Enabling a Comprehensive Teaching Strategy: Video Lectures

Full text

Journal of Information Technology Education Volume 7, 2008
Innovations in Practice
Editor: Janice Whatley
Enabling a Comprehensive Teaching Strategy:
Video Lectures
H. David Brecht and Suzanne M. Ogilby
California State University, Sacramento, California, USA
brecht@csus.edu; ogilbysm@csus.edu
Executive Summary
This study empirically tests the feasibility and effectiveness of video lectures as a form of video
instruction that enables a comprehensive teaching strategy used throughout a traditional class-
room course. It examines student use patterns and the videos’ effects on student learning, using
qualitative and nonparametric statistical analyses of survey responses and student grades. Groups
of student course grades are compared with and without video lectures available.
Video lectures are CD and web viewable files that present lecture materials and narrative instruc-
tion from a course’s instructor. They are used as additions to classroom lectures and are not re-
cordings of classroom lectures. In these lectures, the instructor uses Microsoft Office content
files, narrative instruction, and screen writing with the keyboard and mouse pointer to deliver the
lecture.
Video lectures serve major strategic purposes. First, they give additional teaching time to students
who cannot fully understand the course material through the classroom lectures and support mate-
rials such as the textbook. Students can view and study the instructor’s lectures as often as they
wish until they understand material. This study resource is particularly important in teaching a
broad spectrum of students.
Second, video lectures allow classroom coverage of more complex and challenging subject mate-
rial that is more interesting to many students. Students who are overwhelmed by these informa-
tion-packed classroom lectures have the video lectures to study, which cover both the basics and
the more advanced material. Moreover, some of the time freed in classroom lectures can be con-
verted to problem-solving lab days that focus on active learning.
On these lab days, students are given complex and topic-comprehensive problems to solve. These
problems aggressively challenge and move forward students’ understanding and skill in working
with the course material. Because video lectures are available as a support teaching resource, the
labs can be used to involve students in solving problems that integrate multiple threads of a topic.
Survey results indicate that many students accept and use video lectures as contemplated by this
teaching strategy. The extent to which
students use the videos is expected to be
associated with more than the need for
additional teaching time since alterna-
tive study resources are always avail-
able. Video use frequency and patterns
are expected to be at least in part related
to each student’s learning style prefer-
ences. The paper identifies some types
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of learning style preferences to which video lectures appeal.
A statistically significant 68.5% of students using the videos said they helped understand course
information and prepare for midterm exams. A statistically significant 72.2% said the videos
helped do homework and prepare for weekly exams. Moreover, a statistically significant 63% of
students said they provide tutoring help. These use patterns indicate broad acceptance of the
computer-based instruction in video lectures, delivered by the course instructor, as a supplemen-
tary resource in a traditional course. They indicate that video lectures appeal to many students for
a variety of purposes, and are effective for learning.
Regarding course grades, survey responses indicate that the video lectures helped 20.4% of stu-
dents pass the course. Observing grade data, 24.2% of students without the videos failed the
course. This rate dropped to 6.8% for the sample group with the videos available – a substantial
improvement. Evaluating video lectures as a study resource for comprehensive final exams, they
provide an entire semester’s lectures delivered by the instructor. Final exam data show that the
availability of video lectures improves final exam grades for all grade ranges.
Keywords: IT and innovative pedagogy, computer video lectures, video instruction, IT and
teaching strategy, IT and learning style preferences
Introduction
This research contributes to the resolution of two problems that occur in university-level educa-
tion. One is how to help otherwise failing students or students uninterested in studying using tra-
ditional classroom lecture and text reading methods become academically successful. (At the uni-
versity level, students’ inability to learn or succeed in passing classes becomes a problem of re-
tention.) A second is an aspect of “teaching to or below the mean” – how to avoid dilution of the
curriculum and increase the complexity and amount of subject material covered in a course when
a nontrivial segment of the class has difficulty learning the basics. Addressing these problems is
particularly important in a university with a mission of teaching a broad spectrum of students.
This study applies video lectures (a specific application of the broader technology “video instruc-
tion”) as a way to leverage information technology (IT), not simply as a tool for recording and
distributing information, but as a way to enable a comprehensive teaching strategy used through-
out a course – a strategy that addresses these problems. Many different computer applications
provide information to students and instruction – applications ranging from online lecture notes to
limited topic, off-the-shelf instructional videos or simulations or to instructional videos that have
been developed by educators as pedagogical methods used for their individual courses. As used in
this study, video lectures are substantively different, delivering the entire topic content taught in a
course’s classroom lectures as portable lectures that students can rehear and study. Their content
and pattern of topic development are specific and inclusive to what an individual instructor covers
in the classroom.
More important than being portable lectures to support initial learning or for review before an
exam, video lectures enable a comprehensive instructional strategy that allows greater depth of
coverage, with more classroom time spent on complex material that is interesting to many stu-
dents and less time spent on basic explanations. Additionally, they support converting a large per-
centage of class time from classroom lectures to problem-solving labs that emphasize active
learning. The video lectures are available to support students needing additional teaching time,
whether on the basic or more complex subject material.
Besides presenting the strategic design for this use of video lectures, this study provides initial
empirical evidence of outcomes from their use. Outcomes include student perceptions of the vid-
eos’ value, how they used the videos, and the videos’ effects on student learning. This evidence

