ETEC 511: Foundations of Educational Technology

Dr. Franc Feng

Turn on the camera, Professor!

Video Lectures in higher education courses online

Retrieved from: http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/e/e-learning.asp

By: Claude DSouza

41667007
December 18, 2012
Introduction

Several higher education institutions now offer undergraduate and graduate courses

and/or programs online. The number of students taking at least one online course has expanded

at a rate in excess of the growth of overall higher education enrollments (Storey and Tebes,

2008, para. 3). This phenomenon may be partly due to the fact that online courses are more cost-

effective, as students can now pay less for a high quality of education previously only offered in

a traditional face-to-face environment (Garbett, 2011). Several educational researchers are

analyzing these online courses from different perspectives in order to determine best practice in

terms of course design. This paper will focus on the use of video lectures in presenting the

weekly course material that is at the core of many higher education courses offered online. The

central argument is that new media, particularly video technology, employed by the course

instructor for weekly lectures, when implemented effectively, is an integral part of a higher

education course offered online, enhancing both the quality of the course and the learners

perception of it.
Figure 1. The History of Online Video 2005-2007 (Branckaute, 2010)
Background

According to creator and producer of daily vlog Rocketboom Andrew Baron (2010), with

the arrival of broadband speeds in 2004, enough full colour frames could be delivered per second

so that a video could be seen as fluid, rather than as frames of consecutive images.

Consequently, as indicated in Figure 1 (Branckaute, 2010), organized group video-sharing

websites emerged in 2005, and the first YouTube video was published in April of that same year.

The purchase of this video-sharing website by Google in October 2006 likely helped make

YouTube the most visited video service website among American users (Branckaute, 2010). In

terms of the content of the videos being watched, education and news are regularly among the

top categories. Finally, Branckaute reveals that approximately 80 percent of Americans between

the ages of 18 and 29 watch videos online; this statistic is likely to be similar in many other

developed countries where internet connection is reliable. As indicated by these facts,

university-age students enjoy watching online videos on the internet, and educational videos are

among the popular categories of online video content that they choose to watch.

The term new media, according to Petrina and Feng (2009) has now replaced

Information Technology (IT) or Information and Communication Technology (ICT), as most

researchers assert that the new digital technologies encompass much more than information and

communication. New media or digital media design signifies the new digital curriculum in the

schools, such as animation, gaming, mobile computing, web design and video, and has more

currency than IT or ICT in education (Petrina and Feng, 2008, p. 11). This term has been used in

this paper to refer to the video lecture technology that instructors can utilise in order to present

the digital curriculum in higher education courses offered online.

Rationale

When studying in an online environment is a new learning arena for students, they

experience a whole new set of physical, emotional, and psychological issues along with the

educational issues (Palloff & Pratt, 2007, p. 6). These issues are related to the development of

social presence. For example, students are unable to see, hear, or touch the people who are

communicating online. Furthermore, when questioned about their experience with online

courses, learners who value the face-to-face component of traditional learning feel isolated and

less connected in online courses (Reisetter & Boris, 2004). The researchers of this latter study

discovered that although participants did not necessarily visit frequently with the teacher online,

or send an inordinate number of emails to the instructor, it was obvious that the teachers voice

in the course design was critical (Reisetter & Boris, p. 288). Students who feel they need face-

to-face interaction do not enroll in courses online, or may drop them after they feel that their

learning will suffer in this mode of education. Zapalska and Brozik (2007) emphasize the

importance of accommodating all types of learners when developing a distance-learning course,

which includes providing content in multiple formats and encouraging active and collaborative

interaction.

Currently, with the aforementioned development of the internet such that videos can be

easily accessed and watched online, instructors have the opportunity to share video lectures

with students in an online platform. With video recording software such as TechSmiths

Camtasia Studio readily available and reasonably priced, an instructor can now easily produce

video lectures that help make higher education courses offered online even more meaningful,

and similar to courses offered in a traditional face-to-face setting.

