[MUSIC] Increasingly seeing that our distance learning students want some sort of human interaction. They want to see somebody there. so we've been looking at ways about how we can incorporate them. So we've done it in several ways. We've started with talking heads videos, for instance. As myself as program director, the module organizer. It's just to say hello to the students, just so they know who they're talking to. And then we also use screen casts where we're using slides with audio. And that might be as an introduction to a module and to take them through what they're going to expect to learn, that sort of thing. And then we're also looking at videos as well, perhaps little bite sized videos, to explain points in different ways. It just helps some points, easier to understand if you hear them in spoken rather than written down. So we're trying them in a variety of different ways. >> And is it stuff that you're creating yourself? Are you having a go and using the software? And if so, how do you find that? >> Yes, it's great. We are using the software ourselves and we're teaching our tutors and our module organizers to use them. And it's great because you can just sit and do it at your own desk and in your own time and make sure you get it right. And no, that's great. The tutors themselves like to do it as well. It's nice for them too. >> Quite recently I took over a fully online module on education and technology beyond the classroom which is fully online so fully distance learning. You never, never ever meet your students. And it didn't have any video except for an introduction. As I was taking it over I had to obviously produce from scratch with my head on it as an introduction. First of all, I think it's really important to establish the social presence, to humanize education. Because it's quite important for students to feel that there's actually someone at the other end who is a normal person you can contact and it's a real person and not a robot or some artificial intelligence telling you what to do. In terms of the production at this time we can produce things so easily. And with this video I took the module over at the last second, so I just set myself down at home, on the floor, put tablets, computer on the chair facing me, and that was my recording with a little bit of editing, it was done within ten minutes or so. And then writing up the transcript, which is pretty important for accessibility reasons. That took a little bit longer, but yeah, you can produce these things quite easily these days and it is valuable at these specific points. >> I understand just as a word of some caution, in some regards, in that I've used video to an extent. Or maybe it's just the discipline that are working but actually being quite text-heavy. Some of the videos that I've seen have actually been involved a distracting from subject matter that's evolved exponentially. And I think that's just one of those functions where the educator needs to think about is this the best means of achieving the learning outcome they want to. And sometimes they can be such an overdose of video, and perhaps individuals who have a lot to say, want to say it to camera. And that's not necessarily the most effective way for a student to learn whatever the topic may be. And I think there needs to be very thought out process of is video the best way to do that. I take Tim's point about this, sort of socialization and accessibility of the subject and putting a human face and a course team behind that learning process is very valuable to getting that level of engagement with the subject, whatever it may be. But whether that's best served by video or another means is really up for the educator's discretion. >> I think that's a really valuable point, because I think from my point of view students tend to crave these passive type learning opportunities when actually we want them to engage and interact in some way. I found that for using videos and lectures that keeping them very short helps a little bit with that. But also making sure that the lectures that I do produce are based around really key concepts or things that students typically really struggle to understand. And I can think of a particular example, where every year at exam time I have a queue of students outside my office waiting to talk to me about particular mechanism and by just producing a very short five minute e lecture that's really helped. Students be able to go and explore those things on their own, and hopefully understand them a bit better. >> That was brilliant. Angela, tells us about the use of electro recording software at the school. >> Yes, in our program we have both the distance learning version and a London based version. And with our London based lectures, they're now recorded so we're able to make those recordings available to our distance learning students. But, they are hour-long lectures, so going on your point, you know, they are not bite-sized. But, the but the students do appreciate them. We stress that we provide the key learning material, but they are like an add-on, so they just hear the material in a slightly different way. And, they really appreciate that. >> We've just talked about a number of different formats of how to use video. And I think there's quite a bit of potential in doing more with that. And at the moment, what we've mentioned is effectively talking heads, screen casts, recording narrated something on the screen. And then lecture recordings but actually you can be so much more creative with video. That is probably something that is not really on the minds of people. This form of what we are doing here, having a panel discussion can be quite interesting for the viewer, because they're actually witnessing how while an exchange is going on and how people are bouncing ideas off each other. We can be much more creative with that. On the flip side, a lot of videos that are produced are, they're not very well produced. One of the most horrible cases is when a lecturer produces a talking head video, and doesn't even look into the camera. There's actually research also pointing out that talking head that doesn't engage with the viewer, it's actually distracting from the subject matter. So, don't do that. >> [LAUGH] >> I think that's a really good point. I think that point of that discussion. Something like this would actually be a great way forward. >> I think that reflects back on other educational practices actually. This is an opportunity to think about what's the value of the lecture. The individual stood there talking to a room full of people as opposed to having a panel discussion like this or bilateral sort of interview kind of arrangement. There is variety as sort of the spice of life in this regard and thinking about sort of traditional educational practice in those lights, and then utilizing new technology such as video to move that forward. And that's where the opportunities lie. >> The proof will be in the pudding. We'll see what the feedback's like on this MOOC and how the paticipants, what they've thought about it. [MUSIC]
