Streaming Media for E-Learning: A Primer

I'm preparing a series of blog articles on the topic E-Learning Using Collaboration Platforms. In the series I will discuss:

• Collaboration Platform Technology
• Synchronous Delivery
• Asynchronous Delivery
  
• Overview of Products on the Market
  
• Production Considerations
  
• What works (and what doesn't work)
  
• The Online Instructor
  
• Mentoring
• Integrating Collaboration Solutions and Other E-Learning Channels

This is an area of technology in education that I'm especially interested in, so I'm really looking forward to bringing this set of blog posts to you here on the E-Learning Curve Blog. As the series is still under development, there's an opportunity to request an article on an aspect of this topic that you might like to see covered: let me know and I'll see what I can do.

In the meantime, I thought I'd give you a 'heads up' by discussing some of the fundamentals surrounding using collaboration solutions: streaming media.

Until about five years ago, Web-based audio and video - or digital - media was primarily a download-and-play technology. Users had to download an entire media file before it could be played back. If you're over 30, you'll remember those postage stamp-sized video clips (usually in ASF or MOV format) that took forever to load over your dial-up connection (and were hardly worth the wait). Because digital media files are usually very large and take a long time to download, the only content found on the Web was short, low motion clips. Even these files could take 20 minutes or longer to download.

How video used to look and sound – Marc J. Rosenberg discusses personalized learning
[Click to play video]

With the increasing availability of high-speed internet access, streaming digital media has become more prevalent. In the consumer market, this has led to the rise in popularity of services like YouTube, and the current emergence of video-on-demand (VOD) solutions like Hulu, as well as ustream and for lifecasting and live video streaming of events online.

Streaming media works almost instantaneously: other than a short delay before the requested file starts to play, you don't have to wait to start watching, no matter if the file lasts thirty seconds or thirty minutes in duration.

Broadly speaking, there are two way of delivering streaming digital media content over the Web. The first method uses a standard HTTP Web server to deliver the audio and video data to a media player. The second approach uses a separate streaming media server designed specifically to stream digital media. Using a streaming server is more efficient and flexible, provides a better user experience, and is more secure than HTTP streaming.

Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, and I will begin to look at these tomorrow.

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