Use of Lecture Capture in Higher Education - Lessons from the Trenches

Lecture capture, defined here as the capturing of some or all elements of a live lecture in digital format, is becoming increasingly popular in higher education. Despite this increase in popularity, fewer than 10% of institutes of higher education globally have adopted comprehensive lecture capture systems. So, the majority of instructors wanting to use lecture capture technology will find themselves having to acquire their own technology and do the capture themselves. There are several factors that influence the use of lecture capture, including the instructor’s level of comfort with technology, their budget, and the context in which they will be using the tool. Using case studies of our own experiences, we hope to illustrate a variety of ways in which lecture capture can be appropriately used in higher education in this way. Following this, we outline several challenges that we faced and provide recommendations for how to overcome these. Lastly, we describe some issues that should be considered and addressed before getting started using lecture capture technology in a way that is customized to suit the needs of both professor and student. We hope that by following the guidelines outlined in this paper, and by seeing practical examples of how lecture capture can be used in a variety of contexts, the transition from idea to implementation will be an easier one.     

Transforming the twenty-first-century campus to enhance the net-generation student learning experience: using evidence-based design to determine what works and why in virtual/physical teaching spaces

The twenty-first century has seen the rapid emergence of wireless broadband and mobile communications devices which are inexorably changing the way people communicate, collaborate, create and transfer knowledge. Yet many higher education campus learning environments were designed and built in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries prior to wireless broadband networks. Now, new learning environments are being re-engineered to meet these emerging technologies with significant challenges to existing pedagogical practices. However, these next generation learning environments (NGLEs) have not been evaluated thoroughly to see if they actually work as they are scaled up across the higher education system. Whilst there have been a range of NGLEs designed globally – with Australia leading in the past five years or so – it is timely that a more rigorous research methodology drawing from health facility evidence-based design is taken to evaluate their effectiveness in improving the student experience and learning outcomes.     

Children's perceptions of plants following their visit to the Eden Project

The study described is part of a larger research programme designed to investigate primary aged children's learning during a visit to the Eden Project. Children from eight primary schools were interviewed approximately four weeks after a one‐day, teacher‐led visit to the Eden Project (EP) in Cornwall. Their responses revealed that the children enjoyed their visit to the EP and were affected by the sensory experience of being immersed in such a profusion of plants from around the world. The children showed interest in the plants that were relevant to their lives but were often unsure of the relationship between plants, people and resources. The analysis highlights the need for teachers to integrate a visit to the EP within their school's curriculum, particularly in respect of prior preparation and mediation, in order to capitalize effectively on the children's experiences during their visit to the Eden Project.     

Assessing the creativity of scientific explanations in elementary science: an insider–outsider view of intuitive assessment in the hypothesis space

Assessing creativity is commonly believed to be difficult but there is evidence that an intuitive, holistic assessment is easy and reliable. Given that children can engage in creative activity and teachers are expected to foster it, some assessment of it could aid planning and optimise support. Assessing creativity intuitively and holistically could be a useful, quick way of assessing to inform teaching. A teacher of young children, however, is essentially an outsider in the child’s world and often also in the world of science. Judging a child’s creativity in this way from a child’s point of view may not always be easy or reliable. Here, pre‐service elementary teachers in the UK assessed explanations of simple science events. Their holistic assessments of creativity did not agree to any great extent. Agreement improved when they assessed some of the attributes of creativity but was still less than expected. Nevertheless, these novices’ assessments as a whole showed there was some ability to discriminate usefully between explanations, albeit with considerable variation from teacher to teacher. Some implications for teacher training are described.     

COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT ATTRACTION TO AN ENGLISH COURSE: THE ASSOCIATIONS AMONG STUDENT GENDER,THE GENDER OF THE AUTHOR OF ASSIGNED READING,AND THE STYLE OF READING

This article reports the results of a factorial experiment that investigated the reactions of male and female students to a hypothetical English course offered at the community college level. The participants (N = 136) consisted of students enrolled in English 101 courses at four community colleges in a southeastern state. The independent variables were gender of the student, gender of the author assigned, and the type of reading assigned (narrative, expository). The dependent variable was a composite rating of student attraction to the English course. Females rated the course more favorably than males, and testing detected an interaction effect between gender of the student and the gender of the writer. Females preferred female authors, and males were attracted to male authors. There also was an interaction effect between gender of the author and style of writing. Participants preferred female authors and expository style. The findings have practical implications for educational programs, English instructors, and future research.     

