MyBrainshark: the incredible value of voice-over

This week at Warwick we had the unique privilege of being taught by Russell Stannard, who probably needs no introduction!

In the first of two sessions we were introduced to a number of important tools, several of which have considerable potential in terms of podcasting/vodcasting. They all have their uses and it was great to be shown!

Today, however, I'd like to focus on one in particular - MyBrainshark - as I believe it has huge potential: not just in terms of getting students to practise speaking (Russell is certainly right about that), but also in terms of facilitating constructivist learning in blended or "flipped classroom" contexts.

To illustrate what I mean, here is a short presentation I prepared earlier on the subject of "Learning Styles", a topic that aroused a great deal of interest during this week's EVO2014 Business English Teachers course (something I've been participating in online in parallel to my MA studies). In so doing, I'd like to thank the webinar presenter, Marjorie Rosenberg for getting me so interested in the topic.

I've used the tool in conjunction with PowerPoint in this instance, but MyBrainshark in fact works equally well with Word documents, PDF files and even pictures/videos…it compresses all the information and makes it available on the web. And in its basic form, it's free!

[Russell Stannard provides an excellent, step-by-step guide to the tool at http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/brain/index.html.]

Relevance and rationale
As such, it permits the easy distribution of mini-lectures like the one I've embedded above. These can be viewed by learners ahead of class, meaning they turn up briefed on the subject that's to be studied. 

As pioneers of the "flipped classroom" idea have previously pointed out, this saves a huge amount of classroom time and paves the way for students to concentrate on applying, rather than simply receiving ideas in class. Meanwhile, the teacher is better able to position himself/herself as a facilitator of learning during contact hours, and can better differentiate between individual learner needs as they have more time to spend with the students.

This "flipped classroom" approach will work provided that teachers from the outset get students to see  that the online and physical learning environments are connected, as Pete Sharma wisely points out in another post.

Propensity to foster language learning
Meanwhile, as Russell Stannard has pointed out, this tool can also offer students the opportunity digitally to reflect on their learning and practise their speaking without necessarily feeling under pressure of assessment. In business school contexts - where formal presentation skills are often highly emphasized and repeatedly assessed, but actual introductory training may be lacking - I'd suggest this offers two good ways forward.

First, teachers can demonstrate good presentation technique simply by showing a presentation they've prepared earlier and asking students to analyze it. In my experience, demonstrating communication skills (e.g. introducing the talk; signposting language) beats simply telling students to do things they're unfamiliar with any day!

But secondly, Russell's right when it comes to giving students more confidence to speak up. By allowing students a "dry run" (even if it's rehearsed) with their presentations - and giving personalized feedback - teachers can encourage students and help them feel a lot less stressed when they have to present to the class under test conditions.

Alternatively - within a different set-up, perhaps - students can be invited to create a number of reflective podcasts and submit those they're happiest with for assessment. MyBrainshark may not be the only tool worth using for this purpose, but it's certainly a good option for many students.

Potential limitations
Admittedly, Present.me (another great tool) offers one thing MyBrainshark does not - it permits viewers to watch both presentation slides and a presenter simultaneously, in a manner not unlike a webinar (minus the backchannel element).

However, one can argue that a) this isn't always necessary for a presentation to be considered successful, and b) some learners would rather opt for audio only if offered the choice over how to create content. So if it were up to me, I'd ask learners to decide for themselves which tool to go for.

All in all, I think MyBrainshark is a superb tool and well worth using for instructional purposes in E-learning/blended learning contexts. It can also be very motivating for students to use it and receive personalized feedback from their teacher online. I would recommend it to fellow teachers without hesitation.