Study methods
In this study, we evaluated graduate students’ perceptions and attitudes relating to the significance of writing and producing two different introductory videos. We used one introductory video for a hybrid graduate education course (Introduction to Counseling), and the second introductory video in a fully online graduate education course (Library Science – Creating Web Sites). Both introductory videos were very similar to the general “introduction to the course” information shared with students; however, we revised scripts for each video to share pertinent information with students for each individual course. Both videos introduced the two different instructors for each class. The basic purpose of the introductory video was to provide vital information to the students relating specifically to their course, such as identifying course management issues, expectations, and requirements as established by the instructor. At the same time, the videos allowed the students to meet the instructor, virtually, hence beginning to establish the instructor’s teaching presence with the students outside of meeting face-to-face. The purpose of this study was to identify how well the videos conveyed this information to the students. Furthermore, the survey was conducted to see if graduate-level students, regardless of whether they were in a fully online course or going through a hybrid course, felt that this was an effective method of receiving this type of information, and, at the same time, establishing a teaching presence from their perspective.
This is an
ongoing study that began in spring 2006 and continued through spring 2007
terms. A total of 60 students enrolled in the hybrid graduate education course
(Introduction to Counseling) and 55 of those students participated in this
study (response rate of 91.6%). In the fully online graduate education course
(Library Science), 37 students enrolled, and 32 of those students participated
in this study (response rate of 86.4%). All of the participants took part in
online discussion boards, and in a 13-item survey that measured their
perceptions of the instructor’s teaching presence and their satisfaction with
the introductory video for the online course. The survey asked students to
share their perspectives on their satisfaction with the online video, how the
video affected their learning experience, and if the introductory video
provided them the opportunity to accept the instructor in the role of guiding
and directing their learning. In addition, the students provided suggestions
that would improve their online learning experience as it relates to humanizing the instructional
components of the course.
Findings
We have collected, compared, and summarized all of the data in several tables, which follow.
| 1 | The instructor and student relationship is important to me. | Hybrid Course: 70% Yes
Online Course: 78% Yes |
| 2 | Students valued having the opportunity to meet the instructor virtually by seeing their face as well as hearing the teacher’s voice via video. | Hybrid Course: 88% Yes
Online Course: 87% Yes |
| 3 | Students did in fact watch the introductory video. | Hybrid Course: 88% Yes
Online Course: 97% Yes |
| 4 | Students reported that they watched the video two or more times. | Hybrid Course: 15% Yes
Online Course: 37% Yes |
| 5 | Students accessed and read the scripts that accompanied the video. (Note: No student was identified as having special needs that required this accommodation.) | Hybrid Course: 69% Yes
Online Course: 69% Yes |
| 6 | Students reported that the introductory video, and/or the video scripts, were indeed valuable to them because it allowed the student to learn about the course requirements. | Hybrid Course: 65% Yes
Online Course: 75% Yes |
| 7 | Students reported that the introductory video helped them to prepare to participate in the online course. | Hybrid Course: 65% Yes
Online Course: 81% Yes |
| 8 | Students felt the introductory video helped them to learn the content in the course. | Hybrid Course: 48% Yes
Online Course: 50% Yes |
| 9 | Students reported that they felt that the introductory video did not have a direct impact on their final grade in the course. | Hybrid Course: 37% Agreed (56% were indifferent) Online Course: 16% Agreed (47% were indifferent) |
| 10 | The introductory video was valuable because it allowed the students to learn how to access the technological resources and supports that were available to them. | Hybrid Course: 58% Yes
Online Course: 68% Yes |
| 11 | In your opinion, was the introductory video and the information shared needed for the course? | Hybrid Course: 37% No (35% were indifferent) Online Course: 28% No (41% were indifferent) |
| 12 | For instructional components, students reported their preferences did vary depending on the course they were enrolled in. | Hybrid Course: Preferred more slide presentations with audio components
Online Course: Preferred more online videos and text-based information/instructions |
| 13 | The least preferred method of delivery of instructional information | Hybrid Course: Receiving all materials on a CD or DVD at the beginning of the term.
