Effective use of Echo360 and other capture techniques in large- and small-scale teaching settings:...

Effective use of Echo360 and other capture techniques in large- and small-scale teaching settings: perceptions of students, academic staff and technologists

Overview | About | Technology | Research findings | Research design | Results | Conclusions | Next Steps


John Couperthwaite, Rob JonesCollege of Medical and Dental SciencesUniversity of Birmingham, UK





Overview

• About lecture recording

• Technology comparison

• Educational research

• Research rationale and design

• Preliminary results

o Studentso Staffo Technologists

• Conclusions and Next Steps





About Lecture Recording

• definitions and scope

• a brief history

• characteristics

• potential benefits

• barriers

“Web-based lecture technologies (WBLT) are distributed digital recording systems to capture face-to-face lectures for web delivery. These recordings are converted into streaming media formats available for access 24 x 7”

(Gosper et al, 2007)

- easy of setup

- screen capture

- synchronised audio recording

- automated publishing systems

- web delivery

- streaming content

- scheduling

- various output formats

- revision aide

- revisit complex ideas or concepts

- work through at own pace

- reuse for other modules and courses

- improve student satisfaction

- take comprehensive notes

- create a lecture portfolio

- training resource for junior staff

- bandwidth

- potential disincentive to attendance

- sends message to ‘listen back’

- waste of time re-listening

- threatens instructor’s role

- changing technology





Technology Comparison

Further information: http://copland.udel.edu/~mathieu/sc/2007-10-26_Screen_Capture_v1.1.pdf

Echo360

MediaSite

Camtasia

Articulate

Captivate

CamStudio

PhotoStory



Technology : some examples

• Echo360

• Articulate Presenter

• Camtasia, Photostory, SoundSlides

Echo360 >>

Articulate >>

Photostory >>





Educational Research

Impact on attendance

Impact on programmes

Student perceptions

Student reasons for use

Staff perceptions






Impact on Attendance

Not affected: 80.8% of students reported attendance similar to recorded as non-recorded (Mayer, 2006); similar results from Neville and Fardon, 2003; Williams and Fardon, 2005; Brotherton and Abowd, 2004)

New teaching style staff have tried to increase interactivity to encourage attendance (Phillips et al, 2007)






Impact on Programmes

No change: 75% had little or no change in their curricula following the introduction of wholescale lecture;

New teaching style: 25% had increased emphasis on online communication and activities

( study of four Australian universities, Phillips et al, 2007)

Complement teaching: recordings are provided to supplement rather than subsitute for regular class attendance (Buxton,2005)

Not compulsory: recorded lectures made available at the discretion of the lecturer (Buxton,2005)






Student Perceptions

Supporting learning: 94% students agreed recorded lectures were useful in relation to their studies (Soong et al, 2006)

79.9% found lecture recordings made it easier for them to learn in a significant or moderate way (Gosper et al, 2007)

Course enhancement: 75% found lecture recordings enhanced their course compared to other subjects not using recordings (n=411) (McElroy & Blount, 2006)

Improving grades: 66.7% indicated using recorded lectures either helped them significant or moderate way to achieve better results (Gosper et al, 2007)





Student Reasons for Use

Missed lecture: 75.7%

Convenience: 53.4%

Exam preparation: 48.1%

Review difficult concepts: 42.5%

Clarify lecture notes: 36.9%

Too busy to attend: 30.6%


(McKenzie,2006)





Research rationale and designAim: to investigate the educational and logistical implications of

introducing lecture recording to undergraduate and postgraduate courses in the College of Medical and Dental Sciences.

Methodology: 1. record all Infection 2 lectures (BMedSc) using Echo360

2. requires manual setup and ad-hoc capture for each lecture in different lecture theatres

3. release all recorded content to students via WebCT Vista

4. invite all students to complete questionnaires

5. invite all staff involved (and previously involved in similar projects) to complete a questionnaire

6. structured interviews with selected staff members





Preliminary Results: Overview

Resource formats• MP3, MP4, streamed• PowerPoint• Adobe pdf

Student group and responses • All second year students• No previous exposure to podcasting • >50 student responded (71% response rate)• Anonymous

Lectures• Over 20 lectures (50 minutes duration)• Using adhoc capture facility in Echo360

Staffing responses • Included teaching staff and Course co-ordinators






How many audio resources have you viewed online or downloaded from WebCT for this module?

