Up Periscope!

I have recently been introduced to Periscope, an app that I think is owned by Twitter, and 'allows you to see the world through another's eyes'. It is effectively a video version of Twitter in that it allows the user to 'broadcast' live to followers over the web. I like it and I'm beginning to have a play with it, wondering how it might be used in a learning context. I have set up a @BucksMAPP account (to represent the MSc Applied Positive Psychology) as well as a personal account (@dr_matthewsmith). Both easy as they are Twitter accounts and you can log on using Twitter.

One of my first thoughts, as we think about running a 'virtual' open evening session, is whether we could be broadcasting via Periscope at the same time? Worth thinking about?

Thinking more long-term, Periscope may be another tool to help build and support community among learners? For example, research has shown that 'social presence' (characterised as 'being together' with learners) can be influenced positively through online communication that is expressive, emotional, immediate and stimulating (Tu & McIsaac, 2002). Real-time informal broadcasts via Periscope, that do allow two-way interaction as viewers can type in comments an questions that appear on the broadcast, could meet such criteria.

Reference
Tu, C., & McIsaac, M. (2002). The relationship of social presence and interaction in online classes. American Journal of Distance Education, 16, 131-150.

What about a 'virtual' open evening?

Having recently been succesful in getting the 'distance' (i.e., FDL) version of the MSc Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) validated, I found myself reflecting on why we didn't offer a 'virtual' open evening for prospective distance learners. The more I reflected on this, the more it seemed a bit of a 'no-brainer'... Of course we should offer something like this!

And so I mentioned this to some key people at the university to see what kind of response I would get if we were to try and run something like this for the MAPP, nothing too big, alongside the PG Open Evening on Wednesday 15th July. The PG Marketing Manager, usually very supportive of any activity that might enhance the marketability of a course, was a little reticent. Perhaps this could be something to think about for the future? The E-Learning Services Manager, however, was happy to support this and we arranged to meet.

What made this even better was that the Digital Media Manager had independently considered that the University should consider 'Virtual Open Days' having come across a case study from the University of Derby who had been running such events, via Blackboard (Bb) Collaborate, for a number of years and suggested these were effective ways of converting potential applicants into students. We met, shared our ideas, and became quite excited by the possibilities! We agreed that I would run a 'mock' session a week before the PG Open Evening to see how it might work. We would invite a group of interested parties (including the PG Marketing Manager) to log on and try it out. We scheduled this for Tuesday 7th July...

We're all YouTubers now!

Reflections on creating video content for teaching...

Over the past few months, I have been reflecting almost continually on the challenges associated with creating video content for teaching. This has emerged out of the wish to create video-based materials as part of the development of course materials for the MAPP 'distance'. It has also emerged out of the use of Swivl for the 'Go Luck Yourself!' (GLY!) project, which allowed me to video-record myself (on an iPad or iPhone) running each session and upload the clips on to YouTube. So I am not so much discussing the use of existing video within a course, but instead the value of creating videos of, say, a tutor talking through some of the course content or an interaction between two or more people discussing the course content.

My reflections here focus on weighing up the different ways of creating this kind of video content. In this way, I am in a way side-stepping the question of the need to creat video content fullstop (I will come back to this). I am assuming that video content is desirable that it enhances course materials and that it helps learners/students (you decide what you want to call them!) to engage with said materials. The two main methods of creating video content I will refer to are either (a) self-created or (b) created with the help of a camerman.

Using Swivl to film oneself (or indeed others) falls into the former category, and some examples of materials created as part of the GLY! project are provided on my PGCert Bb organisation. In terms of the latter category, we recently booked time with a Learning Technology Ambassador (LTA) working within the Open4Learning unit to help with the development of materials for the MAPP 'distance'. The still below shows a break in the filming last Friday as we filmed with Dr Andrew Machon, Visiting Teaching Fellow at the University, and key guest contributor on the MAPP.

