Video conferencing for teaching and learning

Academic year 2007- 2008   

Between Exeter and Cornwall campuses: around 460 VC teaching sessions - saved approximately 96,600 miles of staff travel; 63 weeks of staff  time; CO2 emissions reduced by 34 tonnes .

Between 4 sites in PCMD: around 429 VC teaching sessions - saved approximately 61,970 miles of staff travel; 43 weeks of staff  time; CO2 emissions reduced by approximately 22 tonnes

The University of Exeter Pathfinder Project on videoconferencing was funded through a partnership between the HEA and JISC and ran across 14 months from May 2007 to July 2008. The overarching purpose of the project was to enable evidence-based and informed decision-making in the context of VC, in order to reinforce effective practice and to bring about change. Academic and support staff were involved in consultations and meetings throughout, with the project team listening to what staff wanted to know, involving them in design of survey questions, and having academics, support staff and student representation on the steering group, alongside experts in the field.  Overall, a variety of quantitative and qualitative approaches were used (observation of teaching, interviews with academic and support staff and with students, focus groups, and questionnaire surveys), backed by a thorough review of current literature.
 
Findings suggest in general that:

• students see the value of teaching via VC and perceive that it allows them access to specialist teaching that they would not otherwise receive;
• the use of VC for teaching has resulted in staff significantly adapting their teaching approach, for example, gre ater use of PowerPoint, WebCT and other online resources to support teaching activities;
• students are clear about which lecturers they consider to be the most worthwhile, and would specifically attend lectures by these people, whether in videoconference format or live;
• the availability of recorded (video-streamed) lectures to support learning is highly valued by students who currently have access to these, and would be equally valued by those who currently do not have this facility;
• staff who are used to routine recording of lectures for later use by students (as in PCMD) seem comfortable with this, but staff in other subject areas do not all welcome the idea; however, over the course of the project, some lecturers did become more positive towards recording;
• students who have access to recorded lectures usually prefer to attend these lectures in real time and then to use the recorded version for clarification or revision;
• staff and students agree that technological failure and logistical issues significantly detract from the enjoyment and value of teaching and learning, and effective interaction between sites is still seen as a major challenge.

The findings and outcomes from the project can be found in a set of case studies, or briefing papers.

Briefing paper 1: provides the background to the project, explains the research design and highlights recommendations, in particular addressing a theoretical model that can inform current and future practice

Briefing Paper 2: Using video and conferencing technologies for large-group cross-campus teaching

Briefing Paper 3: Medical students’ perceptions of telematic lectures

Briefing Paper 4: Using video and conferencing technologies for small group and innovative teaching

Briefing Paper 5: Preparing staff to teach in a videoconferencing context

Key contacts: Elisabeth Dunne, Project Director (E.J.Dunne@exeter.ac.uk) and Jane Rowe, Education Adviser (J.L.Rowe@exeter.ac.uk)