What is non-linear video?

When I first worked for the BBC in 2002, I'd come from a corporate e-learning background, where I learned how to write a non-linear video simulation. These simulations enabled a learner to watch an opening clip, then choose from a number of options. Each option led the learner to another video clip.

These non-linear video simulations reminded me a lot of those Choose Your Own Adventure novels I used to read as a kid - you read a chapter, then got to choose an action at the end. Then you'd turn to the right page to see what happens.

I didn't live long in these adventures. Mostly I got ate by a Dragon or fell down a well (much more interesting than the e-learning equivalent, where you could make your boss look disappointed or perhaps fail to sell a printer).

So when I joined the BBC, I talked about potential of a non-linear approach to using video. But I found it very hard to get people from traditional media to understand the concept. Five years on at the crea8ivity.com event in January this year, I was surprised to hear how little things have changed.

The phrase non-linear video was bandied about during the event by a few different people - Emma Somerville - BBC Head of Interactive TV in particular used it - but nobody seemed to have a clear idea of what non-linear video is. There seemed to be an impression that simply by allowing viewers to choose which video clip they wanted to watch, you were creating a non-linear video experience.

Well not really.

A video clip played out on the web or any other platform are still 'linear video'. For me, a true non-linear video experience is about scripting and providing content that doesn't have to be played out in a straight line - content that plays out in response to user choice.

NON-LINEAR VIDEO LEARNING EXPERIENCE EXAMPLE
On a freelance project, I once got to script, shoot and build a really interesting non-linear flash-based video quiz. It used a pool of video clips in conjunction with a database of thousands of questions and images.

The design meant the learner could play the game millions of times, without ever getting the same questions. The video clips slotted together in response to the user's actions.

The game was a hit with our testers and the ROI on the game was massive. For a small investment, we ended up with a fun quiz game that could be used again and again. And we could update the quiz database whenever we wanted, providing fresh content.

LINEAR VIDEO LEARNING EXPERIENCE EXAMPLE
For the same project, I also wrote a soap opera. It consisted of 5 short episodes that had to be watched in order. The learners couldn't interact with it. It couldn't be updated. And it cost a lot more to produce.

I didn't feel that many content producers at the crea8ivity event were clear on the distinction between delivering linear video online and creating a non-linear video experience. I got the impression that people thought that once you put a documentary or short film or video clip online, it somehow stops being 'linear video'.

It doesn't. Non-linear video content needs to be carefully scripted from scratch - check out those old adventure novels! You can't take a Barbara Cartland novel, cut it up into 10 chapter, then upload it as 10 word documents and call it interactive. Sure I can choose chapter 7 instead of chapter 1 first, but the content isn't designed to be experienced that way.

I didn't think that the BBC presentations did anything to enlighten the content producers about creating non-linear video. We were bombarded with 'exciting new formats' like

- made for mobile Tardisodes
- Minisodes from archive material
- web-only programming experiences

It struck me that what the BBC are doing at the moment is creating fancy names for video content, instead of actually looking at how to create interesting video experiences.

And instead of the BBC working with the content producers to create interesting new video content, they're bamboozling them (and their audience) with fancy new names for what is essentially always always the same thing - a 5 minute linear video clip...

This is an old link...but still interesting...check out samsung's interactive film showcase. There's 10 characters. 1 event. 10 possible endings. And 11,000 ways for the story to play out.

iPhone as an e-learning device

A pretty interesting discussion has sparked off at my post about Smartphones vs Stupid Operators...worth checking out - I've certainly learned loads!

Smartphones vs Stupid Operators

Up until May 2007, I was a very basic mobile user. I had an old Sony Ericsson that I used mostly for texting. I didn't ring on it much because after a few minutes, the phone hurt my head. I didn't use the built-in camera as my digital camera was much better.

I didn't invest money in a new phone because I never really knew what a phone could do for me. I knew what my needs were, but the ads and shops were just plain confusing. And even though mobile operators only had to provide text and talk packages that made them loads of money, the packages were always so convoluted that I only ever felt like I was signing up to be ripped off. So I just stuck to my old O2 pay as you go, 200 free texts a month sim.

Buying a new phone always seemed to be about how it looked. How pretty it was. The ringtone. And for some people, the camera. I'm not big into brands or the latest gizmo, and couldn’t care less about what my phone looks like.

But then my boyfriend introduced me to the world of smartphones. He explained what the different phones and operating systems could do. And with his advice, I quickly bought a nokia n73 and changed from O2 to T-mobile to get a decent data plan, although I got ripped off on T-mobile's roaming charges (not cost effective if you live between Derry and Donegal).

But with the dataplan, I could access the web all day for the flat rate of £1. So suddenly I was able to check gmail through the gmail app, check google maps, browse the web etc.

Of course, checking mail meant needing to reply to mail...needing to reply to mail meant a data input problem, so I bought a bluetooth igo Stowaway fold-out keyboard for £40.