A  break in filming

The idea about having some segments 'professionally' filmed and edited is that this will produce much higher quality recordings that will be more engaging for learners and generally 'look better'. However, I am quickly becoming of the view that self-created video content (such as that produced using an iPad and Swivl) produces quality that is 'good enough' and importantly one can do without the need for a cameraman and needs little nor no editing. The value of this is that one doesn't need to book time with a camerman well ahead of when the materials will be needed to allow the time needed for rendering (?), editing, etc. This is of enormous importance when considering the pressures on teaching staff to create (or 'convert') course materials as one is often not in the position to create course content months in advance of the scheduled running of the course (see my experience running the Intro to Positive Psychology distance learning module the first time).

In light of this, I am now wondering whether working towards creating video content with the help of a cameraman is such a good idea. Indeed, as part of the filming last Friday, we shot some more 'conversational' material (i.e., conversational interviews between Piers and Andrew) using two cameras. From a learning perspective I would imagine these elements would be more engaging than the original 'talking heads' we were filming, but I felt that these would work just as well (if not better) as simple audio recordings as the video was not adding much of value. Given the extra difficulty created by trying to film these 'professionally', I was left with the feeling that much simpler audi-recording would be preferable here. This would be something I could do myself and could be created as 'podcasts' to form part of the course materials.

So perhaps video content is not needed here after all?

'Being there' for online learners

A colleague loaned me Lehman and Conceicao's (2010) book, Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching some time back, not long after I started the PGCert in Technology-Enhanced Learning. I have carried it with me for months, and only just now have I stopped to have a good look at this.

Of course, I should have looked at it before now, but this is indicative of the challenge I have had to make time for PGCert studying throughout the year! Anyhow, I am engaged from the opening page, as the first chapter begins with two separate scenarios. Both of which are very appropriate to the context in which I am exploring the benefits and challenges of t-eL (which I guess is why they include such scenarios!)... The first describes Amanda, a mature learner (it seems the word 'learner' is preferred to 'student' when talking about online learning?), in full-time employment with a young child. She is new to online learning and has feelings of anxiety and isolation associated with the thought of being unable to interact with the tutor and her fellow students. I suspect this scenario represents a good description of the students we are likely to get on the MAPP 'distance' (FDL) course next year and is indicative of those who took the Intro to Positive Psychology distance learning module this year.

The second scenario describes Carlos, who is a tutor at a community college who has now been asked to translate his ‘traditional’ (i.e., face-to-face) courses to online courses. He is understandably a little reticent about this as he is concerned that it will be hard to convert his interactive sessions that involve students working in small groups into courses that are effective online. I’m with you Carlos! This describes my situation pretty well. OK, so I don’t feel as though this is something I am being asked to do, more it is something I want to do. But there is still a great deal of trepidation about how one goes about ‘converting’ ones course materials in this way!

Lehman and Conceicao go on to discuss the importance of ‘presence’ in online learning as a way of dealing with these kinds of anxieties and concerns among both learners and teachers working in the online environment. They cite the work of Bioca, Burgoon, Harms, and Stoner (2001), who conceptualise presence in terms of ‘telepresence’ and ‘social presence’. Lehman and Conceicao (2010) conceive of these as ‘being there’ for online learners (telepresence) and ‘being together’ with online learners (social presence). Key characteristics of these are accessibility (and this is bi-directional: tutors and learners are accessible to each other) and the transparency of the technology. There is, perhaps, some overlap here with the early stages (stages 1 and 2) of Salmon's (2000) five stage model, which emphasises the importance of access and motivation on behalf of the online learner (stage 1) and online socialisation (stage 2).

They go on to introduce the 'Being There for the Online Learner' model in which they bring together these aspects of 'presence', how they may be created and experienced, and how they relate to the inner and outer world of the learner.

Suffice to say, I am glad I finally stopped to look in the Lehman and Conceicao book!

References
Bioca, F., Burgoon, J., Harms, C., & Stoner, M. (2001). Criteria for scope and conditions for a theory and measure of social presence. Paper presented at the Presence 2001: Fourth International Workshop. Cited in Lehman, R. M., & Conceicao, S. C. O. (2010). Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching: How to "be there" for distance learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Lehman, R. M., & Conceicao, S. C. O. (2010). Creating a Sense of Presence in Online Teaching: How to "be there" for distance learners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Salmon, G. (2000). E-moderating: the key to teaching and learning online. London: Kogan Page.