Both faculty and students can find it difficult to establish a student/instructor and interactive "human" relationship through an online environment, leading some skeptics to discount the possibility that online learning can be as effective as traditional learning, particularly for science courses. One way to help remedy this, as well as to teach more abstract scientific concepts online, is to write, develop, produce, and effectively implement visual media and instructional videos.
The objective of this project was to design, produce, and map the success rate of online instructional videos created to supplement seven science labs for an online physical science course, and to develop a system of technological and pedagogical best practices. The primary questions we sought to answer were: 1) From the students' perspective, will instructor-produced video help establish teaching presence in an online course? In addition, the secondary questions included: 2) Will students perceive these videos as worthwhile and credible? 3) Did the students report that these videos were important to their online learning experience, and did course scores and attrition data support this claim? 4) What type of instructional products would the students like to see more of in this course? 5) What did we learn about creation, production, and distribution of the videos, and what would we do differently for future videos?
This project spanned two academic years (2009/2010-2010/2011), with the video design and production taking one year and the impact study spanning the following two consecutive academic semesters. A total of 32 sections (averaging approximately 30 students each) of the online general education physical science course involved with this project were offered by the college during the semester in which the survey was administered, and in the sections selected for participation in this study, the student response rate to the survey was 80.4%. Viewing the videos was a required component of the course, and all of the participants took part in online discussion boards and quizzes concerning the video content (the performance of which were analyzed), and finally in a 17-item survey that measured their perceptions of the instructor's teaching presence and the impact the instructional videos had on their success in the online course.
The survey contained 17 closed-ended questions (7 five-level Likert items, 5 yes/no items, 1 ranking item, 4 multiple choice items) and 1 open-ended comments question. Representatives from the science teaching faculty and the distance education and instructional technology departments provided feedback on survey question design. The survey was Web-delivered, password-protected, and released randomly to two sections of the course.
All video was shot with a Canon XL-1 standard definition camera with BeachTek XLR adapter and VariZoom VZ-PRO-F Fujinon 8-pin Pro Zoom control. Various tripods, bounces and scrims, and lights were also used. Audio was recorded using a Samsung lavalier microphone and receiver. Survey data regarding student connection speed (over 90% of students used DSL or cable) suggest that it may be better to shoot future video in high definition. Any additional video, text, images, or graphics added that was not part of our original video was in the public domain or licensed with Creative Commons copyright. Video animations were created using Adobe Flash and Apple Final Cut Pro. Video distribution included streaming video (with different bandwidth options that could give a 640x480 presentation), downloadable video and audio mp3 (using Camtasia), and DVD. All options were free and linked in the virtual classroom except for the DVD, for which students were charged $3.00 for cost of materials.
Upon reviewing the pedagogical data from this study, we found that 88.2% of students enjoyed watching the videos, and 91.2% of students surveyed agreed that the instructor-student relationship was important to them. Nearly all (94.1%) the students surveyed valued having the opportunity to virtually meet/see the instructor as well as hearing his/her voice via video. Effectiveness of the videos and their impact on student learning was supported both by student performance (average course completion rate = 68.4% prior to implementation of videos, 84.9% after implementation of videos; raw mean overall grade = 64.2% prior to implementation of videos, 72.2% after implementation of videos) and the fact that 88.2% of students claimed that the videos helped them to learn content in the course, with 85.3% agreeing that the videos were actually necessary for students to succeed in the course. Of those surveyed, 90.3% of students believed that viewing the videos had a direct (positive) impact on their final grade in this course. Ultimately, 88.2% of students surveyed agreed that they would like to see more content-related videos incorporated into the course.
Overall, data from this project certainly indicates that, from the students' perspectives, the time and effort it takes for an instructional design team (instructor, instructional technologist/designer, producer, etc.) to develop and produce course video(s) are valued.
The presentation of this project will be very interactive in format, whereby participants can dialogue with the presenters about the aforementioned data that supports the positive impact of instructional science videos on student learning and perceptions in the online classroom. Charts, tables, graphs, and quantitative summaries (both in poster and electronic/PowerPoint slides) will represent this data (which includes not only analysis of the survey listed above, but also institutional data regarding course retention rates and student academic performance), and the data will also be available in handout format and given to each participant, and can also be made available electronically via the conference website. In addition, participants can also interact with the actual videos via a multimedia display, and navigate through them and their components. The technology, equipment, and tools used to create the videos will also be on display/available for participant interaction. One presenter is an instructional technologist, and can field all questions related to production and creation of the videos, while the other presenter is a faculty member who teaches science courses online, and can answer all related pedagogical questions. Participants will also be given a free DVD of the videos used in this project.