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adds to the literature, where the education literature has noted that the learning effectiveness of
many IT applications is relatively unknown (Maki & Maki, 2000).
Contribution to the Literature
Elements of the current study are part of other studies but are considered in different ways. For
example, Hornik reports the effect on student retention, course grade performance, and learning-
process satisfaction of using IT-mediated learning with no face-to-face communication, e.g.,
online education (Hornik, Saunders, Li, Moskal, & Dzuiban, 2008). This research finds higher
success when IT is used for instruction in introductory courses with a less well-developed struc-
ture of concepts and techniques than when this structure is highly developed.
Alternatively, the present study evaluates the same outcomes but uses the more specific video
lecture technology to re-lecture material that is presented in classroom lectures. The videos also
support active-learning activities by providing complete lectures that can be reviewed for their
coverage of concepts and methods occurring in difficult problems worked on in the labs. An addi-
tional study difference is that in the current study comparative success is found from using video
lectures when the course is introductory and has a highly developed concept/methods structure.
Sample groups are compared with and without video lectures available.
Keengwe addresses the integration of technology into classroom education (Keengwe, 2007). By
reference to the literature (Cuban, 2001), Keengwe states, “Few faculty have demonstrated effec-
tive and efficient computer technology integration use in their classrooms” (Keengwe, p. 2). Ad-
ditionally, he says, “Few studies are available on students’ perceptions of computer technology
use.” The current study adds to the literature empirical evidence of video lectures’ integration as a
study resource in traditional classrooms and students’ acceptance and patterns of use of this re-
source.
Sarker presents an overview of the literature on online education and states that there have been
few empirical studies to date (Sarker & Nicholson, 2005). The studies referenced consider web-
based versus traditional classroom outcomes; the effects of active-learning techniques used in a
virtual environment versus those obtained in traditional classrooms; and effects for online, tradi-
tional, and mixed learning environments. No significant outcome differences were found between
the applications and environments compared in any of these studies. The current study is solely of
an in-residence, classroom environment that mixes traditional instruction methods with active-
learning and video lectures. Successful outcomes were found for the sample group using the vid-
eos.
As suggested by most of the above studies, the papers they reference, and a general review of
internet links, there are many studies related to the online learning environment. Within this envi-
ronment, there are studies that apply or examine aspects of video instruction. The current study is
different in that it addresses the strategic use of video instruction in support of a traditional-
classroom learning environment. This strategic use connects video lectures as an enabling peda-
gogy to a greater depth of study in a course and a conversion of classroom time from lectures to
active learning labs.
Whatley and Ahmad (2007) address the development of relatively short videos that summarize
key material previously presented, not in an online course, but in the classroom or lecture hall.
Their intent is to support student review of basic concepts, for either initial learning or assess-
ments review. Differently in the current study, video lectures are full-length instructional lectures
of all course materials. Their purposes are the same, which are to support initial learning and
exam review (assessment).

