Learnersourcing Subgoal Labels for How-to Videos

Abstract

Websites like YouTube host millions of how-to videos, but the interfaces are not optimized for learning. Previous research suggests that users learn more from how-to videos when the information from the video is presented in outline form, with individual steps and labels for groups of steps (subgoals) shown. We envision an alternative video player where the steps and subgoals are displayed alongside the video. To generate this information for existing videos, we propose a learnersourcing approach, where people actively learning from a video provide such information. To demonstrate this method, we created a workflow where learners contribute and refine subgoal labels for how-to videos. We deployed a live website with our workflow implemented on a set of introductory web programming videos. For the four videos with the highest participation, we found that a majority of learner-generated subgoals were comparable in quality to expert-generated ones. Learners commented that the system helped them grasp the material, suggesting that our workflow did not detract from the learning experience.