The Lock, Stock and Barrel of Videos for Online Learning:
Practical How Tos, Tips, and Research Evidence for the DIYer Lena
Paulo Kushnir, Ph.D., Kenneth Berry, MSc., Slide 2 Our Plan for
today: Part 1. HOW TO Equipment Set Up Time to Record and Edit Part
2. TIPS Recording Production Part 3. DATA and FINDINGS How much How
long How hard What about all this: engages students impacts
learning impacts social presence perceived authenticity What should
videos include: video of instructor embedded resources other??
Slide 3 Slide 4 Part 1. How To Equipment o Studio in a Box o
Camtasia Studio 8 (Screenflow) o Computer to work with files
Processing Power!!! o Back Up Drive Sufficient storage for large
videos e.g., the videos that are recorded from the iPhone 4S are
1080p HD (1920 x 1080) video and up to 30 frames per second. =
approx 180 MB/sec sweet spot; portability: we found that a 1TB
(1024 GB) external hard drive was sufficient. Slide 5 Processing
Power: A significant amount of processing power is needed. minimum
specs for Camtasia Studio 8 (PC version) are: o Microsoft Windows
XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8 o Dual-core processor
minimum ~ Recommended: Quad-core processor or better o 2 GB RAM
minimum ~ Recommended: 4 GB or more (more is better) o 2 GB of
hard-disk space for program installation (500+ GB for video storage
and manipulation) o Display dimensions of 1024x768 or greater o
Dedicated video card recommended with 128 MB video memory or
greater. Slide 6 Set Up o Find a quiet spot to set up your studio
in box Download a sound meter app on your smartphone to measure
this Time to Record and Edit o Light editing (example, just
recording, compressing, converting and posting with very little to
no editing): 1 hour of lecture = up to 4 hours o Medium editing
(example, same as above but with some editing, inserting embedded
quizzes into video, and chunking video into segments): 1 hour of
lecture = 7-12 hours (depending on how much quizzing and chunking)
o Heavy editing (example, same as above but with lots of editing,
panning in video, zooming and focusing on specific components
rather than a whole screen of activity, stitching in other video
clips, photos, voice overs, etc.): 1 hour of lecture = up to 25
hours (and possibly more depending on complexity of editing,
skills, etc.) too many individual differences; get to this shortly
Slide 7 Time to Record o Translates to costs $$$ ~ $25 - $30 per
hour (if youre going to pay someone to do this for you) $5000 -
$8000 for a 12 week course (dependent on many factors) o Light
editing: 1 hour of lecture = up to 4 hours o Medium editing : 1
hour of lecture = 7-12 hours (depending on how much quizzing and
chunking) o Heavy editing : 1 hour of lecture = up to 25 hours (and
possibly more depending on complexity of editing, skills, etc.) 6
lectures mean = 9.5 hours mean = 27.5 hours 1 @ 43.75 other 5 mean
= 20.5 hours Slide 8 Part 2. TIPS Recording o Get a special camera
mount for iPhone or other smart device and tripod so that you can
have stable videos. Slide 9 o Ensure your devices are fully charged
and get additional batteries if necessary (use external power
supply). o Put phone in airplane mode to avoid any incoming
communication that may interrupt recording and also to conserve on
battery usage. o If instructor is reading from a computer screen,
reduce the brightness of the monitor so that it does not cast any
unwanted light and/or shadow on the person being recorded (glare
with glasses). o Videos should be recorded at highest quality as
possible so that you have a good source. Slide 10 Recording
continued o Dont sit, stand as if teaching in front of class
(especially important for typical lecture setting); animated and
natural o Wardrobe (season neutral; make up; jewelry, etc.,) o
Date, time and weather neutral (especially important for reusable
objects) o Speak with deliberate pauses for editing o First couple
of takes are always the best; generally become increasing unnatural
as number of takes increases Instructors have to get past how they
look and sound (thats what students see/hear) Slide 11 Few more
tips Slide 12 Production o Use noise filtering on the videos to
clean up the audio. Microphones matter!! Lots of options here;
depends on your needs o Use green screen post-production; graphic
design o Use blurring techniques (privacy), call outs (focus), etc.