Preliminary Findings

A case study by Ed Hahn (2012) at Weber State University surveyed students who

completed an online information literacy course given the options of reading material and/or

video lectures. The overall result was that most students who chose to use the video lectures

found them to be helpful. Similar results were found in Lents and Cifuentes (2009)

experimental study of video lectures in a biology course. Moreover, their study compared the

results of students who chose to be in the experimental group using only web-based video

lectures with students who preferred to be in the control group, and received only the standard

in-class lecture delivery. The results indicated that video lectures were just as effective as live

lectures in the delivery of the science-based content.

Even in higher education courses offered on campus that require physical attendance,

instructors are making use of online video lectures (that are viewed as homework) as part of their

curriculum. Lancaster, McQueeney, & Van Amburgh (2011) experimented with using online

videos for instruction as homework, and concluded that electronic lecture delivery enhances

learning and better connects curriculum with a more tech-savvy generation of students. Students

are able to watch the video at their own pace, going back and reviewing sections if needed, and

then apply the knowledge in class with guidance from the professor.

Theoretical Implications

By analyzing educational video technology through the lens of phenomenology and

design based on instructional foundations, there is sufficient evidence to support its inclusion in

higher education courses offered online. DallAlba and Barnacle (2005) assert that issues

regarding embodied cognition should be a foremost consideration when trying to assess and
comprehend the role of information communication and technologies (ICTs) in learning. Thus, it

is important to consider the perceived experience of the user with regards to video lectures.

Based on the aforementioned research results of students who have used lecture videos online,

the feedback has been generally positive. Provision of support is one of the four key features

of online learning that support good practice identified by Marion Coomey and Joseph Stevenson

(DallAlba & Barnacle, p726). Video lectures created by the instructor facilitate this provision,

as they help students better understand the course material presented in the readings.

Educational media has been transformed with the development of new media such that students

are now able to experience an instructors lecture online, and still have control over their own

learning, and this agency of the individual learner is another of Coomey and Stevensons four

features (DallAlba & Barnacle).

The application element of the science of e-learning presented by Mayer (2003) outlines

the principles of how to effectively design electronic learning environments. Mayers research

on the effects of multimedia learning resulted in nine major findings that can be used to inform

an instructors design of multimedia explanations (a.k.a. video lectures!):

Table 1. Some Design Principles for the Design of Multimedia Explanations (Mayer,
2003, p. 310)
Principle

Modality principle: When designing a multimedia explanation, present the words in

spoken form.

Contiguity principle: When designing a multimedia explanation, present

corresponding words and pictures at the same time.

Multimedia principle: When designing a computer-based explanation, use both

words and pictures.

Personalization principle: When designing a multimedia explanation, present words

in conversational style.

Coherence principle: When designing a multimedia explanation, avoid extraneous

video and audio.
Redundancy principle: When designing a multimedia explanation involving
animation and narration, do not add redundant on-line text.

Pretraining principle: When designing a multimedia explanation, begin the

presentation with concise descriptions of the components.

Signaling principle: When designing a multimedia explanation, provide signaling for

the narration.

Pacing principle: When designing a multimedia explanation, allow the learner to

have control over the pace of presentation.

As argued by Kozma (1994), the integration of media, method, and educational context is

important when considering how to use ICTs effectively. Clark (1994) challenges Kozma and

argues that media is not as important as the method; the instructional method is the independent

variable that is necessary for learning to occur, whereas the technology used only influences the

cost or speed of that learning. Clark defines methods as the provision of cognitive processes or

strategies that are necessary for learning but which students cannot or will not provide for

themselves (p. 27). It may be possible for teachers to use other media such as YouTube videos,

Powerpoint slides, additional readings, etc. to provide the necessary processes or strategies

needed to learn the material. However, a teacher-created video lecture can directly focus on the

weekly reading material and the concepts that the students must take away from those readings.

Furthermore, as instructors cannot share a physical learning space with their students online, the

video lecture serves as a tool that best allows them to play a more active role in the presentation

of course material, as they would in a traditional classroom setting. In an online learning

context, the new media chosen by the instructor to teach the material is in fact integrated with the

desired instructional method; although the type of audiovisual technology used to create a video

can be changed, the video lecture itself as a key component of the course cannot be substituted
for any other type of IT or ICT technology that consists of only one or neither of the audiovisual

features.

