addition to the ones built into the interpreter.

I prefer to quickly read an article instead of sit through a video. However, there are some things that I learn better with a video, so it really depends on what I'm trying to learn.

I like reading more than watching well-produced nature documentaries with David Attenborough. It's always better not to see something.

Usually reading an article. Videos too often annoy me for not getting straight to the point, or too slowly to the point.

KJ_StErOiDs posted...

Usually reading an article. Videos too often annoy me for not getting straight to the point, or too slowly to the point.

This exactly.

Depends on what you mean by education. I like edutainment like Tasting History With Max Miller or toldinstone and more recently Miniminuteman (not his TikTok stuff).

all forms of education are wack!

The only educational videos I like are Huggbees.

KJ_StErOiDs posted...

Usually reading an article. Videos too often annoy me for not getting straight to the point, or too slowly to the point.

Indeed, which is why I hang out on GameFAQs instead of YouTube. If I want to know how to get to the treasure chest on level 9 I want to Ctrl-F it in a text FAQ and get an answer in a minute...not watch a 30-minute video.

That said, if I need to do a plumbing/car repair YouTube is useful.

Judgmenl posted...

what you mean by education

I refer to those videos that serve as how-to guides.

I love Bill Nye yeah

EclairReturns posted...

I refer to those videos that serve as how-to guides.

How-to guides are extremely hit or miss.

I also love David Attenborough

Videos.

I learn far better from videos.

A human explaining something also tells me how I should feel about certain things. They might add "in reality we'll never actually do this..." but in an article or documentation, they might consider that kind of (very helpful) comment inappropriate.

They also add comments like "you might be confused, but..." articles never say these things.

I like training videos for software like Adobe products, but for programming it doesn't make much sense to me. I'd rather read a book or tutorials and go at my own pace.

kind9 posted...

I like training videos for software like Adobe products, but for programming it doesn't make much sense to me. I'd rather read a book or tutorials and go at my own pace.

99% of programming how to videos are very bad.
The 1% of them are about niche software, which are extremely useful.

Depends entirely on the subject.

A mix of both is usually preferred. Usually something visual for the general gist and then an article for further understanding.

In the end, I don't really know it until I can sit down with a blank sheet of paper and explain and draw what I'm trying to do.

hypnox posted...

entirely depends on the situation and what the subject matter is.

Pretty much. Sometimes, seeing the steps laid out in writing is more beneficial. Sometimes, seeing the process being done on video is more helpful. It depends mostly how visual the procedure is: If it involves looking at whatever you're working on to find things (car maintenance, for example), a video is going to be much better than a written description of what to look for. If not, written may be better.

An article would be my favorite, but so many websites have such godawful layout and design choice these days, I'd rather just find a video and skip through the 30 seconds of "this video is sponsored by..." I much prefer to read though, I find myself rewinding videos often to try and understand them.

Turn on subtitles for the best of both worlds