ANALYSIS OF VIDEO TECHNOLOGIES USED IN E-LEARNING

Audio-video materials found in Web applications dedicated to e-Learning are usually prerecorded media content or live broadcasts from classrooms. Examples of the former include:  multimedia tutorials delivered as interactive forms or demonstrations;  audio-video presentations made by teachers on a particular topic;  recorded functional demonstrations for various devices, equipment and software. The techniques and methods used to distribute these items are part of the Web 2.0 tools, particularly podcast and streaming. In order to analyze the current usage of these e-Learning elements in education (video technologies especially), a critical study was conducted on a sample representing 50 national and international virtual universities. The results of the questionnaires were put in conjunction with internal studies conducted at the “Politehnica” University of Timisoara, as well as with everyday usage of streaming technology. Results and discussions are the subjects of this paper. They emphasize the fact that in our contemporary era of ICT rapid developments, where media goes almost entirely online, the need to include the video technologies in e-Learning becomes not only urgent, but also essential (Goggin 1982).