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For the technology, Whatley and Ahmad use digital video cameras to record either live lectures
that were edited into short summaries or in-office summary lectures. As discussed in the next sec-
tion, the current study’s video lectures are complete lectures that parallel the full content pre-
sented in classroom lectures. They are created solely on a personal computer, using content files
and narrative audio – both encoded into a video with easy to use software and without editing.
Study Design & Analysis Methodology
The video application offered in this study, and supported by the empirical evidence collected, is
an innovative contribution to the literature. The basis of the application is to improve student
learning and retention, support the strengthening of course content and subject complexity, and
support the use of classroom time to engage students in active learning. The evidence collected is
an initial effort to evaluate student acceptance and use of video lectures and the videos’ effects on
grades/learning. The course is introductory financial accounting and is not advertised as computer
enhanced. Thus, the students did not self-select a computer-enhanced learning environment. They
represent a random mix of student technical capabilities and orientation, academic interests, and
aptitudes that might be found in any business school introductory, required course.
The instrument for gaining information about acceptance and use was a survey given at the end of
the course, but before the final exam, to the sample group of students that had video lectures
available. To get unbiased responses, the survey was anonymous. This effect is validated in that
27% of the responding students said they did not use the videos at all and several important sur-
vey questions did not receive statistically significant affirmative responses. These responses indi-
cate that students critically evaluated the video lectures and responded without a bias to please the
instructor.
Also, especially regarding reported student use of the videos, students were not forced to use
them to access or learn the course material. Alternative study resources were always available
(classroom lectures, instructional PowerPoint files, homework assignments and solutions, lab
practice problems and solutions, and the textbook). Thus, use of the videos, topic by topic and
week by week, was always voluntary and hidden from the instructor’s view. This removed a po-
tential bias from student responses to the survey.
A secondary but important focus of the study is the effect of video lectures on student learning as
measured by survey responses and course grades. Of especial interest is the effect of using videos
for students in danger of failing the course. The direct evidence available for this part of the study
is limited to the student survey responses, where anonymous students self-identify using the vid-
eos and state whether or not they helped pass the course. Individual students could not be identi-
fied as using the video lectures and then traced to their actual grade performance. However, indi-
rect evidence is examined of whether video lecture availability is associated with higher course
grades. The two sets of evidence are compared for consistency and implied validity.
Qualitative and nonparametric statistical analyses are used to examine the survey and course
grade evidence. The qualitative analysis evaluates evidence for reasonableness and consistency in
view of other available evidence, possible underlying explanations for the result, and expecta-
tions. The statistical analyses address whether or not a survey response or a course grade outcome
is random. Nonparametric analysis is used for three reasons. First, yes/no survey responses are
binomial, although the binomial tends toward the normal distribution with larger sample sizes.
Second, the effects of video use on a course grade distribution are unknown, making a distribu-
tion-based norm problematic to use. In fact, it is expected that video use will change the shape of
the grade distribution, but it is not known what this distribution will look like or what should be a
comparative norm. And third, the binomial distribution is well suited for rankings. Grades

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grouped by intervals are essentially data ranked into the performance classifications of F – A,
from worst to best.
Survey responses are tested with the nonparametric binomial one sample one-tailed test. The
sample value X is computed using z = ((X - .5) - NP)/√NPQ. For each survey question, the null
hypothesis (H0) is that the “yes” (affirmative) response rate does not indicate a significant charac-
teristic of video use. The alternative hypothesis (H1) is that the responses do identify a significant
use. The “yes” response rates for rejecting the H
0
are 67% at α = .01 and 62% at α = .05.
Observed course and final exam grades for student groups with and without the videos available
(N = 132 and 33, respectively) are tested for significant differences. The nonparametric Kolmo-
gorov-Smirnov large sample one-tailed test is used with α = .05 and two degrees of freedom. The
sample value X = 4D
2
*((n
1
n
2
)/(n
1
+n
2
)). The null hypothesis (H
0
) is that the grades were drawn
from the same population and video lectures cause no significant grade improvement. The alter-
native hypothesis (H
1
) is that video availability does significantly improve student grades.
Video Mechanics
Video lectures are feasible for the average non-IT instructor’s use. Using a personal computer, an
instructor can create them quickly and easily. They are not recordings of classroom lectures but
cover lecture material as screen displays of content files with audio narrative (lecture) added.
They can be produced before a course begins or developed as it progresses. The authors use both
approaches, distributing videos for the entire course’s coverage at the beginning of the semester,
and then preparing a new video if needed to go over more slowly and extensively difficulties stu-
dents are having with subject material. (A link to an example video used in this study can be
found at http://www.csus.edu/indiv/b/brechthd/video/ch8.w
mv)
Video lectures are Windows Media video files (wmv) created using Microsoft Producer as encod-
ing software and Microsoft Office files for topic content. The encoding software captures screens
from data files containing the materials used in classroom lectures and narrative audio from a mi-
crophone connected to the computer. They can be produced in the instructor’s office or home,
with no special set up required. Video lectures are more than technologically sophisticated lecture
notes. Instead, they capture complete, instructor-quality instruction for all topics throughout a
course.
In each video, the instructor navigates to display a topic-content file and delivers the audio lecture
using the microphone. Chalkboard writing is simulated by using the keyboard and mouse pointer
to write comments and highlight information on the screen. This development of topics has the
feel of a live lecture, although no live classroom video or audio is edited into the video. In this
study, the average time needed to produce a 75-minute video was about two hours, or four hours
if there were retakes needed to correct mistakes. There was no incremental effort to create the
Office files since they already existed for use in the classroom lectures.
The application of the Producer encoding software was beyond its recommended use with
PowerPoint content files. Multiple types of files were used (PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and
HTML – all created using Office software). Additionally, there was mouse pointer movement and
keyboard writing, and screens were often scrolled. As a result, sections of a video could be diffi-
cult to watch with occasional blurred lines, “smudged” areas, or temporary flickering on the
screen. The authors believe these problems are encoding issues with Producer that were encoun-
tered because of its unorthodox use. In a follow-up study using Microsoft Media Encoder, these
difficulties were not encountered. Still, the Producer videos were viewable with enough clarity to
be used by students without comment or complaint.