Having solved my data input problem, I installed quickoffice - so now I can view and edit word docs, excel sheets and powerpoint presentations. I've got the 85,000 words of my unfinished novel on my phone. That's where I edit it these days.

When I wake with great blog or game ideas in the middle of the night, I input them into my phone. It's where I do my shopping list. My expenses. I use the calcium calculator app.

I've stored music and podcasts on my phone. I've used the camera instead of my usual camera. I've taken pictures and videos of the neices and nephews. And pictures of the wine labels I've enjoyed so next time I'm in the offie, I can browse my wine label collection for one I liked.

And for learning French, I use my slovoed French dictionary - with thousands of text and audio entries, I can translate and learn on the go.

When the iphone arrived, I couldn't understand the fuss to be honest. Yes it is soooooo pretty. And touchscreens are where it's at (no more figuring out what buttons to put where – just produce one really nicely designed device and let the software do the work. When you've figured out how to do something better, you just upgrade the software).

But I'd been using my phone to do pretty much anything the iPhone can do, and maybe a bit more. So when I read in this Guardian article yesterday that 'The launch last year of Apple's iPhone proved that people will use the internet on a mobile phone' I got a bit annoyed.

The iPhone did not prove that people will use the Internet on a mobile phone. However, the iPhone ad campaign was the first mobile campaign that took time to teach people how they could use their phone.

The iPhone, ironically, is the first phone that I can think of that wasn't sold on its looks. No sexy models caressing the casing. No hot young dudes connecting with their equally hot friends on the latest must-have phone.

Apple didn’t have to sell the phone on how sexy it looked. It was an Apple product. Looking sexy was a given.

What they did instead was use their 30 second ad to give the consumer a brief tutorial in how to use your mobile. They showed us how to send an email. How to browse the web. How to check the weather on your phone.

Irritatingly, this does mean that proud new iphone owners spend their time giving me tutorials in how to send an email or browse the web. I have to say, Apple do it better. And quicker - check out their ads here.

The same Guardian article has quoted Scott Horn, general manager of Microsoft's mobile communications business group as saying "Our goal is to put a smartphone in every person's pocket."

First things first, for advertising, communications and learning, mobile technology's where it's at. More people have mobiles than have PCS. Smartphones are a stepping stone. Google and Microsoft are both throwing lots of time and money at the mobile market.

But the big problem I find here is not the phone or the software. It's the data plans. Scott Horn can put a smartphone in everyone's pocket, but what's he going to do about the rip-off data plans?

The mobile phone operators have realised that consumers want more than just text and talk. And that if we want to talk, we might want to use VoiP. Instead of texting, we want IM. And they don't want that.

I’ve got an O2 web bolt-on on my phone. O2 describe this as being ‘Unlimited Internet Access’.

What it really means is that I can browse the web and get email. I can use no more than 200MB of data per month. I can’t use internet radio, audio streaming, video streaming, skype, msn or any other instant messaging, no VoIP, no P2P, no FTP, no remote desktop, no remote access of any sort, no modem use.

And this wonderful deal only applies to UK usage…if I go abroad (which for a Northern Irish consumer means if I visit sunny sunny Cavan) I’ll be charged £8/MB.

Mobile operators used to only have to figure out ways of selling incredibly lucrative talk and text packages to consumers. Now they have to deal with all the different types of demands that mobile web brings with it.

And I get the feeling that until the mobile operators can figure out a way to truly fleece me on each individual mobile need I have (which might take them years), or until Google become a network provider, I’ll have the endure the joys of ‘Unlimited Internet Access’.

VideoJug - lots and lots of FREE online learning

VideoJug's tagline is 'Life Explained. On Film.' No small claims for this beta website then. But VideoJug do cover some of the basics, even if they don't quite constitute the "definitive online encyclopedia of life".

They've produced a jug-full of professionally-produced, high definition video content, covering everything from leisure, beauty, and style right through to health, money, and my favourite - DIY. It's kind-of a youtube for 'How do I do this thing?'

The videos are a mix of informative "How To" and "Ask The Expert" clips that take users through what VideoJug's experts think they need to know, step-by-step. I've been through quite a few of them...from the 'How to Ace a Job Interview' and 'Epilepsy Basics' through to 'How to Get a Last-minute Date for Valentine's Day'. Some of the content is good, informative and simple. It is always basic. Text captions reinforce important points. The experts range from the energised career empowerment lady to the Ross-From-Friends clone who talks about epilepsy. And himself.

But all this content is free (apart from the Google ads sprinkled around the place, of course). And there is user-generated content as well - but VideoJug are quick to say that all UGC is carefully screened and accepted. I didn't manage to find any UGC apart from some obscure DIY practices.

Anyway. VideoJug. Free online video learning on a scale we didn't imagine 5 years ago, with our narrowband restrictions and libraries locked up tight in LMSs...so get in there and have a nosey.

