Video and Conferencing Technologies VC for Teaching and Learning

1
Video and Conferencing Technologies (VC) for
Teaching and Learning
Lecturer presentation
1. Background Our
project, VC for Learning and Teaching, brings a
pedagogic perspective to the very practical
issues weve had at Exeter, surrounding the
recent and very rapid development of a new campus
100 miles away in Cornwall. A number of our
academic Schools have been using VC technologies
for cross-campus teaching since the Cornwall
campus first opened in 2004. In addition, the
Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry
(PCMD) also uses VC for communication with an
extensive network of NHS partners. What
Pathfinder has enabled us to do is to evaluate
these different uses, build an evidence base and
begin to inform future strategy development in
this area.

• 2. Evaluation
• The overall aim of the project is to investigate
  and evaluate VC for undergraduate teaching and
  learning across the different university schools
  via small number of discrete mini-projects.
  Evaluation involved a range of quantitative and
  qualitative approaches
• Pre (N501) and post (N468) questionnaire
• Classroom observation (N6)
• Focus groups (N4)
• Semi-structured interviews (N46)
• Participants of the data collection included
  students, academics and VC/AV support staff
  across campuses and disciplines.

Real time communication
Current usage of VC at Exeter
Real time video/audio
Video/audio on demand
Asynchronous communication
What we need to emphasise
Student activity
Could this framework provide a useful means of
thinking about teaching and learning in your
institution?

• 5. Informing future strategy and practice
• A VC training package has been developed
• and delivered to fifty staff across campuses,
• to prepare them for teaching via VC.
• Modes of delivery for curriculum design have
• been mapped for different academic schools
• to show the combination of teaching and
• learning activities. Reconsideration of
• curriculum design and delivery is being
• explored in some Schools.
• A task group is being established to look at
• strategic issues relating to the delivery of
• teaching through the use of audio and visual
• technologies.

• 4. Main
  theoretical outcome
• A multi-dimensional framework has been developed
  to describe the project and the different uses
  that can be made of VC technologies in learning
  and teaching contexts.
• What has become very clear through the research,
  is the extent to which use of VC technologies at
  Exeter is very much dominated by approaches in
  the top left of the model (e.g. cube 1). We need
  to move from this situation to a more integrated
  model of curriculum design and delivery for
  blended learning, as in cube 8, where students
  are encouraged to for example - make use of
  digitised video segments and communicate
  asynchronously with others via various web
  applications.

• 3. Key findings

• Students see the value of VCd teaching and
• perceive that VC allows them access to
  specialist
• teaching that they would not otherwise receive.
  
• Staff and students agree that technological
  failure
• and logistical issues significantly detract
  from the
• enjoyment of teaching and learning, whilst
• interaction between sites is considered a major
  
• challenge.
• The use of VC for teaching has resulted in staff
  
• significantly adapting their teaching approach,
  e.g.
• greater use of PowerPoint, WebCT and other
  online
• resources to support teaching activities.
• The availability of video streamed lectures to
• support learning is highly valued by students
  who
• currently have access and by those who do not,
• however staff do not generally welcome the
  idea.

6. Further
information For more information,
please go to our blog
http//www.services.ec.ac.uk/edu/vcproject
Alternatively contact Elisabeth
Dunne (Project director) Education
Enhancement University of Exeter
Email E.J.Dunne_at_ex.ac.uk Tel
01392264510