o zooming post-production doesnt work very well (pros and cons of
zooming at recording) o We used WinFF to reduce/compress our videos
from 1080p HD to 640 x 480,WinFF a size that was more than
sufficient for web purposes. The videos will not only take up less
space but also require less processing power. Slide 13 o Bandwith
Be aware of bandwidth limitations when uploading videos to online
servers such as Camtasia relay especially when doing this from
home. Upload speeds are usually 25% of downloads speeds so
uploading may be much slower than expected. The Camtasia relay
client does not perform any processing or compression on the videos
on the local computer So entire videos are uploaded to the server
for processing. Also, uploading large videos consumes your monthly
internet usage allowance based on the package that you have!! Slide
14 Top three TIPS 1.Dont sit, stand as if teaching in front of
class 2.Speak with deliberate pauses for editing (see following
video for example, but not without problems!) 3. Computing:
bandwidth, processing power and storage. (no audio; watch for the
fuzzy hair and mood change in the transition) Slide 15 1. Record
video using iPhone Typical workflow for us in TTS: 2. Transfer
video from iPhone 3. Compress video 4. Import video and Screen
Capture into Camtasia Studio 5. Combine video, Screen capture and
other media 6. Keep a record of parameters (size, position and
location) for consistency 7. Produce and export videos in required
format Slide 16 Online learning initiatives are popular and help
meet a variety of goals But whats the evidence that online tools
and teaching strategies supported by such tools are effective for
positive learning outcomes? PART 1: compared face-to-face learning
to online learning PART 2: compared 2 online groups Background :
Part 3. DATA and FINDINGS Slide 17 Objectives of our research: To
evaluate the impact of various online tools and teaching strategies
on student learning outcomes, student engagement, satisfaction of
learning experience, workload and overload, reports of cheating,
social presence (and how well students felt they got to know the
instructor), isolation, authenticity of course materials and
lecturer. and are there any variables or teaching strategies that
can impact these and/or correlate to better outcomes? What are
students experiences online? Slide 18 5 - 15 min lecture clip
chunks with embedded quizzes in some clips messages and course
announcements via SAVISYS (video) messaging 52 students in 2 nd yr
Psychology course (online) Our study: Part 2 29 OL Podcasts/
comments What parts of the course contributed most to their
learning? What was the workload like and did they feel overloaded?
Did they cheat? Think others cheated? Plus some new social
presence, authenticity questions How well they felt they got to
know the professor? How authentic the course felt? How well did
they really learn (who learned the most)? plus more What findings
would you predict? Differences, no differences, etc Learning
outcome measures, plus no significant differences first year
average cumulative average high school entrance average 31 F2F 25
s01 27 s02 hr - 1 hour lecture clips messages and course
announcements via LMS (text) announcements tool using Media Rich
Material Part 1: Slide 19 Our findings: Measures of how things were
goingany differences between the groups (s01 & s02/2013; summer
2012)? Or are they having similar experiences? Half-way checking-in
survey (formative type feedback) End of term survey (summative type
feedback) Learning outcome measures 6 Quizzes (10%), 2 Term tests
(40%), 1 Final Exam (30%), 1 Assignment (10%), Peer Instruction and
Participation (10%), overall Final Course Grade lets take a look at
what we found Slide 20 What aspects of the course are most
successfully contributing to your learning? (Choose all that
apply.) Summer 2013 Summer 2012 Study Groups F2f/OL podcasts S01:
large clips/text announcements S02: short clips/video announcements
Slide 21 In what part of the course, or what course activities did
you feel most engaged? S01 S02 Summer 2013 Summer 2012 F2f/OL
podcasts S01: large clips/text announcements S02: short clips/video
announcements Slide 22 Did you feel isolated in the course? Summer
2013 Summer 2012 ( ONLINE only ) S02: short clips/video
announcements Slide 23 Please be honest; were just curious and your
answers are anonymous (we will NOT follow up on this). Over the
course of the term, did you cheat online in this course (e.g., use
some help like the text or have a friend help) during the online
quizzes and/or Peer Instruction questions and discussions? ( ONLINE
only ) Summer 2013 Summer 2012 Slide 24 ( ONLINE only ) Do you
think other students cheated? Summer 2013 Summer 2012 Slide 25
Considering that this was an online course with different types of
interactions with the instructor than you might be used to in
face-to-face courses, did you feel like you got to know the
instructor? Summer 2013 Slide 26 How well did you feel like you
knew the instructor? Summer 2013 Slide 27 (Choose all that apply to
you.) Considering that this was an online course with different
types of interactions......which of the following made you feel
like you knew the instructor? Summer 2013 Slide 28 Compared to
other lecture courses youve taken and considering that the lectures
in this course were pre-recorded, how authentic (or real) did the
lectures feel to you (e.g., lecture videos seemed natural and
sincere, or unnatural and a bit fake, awkward or artificial)?
