DE Oracle @ UMUC

Creating High-Quality Streaming Video as "Learning Objects" for an Online Class

Alan Carswell

Chair, ITS

Graduate School of Management and Technology

Published: 0 2003

Category: » University-showcase » Multimedia-learning-objects

In the winter of 2003, adjunct faculty member Jack Crosby wanted to incorporate a videotaped interview with several Chief Information Officers (CIOs) into his online course. The course was ADMN645 (Information Technology, the CIO, and Organizational Transformation). The purposes of the interview were to:

1. Provide a practitioner's perspective on course issues like new information technologies, applying technology to business problems, and career choices
2. Provide a richer online student experience beyond text and graphics
3. Demonstrate UMUC's bold use of technology to enhance distance education
4. "Validate" the course's subject matter by incorporating outside recognized experts

Dr. Crosby presented the idea to Alan Carswell, MIS program director in the Graduate School. With Dr. Carswell's support, an inquiry was forwarded to UMUC's Center for Media and New Technology (CMNT) on how to create a high-quality video component for the class. Working with CMNT's Media Services, the project's concept evolved from an initial intention to videotape a single interview of a roundtable (about a half hour) into the creation of a series of short videos as "learning objects" designed to be used modularly by Dr. Crosby and other ADMN645 instructors to supplement their teaching of the course.

Several of these learning objects were made available to students in Dr. Crosby's class in the spring of 2003. The full series will be available for inclusion in the fall ADMN645 sections.

This article summarizes lessons learned in producing the online videos for ADMN645, as well as feedback from participants and students.

Sample Learning Object: Future of the CIO Role

Discussion 1: What do you see in the next 5 years for the CIO role?

LESSONS LEARNED

Personnel

A number of persons (besides guests) are involved in such a project; in our case, the following:

• Jack Crosby, adjunct faculty member and ADMN645 instructor, had the most immediate knowledge of the topics that should be discussed. He worked with Dr. Carswell in planning content and making contacts for roundtable participants.
• Alan Carswell, program director, coordinated the budgeting and collaborated in content planning and participant recruiting, as the person administratively and pedagogically responsible for the course.
• Pat Johnson, Senior Instructional Support Specialist (note: no longer with the university), assisted with planning, coordination, and webpage design.
• Mike Smith, CMNT, Manager, Video Production and Cable Services, provided both aesthetic and technical oversight and direction.
• Evelyn Marren, CMNT, Producer of Media and Cable Programming (note: no longer with the university), provided aesthetic and practical support, including budgetary and scheduling oversight of video production.
• Todd Larson, CMNT, Media Production Specialist, lit the studio, ran camera and sound, and did the post-production work of digitizing and encoding the video.
• A contract-hire transcriber produced the draft transcription of the video interviews.

Other persons were involved in support roles, including Graduate School administrative personnel to provide budgeting and administrative assistance; two extra camera operators to record the video segments with four participants; and CMNT's Web multimedia specialist.

Design

A video delivered online is NOT equivalent to a television talk show delivered via airwaves or cable on a large display. Here are considerations that affected the planning and the format of the ADMN645 final video product as it evolved into the shorter-videos format.

• The small window size and pixelated images of online media mean that
  • Having only 1 or 2 speakers on-screen is best; if a larger group is needed, plan on no more than 4 individuals. In wide shots of even 4 individuals, it can be difficult to see the individuals' features.
  • The speaker(s) should be the content expert(s). Even an interviewer can take up important screen space if not adding much to the discussion. (Off-camera interviewers can be an option.)
  • Tight, static shots are most suitable (avoid monotony by cutting length): common TV camera techniques such as pans, zooms don't work well for streaming video.
• Because large streaming files won't display well for some viewers (e.g., those with dialup connections), small clips of around 3 minutes are best. A 10-12 minute segment is as long as practical. The product may have to be "chunked" into short segments.
• A text version of the video will help ensure accessibility for all students; even small files won't display well for some viewers with slow computers or unreliable Internet connections. Audio-only files as well as text files are options. (We hired a transcriber; others may use a prepared script/teleprompter text.)
• Get to the point. In addition to technical limitations, viewers' attention spans are more limited with the small online format, so cut out all unnecessary material, including polite introductions, repetitions, provision of context, and so forth.
• Use text to complement the video material and reduce the amount of smalltalk on-screen. The ADMN645 video files were designed to be accessed from a webpage, where we provided participants' biographies, the context/goals of the interviews, and the discussion questions, to give students a "map" of where the videos were going (see sample above).

Planning and Timeline

CMNT is delighted to support this type of project but has limited resources and a sometimes crowded calendar. A realistic timeline is 4-6 months from initial planning to incorporation of the finished product in a class. Note that planning decisions such as number of people on-camera and handling of text (transcripts) affect both costs and timeline.

Although each one is unique, a video project includes all or most of the preproduction, production, and postproduction steps we encountered:

Preproduction

Carefully plan the goals and objectives of the video project (but allow flexibility in the actual discussion items and the format).

Set up an initial planning meeting with Center for Media & New Technolog (CMNT) , cmnt@umuc.edu. Topics of our initial meeting included dates and deadlines, guests' discussion items, appropriate media formats and processes, costs, delivery method, and display of final product.