Learning First in Second Life

So universities are moving into Second Life. Up to 15 UK universities are known to have purchased land there. Why?

There are advantages to studying in a virtual world. For one, interaction in Second Life gets beyond the stale and limited 'communication technologies' of chat rooms, message boards and texts. Which is why Harvard has set up a Second Life courtroom where law students can practice their advocacy skills.

And you get to look how you want - because when you create your Second Life avatar, you can choose your gender, age, race and shape. Handicaps in real life - whether real or imagined - do not show on Second Life. It's your mind that matters.

Physical space doesn't matter - you can visit anywhere anytime. You can build 3-d structures to explore architectural or engineering features. And if you're interested in a niche subject that has limited face-to-face learning opportunities, you can connect online with other learners scattered across the First Life globe.

Lecturers like the fact they can actually 'see' who's involved in the learning, and who's snoozing at the back of the class (although the idea of recreating the not awfully successful lecturing model in Second Life wouldn't be the first learning model I'd choose).

Of course it's not all straightfoward - there are the usual technological constraints at the moment (you'll have get yourself some powerful computer kit and a whole lot of bandwidth).

Under current thinking, it's probable that universities will create their own worlds, where learning can happen under their control (just what are the copyright laws in Second Life?). And I think that this will negate one of the most important aspects of Second Life - sheer scale of people from all across the world sharing one space.

And of course we have to wonder will we end up with a group of Second Lifers whose social skills in the virtual world are impeccable, but who can't remember how to shake someone's hand in real life?

Find out more at this Guardian article.

Buzzmarketing + e-learning = BuzzLearning?

I'm reading Mark Hughes' Buzzmarketing right now. He's the guy who took the number of Half.com users from zero to eight million in just three years, without a huge marketing budget. The secret? Make your company a magnet for media attention and word of mouth, by any means necessary.

I began reading the book out of interest - how do people create massively successful websites? How do producers generate the 'buzz' that gets people talking about their content or product?

Then I started wondering how we can create e-learning with buzz.

Education isn't a field that's expert at marketing. Based on our Industrial model of education, students have to go to school. It's the law. We don't bother 'selling' the idea of school or education to them - we force them to do it. Kids spend an average of 7 hours a day in the classroom, 'learning'.

So what do they talk about in the playground or at home? What's got them buzzing? Strangely enough, it's not the curriculum. It's new music. New games. New technologies. New news. The things they're finding out for themselves in their own time. They're teaching each other how to do stuff. They're trying new things out. They're deciding what's got buzz, and what doesn't.

Ok. So subjects like Irish language or Victorian history just aren't as sexy as Paris Hilton's Jail Saga. But it's not just the content that keeps learning from being as buzzworthy as possible - it's also how it's presented.

In a traditional online learning experience, the learner is asked to log-in. They're either given a linear path to follow through set content, or they can select which modules of content they want to learn. The learning experience can range from the passive consumption of text, graphics, audio and video to truly interactive games that surprise and engage.

At the end, achievement is usually scored, and the learner congratulated. Some websites even personalise a little certificate you can print out and stick up on your fridge.

No-one's buzzing...because not only is there no opportunity to share knowledge or achievement in the ways they share informal knowledge or achievement, the stuff they're studying isn't what they see as relevant to their lives.

We all need to show off a bit. To explore or make things. Try things out and comment. Sure we have learning supported message boards and chatrooms, but I've not seen an e-learning shared space buzz the way youtube does. And we're not giving learners the choice of exploring what they want to learn, when they want to learn it.

Microsoft Designertopia conference

I'm off to London tomorrow, to drop into the Microsoft Designertopia conference (see http://www.designertopia.net for more info). Apparently, design has a new face, and that face is Microsoft.

The conference speakers will challenge us to 'Create rich user experiences, beyond the browser' and we will 'Stand out among the crowd.' We shall be empowered to 'start building the next Web today.' Apparently we'll meet lots of inspirational people and speakers, who will encourage us to think outside 'the box'. And perhaps we'll down a glass of wine or three along the way.

The conference is split into 2 tracks - one is for creative heads, the other is for techies. I know a few other people going there (bbc heads, university designers and a few freelancers) so between us we might manage to cover both tracks and see whether or not Microsoft's new products really can help us to create 'more enjoyable, satisfying and productive user and customer experiences across all classes of software, on all types of device.'

Gentle cynicism aside, I am genuinely interested in Microsoft's vision for creative interactive content...they promise to explain how we can use cross browser, cross platform, technologies like AJAX, WPF/E and Windows Media to enhance the user experience and provide us with richest experience imaginable.

And, as the website says, Microsoft are 'committed to deliver tools and technologies to serve your creativity.' The downside is that 'The only boundary is your imagination.'

So if everything I see and hear on Thursday and Friday doesn't light my creative fire, that is because I lack the imagination. *sigh*