Abstract:

In the last decade, the physical and ideological boundaries of the university classroom have been dramatically reimagined through a plethora of technological platforms. While these methods may seem purely cosmetic, they actively challenge the very definitions and foundations of educational processes. These shifts are perhaps most visible in the distance learning classroom. The Institute of Education Sciences defines distance education as learning opportunities and may include, “live, interactive audio- or videoconferencing; prerecorded instructional videos; webcasts; or computer-based systems accessed over the Internet.” In considering this definition, this paper presents a case study at DeVry University (United States) that examines three concurrent video-based curriculum initiatives that are designed to enhance the student experience in distance and virtual learning situations through promoting synchronous dialogue and community building that challenge traditional educational boundaries. This paper thus argues that video interaction creates not only new possibilities for collaborative learning, but removes barriers often associated with distance learning as a one-way asynchronous process.

This argument interrogates the following questions: How does the use of video alter the dynamics of the virtual classroom? How can video technology be used as an extension of flipped classroom pedagogies? What are the costs and benefits of relying of video technology to create synchronous learning environments? In order to unpack these complex questions, this paper utilizes a case study of the use of three video initiatives to enhance online course curriculum at DeVry University. The first is faculty-produced videos that are part of the “Video on Demand” (VOD) initiative. Designed to highlight and develop understanding of core concepts, VOD are created by faculty members for shared use across multiple sections of a specific course. The second initiative, is Live Lessons (LL), online lessons conducted via a web conferencing platform. Live Lessons are faculty led and course and section specific video lectures that allow students to interact with key course concepts and faculty. The final initiative is student produced videos (SPV). Student use of video technology allows students to both demonstrate understanding of concepts and engage with the class in a more direct, synchronous fashion. All three of these videos initiatives are designed to create an educational space that necessitates synchronous dialogues and knowledge building.

To analyze these initiatives and evaluate their success, I deploy a Cultural Studies methodology to examine the development of what theorist Benedict Anderson has described as “imagined communities” in relation to new educational spaces. In his landmark study, Imagined Communities, Anderson explains, “Communities are to be distinguished, not by their falsity/genuineness, but by the style in which they are imagined” (1983). This paper builds on these conversations to consider flipped learning in relation to the applicational possibilities of video technologies in virtual learning environments. Placed in the context of globalization and internationalization, both within education and professional circles, use of video helps students experience and communicate within contemporary modalities and gain competencies in digital communication that will extend beyond the physical and virtual walls of the university.

Keywords:

Pedagogy, video, technology, instruction, distance learning, virtual learning.