Researchers share results from a multi-semester study on the use of student-generated video in online discussion forums. Presenters will also give practical tips for facilitating asynchronous video discussions, describe some tangential benefits of a course quality review, and identify opportunities and challenges of collaborative research between instructional designers and teaching faculty.
Description
Initiated by the desire to improve student-to-student interaction in an online hospitality course while conducting a course quality evaluation, the presenters share the background story— and the results from— an action research study conducted over the course of four semesters in which various modifications to a discussion forum were made and analyzed over time.
Spurred in large part to prepare the course for Quality Matters (QM) certification, the instructor and instructional designer reviewed the course and targeted areas for improvement. One area of focus that was mutually agreed upon as a possible area of improvement was the standard related to learner interaction (Standard 5). From this, the presenters determined the discussion forum was the activity that could most easily and efficiently be improved.
This led to an iterative process of making a series of small adjustments to the discussion forum activity. With a desire to apply systematic research, the presenters initiated an action research project in order to fully analyze, document, and share the results. The presenters eventually focused the research on the step of adding video to the online discussions, which in previous iterations of the course had been only text-based.
The use of video to create positive instructor presence in online courses is fairly well established, and there are substantial research-based guidelines for instructors to create engaging and compelling videos (Hibbert, 2014, for example). However, there has been very limited research into the use of student-generated video in online courses to increase engagement. In a comparative mixed methods study, Clark, Studler, and Grove (2015) found an increase in students’ reports of positive social presence with video enhanced discussions as opposed to purely text-based discussions. Borup, West, and Graham (2012) studied how social presence was affected by both instructor and student-created videos in online courses and found that video increased the students’ perception of the instructor’s social presence to a greater degree than it did for students.
The specific goals of the research include:
1) Determining student attitudes about student-generated video discussions: Did they think that creating and watching videos enhanced or increased their engagement with other students or the professor within the class and if yes, to what extent? If not, why not?
2) Assessing, independent of student attitudes, the impact of adding student-generated video to an existing online discussion on student “engagement” and performance within the course.
The researchers coded the student survey responses and utilized basic analytical tools in Blackboard in order to come to a greater understanding of the students’ activity in and attitudes toward the discussion assignment.
The results have been enlightening and have certainly caused the researchers to reflect on the “if, when, and how” to best incorporate video discussions into online courses, and how to incorporate student attitudes towards engagement in order to design online courses that actively engage students while providing a safe, comfortable, learning environment for all. Some of these lessons learned and best practices will be shared in the session, and attendees will be encouraged to participate in the discussion.
Who will Benefit
This session should appeal to anyone interested in the use of video in online courses as well as those looking for ways to increase student interaction in online discussions in online courses. The presenters will guide session attendees through the steps of an education research project, provide practical tips and lessons learned for learning practitioners, and promote a discussion of issues surrounding the conduct of instructional design/faculty research. With these session outcomes in mind, the presentation should appeal to a broad audience and be of particular interest to instructional designers, teachers/faculty, education researchers, design thinkers, and administrators.
How we’ll do it
The presenters will draw upon elements of visual storytelling in order to tell an accessible and unique narrative that suggests the possibilities of instructional design/faculty research to better understand— and hopefully improve— online teaching practice. The presenters plan to reveal theoretical concepts and represent how “real people” in academic environments can think creatively and utilize tools to make a difference for their students and share so that others can apply some of these lessons into their own practice. The presenters plan to offer an opportunity for attendees to participate through a series of guided questions.
References
Borup, J., West, R. E., & Graham, C. R. (2012). Improving online social presence through asynchronous video. Internet and Higher Education, 15(3), 195–203. doi: 10.1016/j.iheduc.2011.11.001
Clark, C., Strudler, N. B., & Grove, K. J. (2015). Comparing Asynchronous and Synchronous Video versus Text Based Discussions in an Online Teacher Education Course. Online Learning Journal, 19(3). doi: 10.24059/olj.v19i3.668
Hibbert, M. (2018, May 22). What makes an online instructional video compelling? Retrieved from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2014/4/what-makes-an-online-instructional-video-compelling
Standards from the Quality Matters Higher Education Rubric, 5th Edition. Quality Matters. Retrieved from https://www.qualitymatters.org/sites/default/files/PDFs/Standardsfromthe...