Enculturation and Understanding: some differences between sixth formers’ and graduates’ conceptions of understanding in History and Science

Abstract

Understanding is often a highly valued learning outcome in higher education. If new students’ conceptions of understanding are inappropriate or are different to the conceptions of those who teach them, the quality of the students’ learning may suffer. This study compared aspects of sixth formers’ and graduates’ conceptions of understanding in History and Science. It was found that some new students are likely to begin higher education with conceptions that could point them towards a kind of learning that is not what is expected. For instance, in both history and science, there may be a tendency to emphasise the acquisition of factual information. Perhaps less obvious would be students who tend to over‐simplify events in History and those who undervalue simplification and idealisation of a situation in Science. Aspects of the conceptions of understanding that such new students may bring to their courses are described. Some strategies for developing students’ subject‐specific conceptions are also outlined.     

Leg mass characteristics of accurate and inaccurate kickers – an Australian football perspective

Abstract

Athletic profiling provides valuable information to sport scientists, assisting in the optimal design of strength and conditioning programmes. Understanding the influence these physical characteristics may have on the generation of kicking accuracy is advantageous. The aim of this study was to profile and compare the lower limb mass characteristics of accurate and inaccurate Australian footballers. Thirty-one players were recruited from the Western Australian Football League to perform ten drop punt kicks over 20 metres to a player target. Players were separated into accurate (n = 15) and inaccurate (n = 16) groups, with leg mass characteristics assessed using whole body dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans. Accurate kickers demonstrated significantly greater relative lean mass (P ≤ 0.004) and significantly lower relative fat mass (P ≤ 0.024) across all segments of the kicking and support limbs, while also exhibiting significantly higher intra-limb lean-to-fat mass ratios for all segments across both limbs (P ≤ 0.009). Inaccurate kickers also produced significantly larger asymmetries between limbs than accurate kickers (P ≤ 0.028), showing considerably lower lean mass in their support leg. These results illustrate a difference in leg mass characteristics between accurate and inaccurate kickers, highlighting the potential influence these may have on technical proficiency of the drop punt.     

Effect of stance position on kick performance in taekwondo

Abstract

In taekwondo, the stance position can potentially affect kick performance. The aim of this study was to analyse mechanical variables in the roundhouse kick in taekwondo according to three stance positions (0°, 45°, 90°). Nine experienced taekwondo athletes performed consecutive kicking trials in a random order according to these three relative positions of the feet on the ground. Measurements for the mechanical analysis were performed using two 3D force plates and an eight-camera motion capture system. The taekwondo athletes’ reaction and execution times were shorter when starting from the 0° and 45° stance positions than from the 90° position (P < 0.05). Moreover, the ground reaction force was negatively correlated with execution time and positively with velocity of thigh and shank. Our results suggest that the stance position affects the execution technique of taekwondo athletes’ kicks. It is suggested that athletes should not adopt the 90° stance position because it will not enable them to achieve the best performance in the roundhouse kick.     

Writing retreat as structured intervention: margin or mainstream?

Academics across the world face increasing pressure to publish. Research shows that writing retreats have helped by creating dedicated writing time and building collegiality. A new form of ‘structured’ writing retreat was created to increase its impact by taking a community of practice approach. This paper reports on an evaluation, funded by the British Academy, in which participants were interviewed one year after structured retreat. They reported many changes in their approaches to writing and in their sense of themselves as writers and some of these changes were sustained on return to campus. This paper argues that structured retreat increases learning through participation and helps academics to mainstream writing in their lives and careers. We conclude by suggesting that, since publishing is a mainstream academic activity, it makes sense to mainstream this intervention in academic careers.