Online Course: Receiving all materials on a CD or DVD at the beginning of the term. |
From the survey summarized in Table 1, participants from the both the hybrid and online classes agreed on many aspects of the course, including that they valued the student and instructor relationship (Survey Question #1 above). The participants appreciated having the opportunity to “meet” the instructor via the Introductory video before the class content began for the course (Survey Question #2 above). Both types of participants (from hybrid and from online classes) watched the introductory video – with over 85% reporting “Yes” (Survey Question #3 above).
Of the following online instructional components, which would you prefer to have access to in your Web supported course(s)? Rank in order of importance to you: 1 would be your most desired online component and 6 would be your least desired online component.
Table 2A (Hybrid Course) Preference Table
| Answers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Online Videos | 10% | 3.0% | 27% | 28% | 16% | 16% |
| Online Audio Files | 0% | 9% | 18.0% | 13% | 40% | 20.% |
| Text files that can be accessed online | 27% | 15% | 22% | 15% | 10% | 11% |
| Power Point files with the lectures provided in text | 40% | 28% | 16% | 7% | 6% | 3% |
| Power Point files with the lectures recorded (audio files attached) | 11% | 27% | 25% | 12% | 16% | 9% |
| I would prefer to receive all of the materials at the beginning of the term in a package on a CD or DVD, along with my textbook (even if the cost of the book/package is slightly higher.) | 23% | 8% | 16% | 8% | 8% | 37% |
Table 2B (Online Course) Preference Table
| Answers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| Online Videos | 25% | 16% | 16% | 19% | 9% | 13% |
| Online Audio Files | 0% | 0% | 13 % | 16% | 41% | 28% |
| Text files that can be accessed online | 25% | 19% | 6% | 16% | 25% | 6% |
| Power Point files with the lectures provided in text | 13% | 22% | 28% | 19% | 9% | 9% |
| Power Point files with the lectures recorded (audio files attached) | 3% | 31% | 28% | 19% | 9% | 6% |
| I would prefer to receive all of the materials at the beginning of the term in a package on a CD or DVD, along with my textbook (even if the cost of the book/package is slightly higher.) | 31% | 9% | 6% | 13% | 9% | 31% |
We identified some key differences from the survey that had to do with what types of instructional products students preferred. From Survey Question #12, participants reported in the hybrid course they preferred more slide presentations with audio components. For the online participants, they preferred that more online videos and text-based information be available to support learning and application. Both types of participants agreed that their least preferred method of receiving instruction would be by receiving an all inclusive instructional CD or DVD.
Selected student comments (from the discussion board and from the open-ended questions from the online survey) pertaining specifically to the introductory video are summarized in Tables 3 through 6.
