Tell me what you want, what you really, really want

Authors

  • Paul Rice University of Northampton
  • Robert Farmer University of Northampton

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i10.297

Keywords:

educational video, multimedia principles, student experience

Abstract

Given the current popularity of educational videos, and given the time, effort and expense academics and institutions are investing to provide educational videos to students, it was thought worthwhile to evaluate whether students at the University of Northampton (UoN) actually want and use these resources. Moreover, if it was found they do use educational videos, investigation was required to determine if they are in a format that students want. The study was carried out in two distinct stages. The first stage was a questionnaire which was followed by a focus group. It was found that students at Northampton do overwhelmingly use educational videos. Furthermore, the research found that students prefer videos to any other resource and that videos can increase motivation. Additionally, high-risk production strategies, such as seeing the presenter on screen, and the use of animation, humour and quizzes were identified, and it was found that the use of music in an educational video was considered a negative component of a video. The optimum length of the video is less clear, however, it is recommended they are kept to less than 10 minutes (although this is dependent upon the level of study of the student). The key recommendation when producing videos is to ensure they have been designed taking cognitive research into account. The key strength of a well-designed educational video, it is concluded, is to give the students something additional they cannot find in another resource, in a way which encourages effective learning.

Author Biographies

Paul Rice, University of Northampton

Paul Rice is an Academic Practice Tutor at the University of Northampton. He has been in this job role for six years and oversees the mathematics and statistics provision and support

Robert Farmer, University of Northampton

Robert Farmer works as a Learning Designer and as an Academic Practice Tutor at the University of Northampton.

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Published

14-10-2016

How to Cite

Rice, P. and Farmer, R. (2016) “Tell me what you want, what you really, really want”, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (10). doi: 10.47408/jldhe.v0i10.297.

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Section

Papers