Teaching with Technology

One method of distance learning delivery is asynchronous, in which students sit through lectures of varying lengths presented using various modalities. In this study from 2006, Pomales-García and Liu, several student responses to these variations were analyzed for their effect. Course modules were delivered using text, voice, and video and the modules had lengths ranging from five to twenty minutes. Students were evaluated on retention and persistence and were also polled on their perceptions of the length of each module, how attractive it was, and the difficulty.

The results, while showing some minor variations, were fairly consistent. Overall, shorter modules were seen as being less difficult and students and students felt more inclined to complete them. Modules using video were also perceived as less difficult than those presented using only audio or only text.  When students were asked how long the modules were, modules presented via text were perceived as being shorter than they actually had been. Modules presented with video or audio were perceived either correctly or as slightly longer.

Retention of key data elements was about the same regardless of length or presentation format. Students consistently reported more ambivalence about completing the modules as they got longer, regardless of their presentation method.

I found two interesting results in this article. The most important is that students were more likely to want to complete shorter modules than longer ones. I have worked with many faculty who think that, as students sit through a three hour lecture class, recorded lectures can also be that long. I may be able to use this study to convince some faculty of the potential issues with their continued use of longer recordings. Of equal interest was the discussion of the use of video recordings. I have read some reports that concluded that the use of “talking head” videos was not conducive to successful student learning outcomes and this article reached an opposite conclusion. This article did not provide details on the methods used for video presentation and I will have to try to determine how they were recorded and presented to make a fair comparison to the other article.

Pomales-García, C., & Liu, Y. (2006). Web-Based Distance Learning Technology: The Impacts of Web Module Length and Format. American Journal of Distance Education, 20(3), 163. doi:10.1207/s15389286ajde2003_4