| 1 | Student Comment: You pointed out many things that I hadn't really given much thought to. Your first main point about having a back-up plan just hadn't really entered my mind. But, with many technology problems we face sometimes just trying to get on chat, I can definitely see why this would be important. I look forward to the class, and learning new things. I have taking Dr. K. before, and you will learn in her class. I guess what I enjoy most about these classes is that you do much of the learning on your own. The teacher is there to assist, but the majority of learning takes place while we are at home on our own. Being in a group is an excellent way to approach problems that arise as well. |
| 2 | Student Comment: I felt the video was a great way to feel in touch with our professor before the semester begins. I am not real great at never having the face-to-face meetings, so this was a nice surprise. It also contained a great deal of information to help me feel a bit more prepared. |
| 3 | Student Comment: I thought these were the three important things from the video: 1. We need to check our e-mail day and night. 2. We will need to try to do assignments ahead of time. 3. We will be learning for ourselves. |
| 4 | Student Comment: I really liked the video introduction. It made class seem a bit more "real." By this, I mean, we have a real person on the other end of the computer. Instead of just reading all of the information, we could listen to it instead. We heard it from the professor's mouth. |
| 5 | Student Comment: I thought this was a great way to introduce the online course. |
| 6 | Student Comment: The video was an excellent way to introduce the class. I detected a note of reassurance, and strong support of what to look forward to in the class. The video just seemed to calm me down and provide reassurance. |
| 7 | Student Comment: I feel as if all necessary information was presented in the introductory video. This was the very first class I had ever taken where the instructor completed an introductory video. So bravo! |
| 1 | Student Comment: I liked the video intro. That is a good way to get to know your instructor for an online class. I have had some online classes where I never met the instructor. It is difficult to talk to a computer when you deal with people face-to-face each day. The computer doesn't respond as a person would. I am from the old school where you meet face-to-face. |
| 2 | Student Comment: I also liked the idea of the instructor introducing herself to the class this way. |
| 3 | Student Comment: The video was almost like being in class (face-to-face) with the instructor. It was a nice way to introduce yourself to the class. That was great! I was glad to have the text version of the audio, also. |
| 4 | Student Comment: I thought this was an excellent way for us to get to see our instructor and find out some information about the course. |
| 5 | Student Comment: How wonderful to put a face to all the e-mails I swamped you with last semester! The video was a great idea! Nice to finally "meet" you. |
| 6 | Student Comment: As someone who has had almost no interaction with this instructor, the video was great. I'm not a visual, but an auditory learner, so for me to hear her voice and where she put emphasis was really important. Somehow, you can get a lot more of someone's personality by watching/listening to him or her than by reading their words. |
| 1 | Student Comment: It (i.e., the streamed video) is there if we need to refer back to it. I liked that. |
| 2 | Student Comment: I liked the fact that the text for the video was also offered. I guess I am a visual learner. |
| 3 | Student Comment: I liked that there was text on the video. It kind of pulls everything the instructor is talking about under a heading and helps you organize your thoughts. |
| 4 | Student Comment: I would like to have access to the video sooner than the first week of class. Post the link and allow us to watch the video at least a week before the class begins. This will allow me to get the textbook, and the resources I need, for the class long before the class officially begins. That would be great! |
| 1 | Student Comment: This would be an excellent way to introduce your class to the students and parents on the school Website. |
| 2 | Student Comment: What a great idea having a video to introduce this class. The video was a technology-efficient way to introduce the instructor and provide us with course information. |
| 3 | Student Comment: I like the idea of the introductory video. For online classes such as this one, even though this instructor has taught several of my classes, it is nice to be able to see the professor’s face at the beginning of the course. However, because I viewed it on a dial-up connection it was very slow to load and stopped several times in the middle to load. I am glad the written transcript is also available. |
| 4 | Student Comment: I am looking forward to becoming even more resourceful! We have dial-up at home. It never has been too much of a problem before, but the more involved I get with technology, I am beginning to see the downside! |
| 5 | Student Comment: I know students would love it if we used this to introduce ourselves before school. It would also be a good way to discuss attendance policies and school rules. Parents could always go back and check on classroom policies. |
| 6 | Student Comment: I enjoyed having the video at the beginning of the semester. More videos throughout the course would be useful. |
| 7 | Student Comment: For me, the introductory video was very long already. Honestly, most of the important information about this class has come in the syllabus or through our class meetings, rather than the introductory video. |
Discussion and conclusions
Establishing teaching presence is very important in any course. Teacher presence is a direct means of developing a relationship between the instructor and the learners. It stands to reason that this is more difficult for the instructor to accomplish when offering the course as a Web-supported course, either as a hybrid course or as a fully online course. As stated previously, the three roles involved in establishing teaching presence (establishing the course design and organization, setting up the dialogue facilitation, and providing direct instruction) are indeed vital for learning. One method that can help in establishing teaching presence in a Web supported course is to develop and produce an introductory video along with a text-based script that students are able to access easily.