Contact Administration (or department) regarding funding, as needed. While many of the tasks are handled by Media Services as part of their regular duties, extra-cost items for us included 2 extra camera operators; a transcriber; and breakfast, lunch, and gifts for guests. (All of these expenses are optional.)

Contact guests. Our experience was that it was fairly easy to recruit high-level participants for an educational video project. (Although we couldn't offer any payment, we did provide a coffee service and lunch and small UMUC gifts for each.) After the instructor's or program director's initial contacts leading to a guest's agreement to participate, CMNT worked with the guest(s) regarding scheduling, attire suitable for video, directions to the studio, signing consent forms, etc. The instructor and program director communicated with guests regarding content (via a project webpage, email, and phone calls).

Conduct a second production meeting for feedback and revision of the schedule or format with the Media Services team. Communicate details as necessary to guests.

CMNT had additional responsibilities to hire extra camera operators (at a cost to us) and to set up the television studio (lighting, background, furniture, etc.) for the recording of the video on the day before the production. Setup usually requires one or two days, depending on the complexity of the plan.

Production

This is actually the least time-consuming phase!

Each of 3 guests was interviewed individually for two short (2-3-minute) video segments, and all three guests were interviewed as a group for two longer (11-13-minute) video segments. Our goal was to accomplish all the recording in a single day to avoid repeat visits by participants. This required some detailed planning to minimize waiting time for panelists while others were being taped.

We allowed time on production day for guests to greet and get comfortable with each other, for prepping (rehearsing, audio and video checks, makeup as necessary), as well as for taping and retakes (retakes turned out to be unnecessary). We had a coffee service available in the morning and had lunch at the Garden Restaurant.

This entire process took from 8:15 a.m. to about 2:15 p.m. (The CMNT team was there longer.)

Postproduction

Principal personnel still have much work to do after the recording session.

CMNT personnel

• Edit video and produce graphics, as required.
• Duplicate audio or video to send to the transcriber.
• Convert the video to digital format, which includes digitizing, compressing, and encoding the video in one or more online media formats. (Real Media is currently UMUC's preference, and this is what we used.)
• Create separate audio files, if desired. 
• Review (edited) digital video files (with Instructional Support Specialist and/or content expert).
• Place digital video (and audio) file(s) on UMUC's streaming server, Marconi, to be linked into the classroom as URLs.
• Duplicate video in VHS tape format to send to participants, as a courtesy.

Transcriber (if needed)

• Produce a good draft transcription of the video/audio content.

Instructor, Program Director, and/or Instructional Support Specialist

• Review with Media Services personnel (if necessary) the edited versions of video files.
• Test and assess online digital video files (check accessibility and quality of the final product on a variety of platforms).
• Edit the transcript after receipt from contractor (to check and customize it).
• Produce and design content for the webpage for the classroom; publish to the Web.
• Incorporate the final product(s) in the classroom.
• Share final product(s) with guest participants.
• Follow-up in discussions with students in WebTycho conference(s).

FEEDBACK

Guests

Our guests were very positive about being included in this type of endeavor. They appreciated being involved and our attention to them while they were with us.

CMNT

CMNT was enthusiastic about working with us to create high-quality instructional media for ADMN645. They asked us to invite other faculty who are considering a video project (need not be filmed in the studio) to talk to them to customize and help realize their projects, as they did ours. CMNT's ideal client "knows exactly what s/he wants to convey, but has an open mind as to how."

Students

Although only a portion of the video learning objects were made available to Dr. Crosby's ADMN645 class in the 0302 semester, the students' feedback was very positive. Most students were able to view the videos without trouble; the single exception was a student in Germany. This reinforces the need to have supporting transcripts available; in international and military contexts especially, the Internet infrastructure cannot be taken for granted.

Students appreciated hearing outside experts reinforce the class material, and they remarked how much the video enriched their online learning experience.

Representative student comments

"I really felt that the use of the videos helps support some of the text and supplemental reading materials for the class. Sometimes in an online class, you miss the human interaction and I think the guest videos helped bring us back to a classroom feel."

"This is an excellent way to bring a live lecture type venue to online courses. I have only taken one course in person out of 8 and this type of conference is very helpful and breaks up the monotony of just reading and writing."

"Thanks for taking the time and making an effort to incorporate the roundtable discussions into our curriculum. While Internet classes are convenient, I really miss being able to hear and see experts discussing current issues." 

Jack Crosby (Instructor) and Alan Carswell (Program Director)

Creating these learning objects was much more involved than we initially intended. We had visions of simply setting up a camcorder and videotaping some folks sitting around a table and talking. While we still could have done that, we believe that the ultimate product was much more professional-looking, useful, and well worth the effort.

A significant challenge for us was to find a way to cover current topics of interest but to also "future proof" the sessions. Mindful of the level of production effort, we designed most of these learning objects to cover the more timeless issues confronting CIOs. By doing this, we hope to be able to leverage these products over a number of class sections for many semesters into the future. In addition, the modular nature of the Roundtable gives us the flexibility to replace one or more of the segments if it becomes necessary.

Overall, this has been a positive and rewarding experience for us and for students. Our guests were outstanding: knowledgable, well-spoken, and interested in and comfortable with the process. The CMNT staff brought to bear their professional experience in a diplomatic way that made a great deal of difference. We are very pleased with the quality of the products of this team effort: videos, transcripts, and Website.