0 4 %

1 - 4 42 %

5 - 9 18 %

10 - 20 34 %

More than 20 2 %

Where did you most often access these from ?

Home 76 %

Cluster 12 %






If you have viewed / downloaded these resources, how often have you used them in a typical week?

Every 2 – 3 days 38 %

Once per week 48 %

In a typical week, when are you most likely to access these ?

Same Day 14 %

2 – 3 days after 54 %

About 1 week later 18 %

More than 1 week later

12 %

Never 2 %





“I felt less need to go the lecture because i could catch up later but would still prefer to be in the lecture and use the resources as support. “

Preliminary Results: Attendance





“No problems as yet, but they did not know the lectures were to be recorded...

...if this happens and becomes commonplace I predict low student numbers at lectures in future.”

Staff users have not been aware of any drop in attendance

Preliminary Results: Attendance





“Late starts meant that some material had to be rushed. However, this was mainly due to it being a new system and lecturers being unsure of how to use it.”

Preliminary Results: Running of the lecture





“Yes. It made me much more aware of myself and the ‘slips of the tongue’.”

“Yes! If the lecturer is being filmed, it is necessary to stand still, which is odd. There is no point using a pointer to indicate areas of the slides”

“No, I forgot I was being recorded almost immediately...”“Made me more focused “

Minimal impact in referencing PowerPoint slide numbersNeed to use microphoneNo change in level of interaction

Preliminary Results: Running of the lecture





“I find that whilst listening to lectures and trying to make notes at the same time, I tend to miss a lot of important points...Listening to the podcast during revision will allow me to make sense of concepts which I did not understand during the original “

Preliminary Results: Use of the recordings





“If all lectures are available as recordings, students will feel (wrongly) that they do not need to engage with the sessions, because they are all there on the web. ..”

“...attention processes will be heightened by e.g. focusing on a lecture in a lecture theatre with which they are familiar but will be degraded by watching a recording on a computer screen in their room which they associate with e.g. surfing the net”

“As a self directed learning initiative cannot be faulted”

Allows for non linear review by studentsRevision aid for yearNot to be re-used for future years

Preliminary Results: Use of the recordings





Preliminary Results: Format of recordings





Preliminary Results: Scalability





• “I do see some potential uses for the technology. We are exploring using short, purpose written lecture segments as part of a blended learning package suitable for distance learning.”

• “If I had more time to devise support materials which are content based. All I need is technical support on the best software/platform to use to deliver those materials”

• “Happy for all my lectures to be recorded”

Preliminary Results: Scalability





• Need to repeatedly setup for each lecture and room• Inconsistencies in microphone use between lecturers• No ability to check visual and audio inputs• Ad-hoc recording requires additional publishing and editing• Extra need for WebCT publishing• Not encountered any load issues with server• Overloading PowerPoint slides

Preliminary Results: Technologist views





Conclusions

Only a short term perspective, but:• Students have warmly welcomed the recordings;• Echo360 recordings are good when teething problems are

eradicated• Staff remain cautious about educational benefits and

implications for attendance;• A larger scale roll-out is possible if:

• recordings are NOT compulsory; • capture devices are installed in all lecterns; • recordings are viewed as a complementary asset to the

lecture, and not a replacement.





• Conclude the evaluation and publish results

• Develop a College strategy for lecture recording, based on:– Identifying the most cost-effective recording device;– Identifying staff roles and responsibilities;– Installing recording devices in each major lecture theatre;– Use of voice-activated microphones;– Scheduling all recordings;– Greater use of RSS feed;– Alternative use of non-live recording technologies for creating short,

focused learning resources.

Next steps





AcknowledgementsToni Kelly, Learning Spaces ManagerMartin Jones, Learning Resources and Accommodation TeamJames Gormley, Jeffrey Ting, CLICPeter Balfe, Brian Martin, BMedSc Module Leads

Referenceshttp://del.icio.us/couperjo

Contact detailsDr. John Couperthwaite, Educational Technology Team Manager Email: [email protected]

Mr. Rob Jones, VLE DeveloperEmail: [email protected]

Effective use of Echo360 and other capture techniques in large- and small-scale teaching settings:...

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