Abstract:

In any educational course measuring the growth students have made towards the objectives is critical to determine the effectiveness of instruction. As instructors we have to be certain that our efforts are resulting in optimum outcomes for students through assessment. In online, asynchronous course where the students and instructor do not meet, obtaining reliable assessment measures becomes more difficult than in traditional face-to-face classes (Arnold, 2012). Common testing methods include selected and constructed response tests, essays, and in-depth projects. Unless instructors have the possibility to provide proctored tests they cannot be certain beyond a reasonable doubt who is actually submitting the tests, papers, or projects. In one study (Watson & Sottile, 2010) students reported equitable rates of cheating in face-to-face classes as compared to online classes, but 5.2% more had someone else give them answers during an online class quiz or test. When a test is administered aspects related to the test construction itself, the student, graders, and various circumstances surrounding its administration could cause the results to be inconsistent (Slavin, 2012). Aside from the reliability issues surrounding online assessment many online college classes experience higher than typical tendencies for students to remain unengaged, or not complete the course. Disconnect between the instructor and student, and between students is one contributor leading to feelings of isolation. Instructors may post audio or video lectures, but they are one-directional in nature. Students commonly interact with the instructor and other students through electronic text mediums such as threaded discussions, and e-mail. In recent years the audio and video capture processes used by instructors have progressed such that technology novices are able to capture and upload their lectures with only a few clicks using a commercial lecture capture system. Students have used audio and video capture systems as well, but in a more limited capacity; most commonly as practice in learning additional languages.

The Panopto video capture system was implemented this year at the University of Arizona on a trial-basis with any instructor who opted to use it. One instructor chose to implement Panopto in two online undergraduate courses associated with this case study: Educational Technology and Children’s Literature. Building upon the student language practice use of video capture mentioned earlier this paper examines the use of the Panopto video capture system by students continually throughout the semester as a means to demonstrate their engagement with the course content.

References:
- Arnold, S.D. (2012, October). Assessing online learning with digital audio and video. In Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2012 (pp. 473-479). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
- Slavin, R.E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
- Watson, G., & Sottile, J. (2010). Cheating in the digital age: Do students cheat more in online courses? Online Journal of Distance Administration, 13 (1). Retrieved from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring131/watson131.html

Keywords:

Lecture, video capture, online, students, panopto.