Summer 2013 Slide 29 If the lecture videos had embedded quizzes did
you feel more engaged? Summer 2013 Slide 30 Learning outcome
measures: 6 Quizzes (10%), 2 Term tests (40%), 1 Final Exam (30%),
1 Assignment (10%), Peer Instruction and Participation (10%),
Overall Final Course Grade NOT Statistically significant Slide 31
Now what? Slide 32 Summer 2012 Face-to-faceOnline Podcast of f2f
class with side comments Summer 2013 Online (media rich) hr 1 hr
lecture clips Messaging: via LMS announcements tool Online (media
rich) 5 min. 15 min. lecture clips Messaging: via video messaging
tool Summer 2014 Summer 2012 Face-to-face (f2f)Online (OL) Podcast
of f2f class (with side comments specifically for online students)
Summer 2013 Online Media Rich (section 01) hr 1 hr lecture clips
(high production value videos recorded specifically for online
delivery; more polished than podcasts) Course messaging: via LMS
(text-based) announcements tool Online Media Rich (section 02) 5
min. 15 min. lecture clips (same videos as Section 01 just clipped
into shorter chunks with embedded quizzes) Course messaging: via
VIDEO messaging tool (for social presence) -Make embedded quizzes
worth credit for all students ( students had to complete quiz
previously but not worth any credit, just part of video ). -Provide
analytics to inform students and instructor about levels of
comprehension (new integrated software) -Online test invigilation:
assess academic integrity + impact on student experience and
outcomes. Completely Online using live online proctors (students
dont come to campus to complete course requirements) Analytics
software (speaks to embedded quizzes and gives students immediate
feedback on comprehension/gives instructor feedback on overall
student comprehension: inject JIT teaching opportunities) Online
with exception of tests and exam (same as summer/13 Section 02) No
analytics software Compare S1 to S2 for impact analytics has on
teaching and learning. Compare Summer14 to summer13 for quiz
impact. no credit Compare f2f to various OL sections on the various
measures introduced each session. Slide 33 How much How long How
hard What about all this: engages students impacts learning impacts
social presence perceived authenticity What should videos include:
video of instructor embedded resources other?? Did we answer the
questions? Instructors know their skills and needs Lecture Videos,
Quizzes, Peer Instruction (online discussion) but nothing that
differed between the groups; they all reported this. Nothing, if
grades are what were using to measure learning. BUT there were
other measures that were impacted. Grp with mini lectures (embedded
quizzes and video messaging): reported feeling less isolated than
any of the other groups and generally more positive ratings. Grp
with mini lectures: reported more often than longer lecture Grp
that lectures were very authentic. The video messages could have
had an overall effect on this group but neither grp reported that
the videos were unauthentic. No significant differences between the
grps NOT even podcast grp (summer 2012) who had no video of
instructor, only had audio and lecture slides; jury is still out
(at least for TTS whether we need to invest so much time and $$ in
videos; need more efficient way to do this). Slide 34 Slide 35
Thank You! Lena Paulo Kushnir, Ph.D.,
[email protected] Kenneth Berry, MSc.,
[email protected] Slide 36