The introductory video and the supporting script provided opportunities for establishing teaching presence in the following three ways. First, you begin to establish teaching presence by providing organizational services to help prepare students for the current online course. This includes the design and structure of the course (the instructional design and planning phase of the course), and at the same time the efforts to communicate the organization and expectations to the students. The introductory video can aid in communicating the organization and expectations to the students. At the same time, this step is critical in modeling appropriate etiquette and demonstrating effective use of the technology. The second aspect of creating teaching presence is facilitating discourse. The instructor facilitates discourse after the students have viewed the video and/or read the scripts. They have a good direction of where to begin the course, and where to go online to communicate with the other students in the course as well as where to go to seek answers to questions. Finally, teachers provide intellectual leadership and share their knowledge of the subject matter with their students. The instructors must be able to communicate the intellectual climate of the course and serve as a model for their students.
From this study, the authors found that students participating in a Web-supported course do indeed value the instructor and student relationship. Therefore, students appreciate having the opportunity to meet the instructor “virtually” using introductory videos before the course begins, regardless of whether the course is offered fully online, or if only a portion of the class meetings will be “online.” Participants in these studies reported that they valued having the opportunity to meet the instructor of the course through the introductory video. The students stated their preference was to have a sense of learning from a real person (when receiving instruction via the course site) and not just from text-based instruction. Students also stated that they value the opportunity to “get to know the instructor” before the beginning of class. Students see the relationship that is forming from the beginning of the course, and from the students’ perspectives, it did have a direct impact on their progress in the class.
There were some key differences found in this study. When we asked students if the introductory video helped them to prepare for the course, 65% of the students from the hybrid course said “Yes,” while in the fully online course, 81% of the participants responded “Yes.” One possible explanation of this difference is that the online students were more dependent on the online instructional products. Students from the hybrid course had the opportunity to meet with the instructor face-to-face multiple times throughout the term. Therefore, the students’ need for “start-up” information or introductory instructions was not solely dependent on watching the video.
Another important finding from this study was that even though text-based versions of the video (scripts) are required in order to meet ADA (American Disabilities Act) compliance, 69% of the participants reported from both studies that they used the scripts to support their efforts to understand and learn the information presented on the video. Therefore, the video and the scripts serve a dual purpose in aiding students to comprehend the information in video components. WE found the text-based information (scripts) to be important to most students, not just those with special needs.
A third finding from this study relates to the preference of delivery modes for the students. From the fully online course, which focused on teaching students how to develop and design a Website, and therefore was technology-based, participants preferred to receive more online (streamed) videos and text-based instructional products. However, students from the graduate level “Introduction to Counseling” course (which was the hybrid course) reported they preferred to receive more narrated, slide presentations as their means of receiving instruction. Participants from both the hybrid course and the fully online course ranked narrated slide presentations and slide presentations with text-based notes as their second preference. Their third and fourth preferences rotated between narrated or text-based notes with slide presentation (online course), and online videos (hybrid course). Both the hybrid and online participants ranked audio files as their fifth-most-desired method of receiving instruction. Finally, receiving all of the instructional components packaged via a CD or DVD at the beginning of the term is their least-preferred mode of delivery.
Certainly, it is challenging to establish one’s teaching presence in a Web-supported course, especially if the instructional components online are completely text-based. Creating the introductory video is more than just allowing the students to see or hear the instructor. From the student’s perspective, the value is having the instructor be seen, heard, and, at the same time, “experienced” by the students. Being able to hear the instructor’s tone and use of humor, to make eye contact with the instructor, and to allow students to see the instructor’s body language helps to make the information more real, and adds value for the students. The participants report that they felt as if the introductory video gave them a sense of “being in class,” and provided them a familiar feeling of “communicating face-to-face.” Data from these studies indicate that, from the students’ perspectives, the time and effort it takes for an instructional design team (the instructor, the instructional designer, and the producer) to develop and produce an introductory video are valued. Therefore, we recommend that faculty members write a script, and produce an introductory video, that addresses course requirements and the instructor’s expectations for the students in the course.
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