Abstract:

The popularity of videos among publishing formats has grown rapidly at the same time as the time spent watching traditional TV has decreased. Videos are used in online news, education, marketing, social media, etc. Another trend is that the proportion of video consumed on mobile is increasing. As the videos are part of everyday life, they are also naturally utilized in higher education.

Lecture videos provide a flexible way to participate in teaching. With the help of videos, educational organizations are able to diversify teaching and serve a wider and more heterogeneous group of students. Real time videos enable independence from place. On-demand videos offer independence from place and time.

Videos can also be utilized when constructing an educational program using blended learning. Although there are multiple definitions to the blended learning concept, the most common and classic approach is to define blended learning as a training that combines online digital media with traditional, instructor-led classroom methods. Nordberg et al. floated an idea of a “time-based blended learning model”. The learning model comprises synchronous and asynchronous learning elements. Synchronous learning may include, e.g., face-to-face teaching, video conferencing, chat, and real time videos. Asynchronous elements include books, assignments, discussion forums, on-demand videos, etc. According to this definition, neither traditional classroom teaching, nor the physical presence of a lecturer and student are required. The time-based blended learning can take place entirely online.

Recording of lectures is an efficient way to implement blended learning based on place or time, since it does not require any additional effort from the lecturer. The lecture video production has been a crucial factor in our master’s education in mathematical information technology directed at adult students. Over the years, the production process has made great progress. The video capturing is automated, and the lecture videos are distributed through a virtual campus environment, which includes tools enabling interactivity. For every lecture, the students can choose whether to attend face-to-face teaching or watch the lecture video either in real time or as on-demand video.

This paper examines how students blend their studies based on location and time, in an environment where they have an opportunity to choose the most proprietary lecture participation alternative. The course participation can take place either entirely as face-to-face, as traditional blended learning, as time-based blended learning employing videos, or fully independent of place and time with the help of on-demand videos. We wanted to explore how the proportions of these participation modes have changed over the years in our educational context. The statistics have been collected from server log files and face-to-face participation data.

Keywords:

Time-base blended learning, blended learning, video lecture.