2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

With the 30th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm approaching, a US Navy veteran turned computer technology professor posted a video recording to YouTube that was recorded aboard ship and stored away for nearly three decades. The video went largely unnoticed for more than a year before it began receiving a large number of views in only a few days.

The events depicted show sailors in action in the main battery plotting room for the 16” guns on the Battleship Missouri in February of 1991 as they prepare for the ground war phase of Operation Desert Storm. The unedited video shows forty of the most harrowing minutes experienced by the ship during that war when the sailors respond to an Iraqi missile attack and also a suspected chemical attack.

While the video itself is significant as a part of the historical record, there are some other aspects of this experience that should be of interest to educators and students of any field. Some scholars argue that making and posting videos is a form of writing and a kind of literacy. However, in academic settings, making and sharing videos is not widely held in the same regard as text-based writing.

This Desert Storm video had wide appeal for a large audience, gaining the attention of over three million viewers. However, it seems unlikely that a written account of the same event would be able to gain that sort of attention. This is basic media literacy; understanding the strengths and possibilities of different forms of media for communicating ideas and events.

Also worth considering are the interactions between the public and the combat veteran scholar that were made possible through the comments section of YouTube. Many commenters were supportive and others critical of what was shown in the video. With nearly 3,000 comments, this example provides a good sample of widely diverse points of view from an online group of viewers. There is a great deal to learn from a source of information such as this.

Scholars and educators are turning to new digital forms of scholarship and students are continually exploring new ways to learn in online environments. While traditional approaches to teaching and learning still appear to have the highest regard and credibility, we must be open to using the new ways as well.