Limitations

The following section will present limitations of designing an online course with new media

in the from of video lectures, and suggestions for addressing each of the concerns:

1. A teacher may be uncomfortable working with video technology that is unfamiliar, thus

hindering his/her ability to effectively present the course material. In order to ensure best

teaching practice, Renes and Strange (2010) insist that instructors should master the

software and hardware needed to teach a distance course and learn as much as possible

about teaching in the distance environment before any actual teaching begins (p. 208).

This requires possibly watching tutorials on how to use the video technology that one

plans to use, or to take a course with a technical expert that allows the teacher to practice

using the technology in a safe environment.

2. Additionally, professors may experience anxiety over the quality of the finished product

(Hughes, 2009). There may also be anxiety over their appearance on camera, which may

hinder their ability to produce an effective lecture. In response to the former issue,

Hughes states that although a certain level of professionalism is required in the lecture,

students do not expect a perfect presentation; in fact, they may even enjoy the occasional

mistake in a lecture, as lecturers are seen as human and students confidence can be

helped by seeing that even their professor can make mistakes. In response to the concern

over appearance, teachers need practice speaking in front of a camera before recording

lectures. If instructors are still uncomfortable with having their face in front of the

camera, video lectures can be just as effective with just your voice as a narrator rather
 than as an actor. In fact, according to Khan Academy founder Salman Khan, the

appearance of a human face might make it harder for students to focus on the content,

and by not being on camera, the lecturer does not have to worry about his/her appearance

(Gupta, 2012). As long as there is an engaging visual component for the students, such as

writing on a digital blackboard or a Powerpoint presentation, the lecturer does not have to

be visually present in the video.

3. A teacher may underestimate or be unwilling to devote the time needed to prepare for a

higher education course. It is important that the course instructor recognizes that a

distance course takes more time to develop than a traditional face-to-face course (Renes

and Strange). A course that includes video lectures would require even more preparation

and time. Vaughn (2007) finds it best to prepare as much of the course ahead of time as

is possible for the teacher. The initial motivation has to come from the instructor, who

will need to spend the time needed to record and edit the video lectures. The

sustainability of the video lecture in future courses, the availability of time needed to

create the videos, and the perceptions of the online course instructor regarding the

effectiveness of video lectures as learning tools will determine the likelihood of its

incorporation into the online curriculum.

4. Students may also experience difficulty understanding how to effectively make use of the

technology required to watch the video lectures. Technical difficulties may arise

regarding the audio and/or visual components of this technology. First, a teacher needs to

provide information using podcasts, printed material, etc. that clearly explains how to use

technology needed in the course, and these aids must be readily accessible for the

duration of the course (Renes and Strange). Furthermore, Renes and Strange insist that
 instructors should let their students know that help is available if they cannot understand

the various aspects of the technology needed for course participation.

5. Even though there may eventually be a level of familiarity with video lectures, it is

possible that students will only read the course material and disregard the video lecture

option. According to Hahn (2012), whose aforementioned case study results indicated

that 43% of students opted only to read course material, there may still be a lack of

comfort using different types of multimedia. Nevertheless, Hahn believes that as more

online classes integrate video lectures as part of online higher education courses, they

should become a more commonly used tool for understanding course material.

Conclusion

From the onset of the 21st century, internet and video technology has

developed such that anyone is able to create and share videos with online

users anywhere in the world. In the ever growing online education market,

there is a need for new media to be included as part of the higher education

course curriculum. In particular, the rapid development and affordability of

video technology, combined with online students preference for an

instructors presence in the higher education course, warrants the discussion

over whether teacher-created video lectures should become commonplace in

the online learning platform. Initial research indicates that the inclusion of

video lectures appeals to certain students who prefer audiovisual learning,

and that video lectures are comparable to live lectures presented in the

traditional face-to-face environment. Further research is still needed to

determine exactly which new media in educational technology are most

effective in terms of what they offer, how much they cost, and how they

meet the learning needs of the students. Instructors who decide to use

videos must carefully consider the design principles of multimedia

explanations outlined by Mayer, as well as other factors such as their own

experience with new media, individual teaching style, preparation time

required, and anticipated student problems using the technology. The

inclusion of video lectures by the course instructor is a major step towards

creating an online higher education course that is comparable to its

traditional face-to-face counterpart.

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