Videos and m-learning elsewhere

As a subscriber to the Learning Development and Innovation Moodle at Staffordshire, I've been receiving a bunch of postings to a discussion board on mobile learning. A lot of the work is being carried out at FE colleges, and there are discussions on a range of e-learning initiatives (including a rather heated debate on the merits, or otherwise, of using Second Life for teaching). One feature that is evident among the m-learning pilots is that they invariably seem to involve providing learners with the necessary devices (here, for example, students were provided with 60gb Zen Vision media players). This, in itself, creates problems regarding both replication and the extent to which such pilots reflect 'real world' contexts (although we could probably assume most students will have portable video players some point down the line). To repeat an earlier point though, my question is whether it is the rich media element or the mobility that really counts here.

At the moment, what seems important to me is that rich media facilitates access to content outside the conventional classroom, and that learners can review this content in their own time and as often as they want. This (especially the ability to review content) continues to be the aspect of podcasting which students I've spoken to identify as most useful. I'm still not convinced that the portability or otherwise of that content is especially relevant here. However, I will try to foreground this as an issue with my last set of discussions with students.

Learning on screen - conference

The BUFVC are holding their annual 'Learning on Screen' conference in April. The full details and CFP is here. Apparently, it is organised by the Society for Screen-Based Learning - who I must admit to not having heard of. Then again, the SSBL seem to have something of a 'dark matter' web presence: in that I assume it is there, but can't seem to find it ...

Survey results

Some brief results from a survey of 202 first years (carried out in Week 2).

• Almost all owned MP3 players (188), with most owning iPods (143)
• About a quarter (46) used their MP3 players to listen to podcasts
• Only 17 had encountered podcasts in an educational context before arriving at BSU
• Of these, all but one found them useful. Most accessed them on a computer rather than via their MP3 players.
  
• 63 watched the induction screencasts put together by staff in Historical and Cultural Studies. These were short (about 3 minutes) screencasts introducing the various modules on offer.
• The majority (42) found these 'quite' or 'very' useful. Only one found then not be useful at all.
• 104 (I was surprised at this!) said they hoped to see podcasts and screencasts included in the teaching materials on their modules. 61 said they weren't sure, and only 6 said they would not want to see them used.

I have data from a survey of third years which I need to enter and analyse. The first-year survey did suggest that where students have encountered educational podcasts, they have largely found them helpful (though this needs to be interpreted carefully - see 'perception and reality' below...). It certainly suggests that there is little anxiety from new students about the use of podcasts in a university context. I hope to explore these issues in more detail in conversation with students later on.

Perception and reality

Evans (2008) has produced a detailed survey of student attitudes which finds that the majority of respondents felt podcasts made their revision quicker and more effective. For all its statistical rigour, however, it rests on the assumption that when students feel podcasts enhance their learning, that is what really happens. I'm not sure we can be so confident that the best measure of impact in terms of learning outcomes is student perception. Another study by Huntsberger and Stavitsky (2007) illustrates this point. In a study of courses in which tutors provided podcast summaries of weekly readings, they found that 40% of students stopped reading altogether and just listened to the podcast summaries instead. However, 95% felt their learning had been enhanced. Shurely shome mishtake....

Chris Evans (2008) 'The effectiveness of m-learning in the form of podcast revision in higher education'. Computers and Education 50, 491-8

Michael Hunstberger and Alan Stavitsky (2007) 'The new "podagogy": incorporating podcasting into journalism education', Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, Winter 2007, 397-410

M-learning, or not

Most of the published research on podcasting I have encountered so far (e.g. Copley, 2007) shows that the majority of students access podcasts on computers, rather than on MP3 players. The results of my survey also suggest the same: of those who have used podcasts either at BSU or at college , the vast majority have listened to them on a computer or laptop. As a number of articles have pointed out, this suggest that podcasting does not necessarily encourage mobile learning (or 'm-learning', in the jargon). Instead, it encourages remote learning but from static workstations.

There are a few possible explanations for this -not least that users may be tempted to view / listen to a media file on the platform where it is first accessed (hence avoiding an extra download stage). However, my hunch - and something I'll try and pursue in interviews with students - is that it is more to do with the creation a Chinese Wall between personal space and university work. As one student informally put it to me: who wants to have your iPod on shuffle and suddenly come across a lecture? Of course, now that iTunes organises podcasts separately, this particular disaster is unlikely but the principle, I suspect, remains the same.

Jonathan Copley (2007) 'Audio and video podcasts of lectures for campus-based students and evaluation of use' Innovation in Education and Teaching International, 44: 4, 387-99

Podcasts and screencasts blog

Okay, after a couple of false starts - and with some well-timed nudging from Joe Bennett, I'm getting a blog up and running for my PedR project on podcasting and screencasting. If you are reading this entry, then you will have already noticed that I've kicked things off with a couple of entries. These are taken mostly from a private blog I set up at the start of the project to note down my own thoughts. I've edited them for your consumption, of course...

The idea of this blog is to try and disseminate my findings among the people who have taken part, but also to provide a forum for discussion on the subject. I won't take it personally if that turns out to be a rather lonely pursuit - there are plenty of other things you may want to be getting along with, I'm sure. Anyway, we'll see how it goes. At the least, it should provide a resource for you to look at if you are thinking about trying new things or researching the area further.

Oh. And I'll work on the layout / images / widgets in the next few days. Any suggestions for how to improve things will be gratefully accepted...