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The Appendix provides a more detailed discussion of video production mechanics. It covers soft-
ware used; content files; screen writing/highlighting and narrative lecture; encoding configuration
and techniques, and distribution to students.
Study Population
This study uses video lectures as a supplementary instructional method in a traditional, in-
residence course. The course is a foundation, core course; is technically complex (accounting);
and must be completed for students to progress to further studies in upper-division courses. Over
ninety percent of the students pursue academic studies in areas other than the course’s subject,
and many have less than an optimal interest in or aptitude for the subject. The authors’ university,
one of twenty-three state universities in California, USA, is in a medium-sized metropolitan area.
Students primarily live off campus and often work in part-time jobs.
Video lectures were introduced to this course to address this specific population of students and
their interest and ability to learn this foundational subject. An area for further research that would
extend the work of Hornik (Hornik, et. al, 2008) in a different direction is the application of video
lectures to other lower division courses, technical and nontechnical, and to upper-division courses
where students will have self-selected the subject of study and go into the course with a concep-
tual/methods foundation on which to build.
Enabling a Teaching Strategy
Video lectures make available instructor-quality lectures that students can view and study as
much as needed to meet their individual learning needs. They are detailed step-by-step explana-
tions of materials used in classroom lectures and are presented at a delivery pace that is signifi-
cantly slower than what can be accomplished in the limited time available in the classroom. They
can be paused and repeated and, thus, can be studied by students at their own learning pace.
Additionally, video lectures are a more focused learning experience than the traditional study of a
textbook. Textbooks have a broad range of topics, and they develop topics in ways that may be
inconsistent with the instructor’s presentation of the material. Video lectures exclusively target
what the student needs to learn, providing explanations the instructor is using in class. As dis-
cussed later, many students describe video lectures as a tutoring resource.
Additionally, video lectures allow the instructor to shift classroom time spent on basic, less chal-
lenging material to more complex and difficult subject material. By including more-complex in-
formation in classroom lectures, they are faster paced and provide the stimulation of more inter-
esting material. Students who cannot fully understand and learn at this pace have the video lec-
tures as a slower and very thorough second-lecture they can study at their own learning pace.
Finally, video lectures enable reducing classroom lecture time and substituting problem-solving
labs, i.e., a change from lecture-based learning to active learning. In lab sessions, students are
given a “practice problem” that they solve with open notes, alone or in groups, and with the in-
structor’s one-on-one help when requested. The problems aggressively challenge and move for-
ward students’ understanding of and skill in working with the course material. After a lab, stu-
dents can review an online solution of the problem, identifying and re-studying areas where they
are incorrect or have weak understanding.
Student Learning Preferences
For video lectures to be effective, they must be accepted and used by students. They must provide
an enjoyable or at least satisfactory learning experience, be perceived by students as providing a
time-efficient study resource, and/or be perceived as improving understanding and grade per-

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formance. These factors involve, in part, the appeal of video lectures to individual learning pref-
erences. While this relationship is an area for further research, some connection between video
lectures and learning style preferences are commented on here.
In this study, students always have alternative study resources available – classroom lectures, the
active-learning work done in the practice-problem labs, online lecture notes in the form of Office
files, and the textbook. This availability of alternative resources supports the assumption that stu-
dents’ repeated use of video lectures evidences a learning preference for this form of study.
Education research has established that students have different ways in which they best learn new
or difficult information (Dunn & Dunn, 1993), and that it is important to address individual learn-
ing style preferences rather than attempt to instruct all learners with one style (Dunn, 2000; Dunn
& Griggs, 2000). The following factors, based on elements in the Dunn and Dunn Learning-Style
Model (Dunn, 2000), illustrate learning preferences to which video lectures are expected to ap-
peal. It is hypothesized that video lectures appeal to different learning styles from classroom lec-
tures and may be an important, but not exclusive, determinant of their use.
1. Students may not learn most effectively from instructors’ verbal explanations in a classroom
lecture or from written materials (e.g., textbooks). Video lectures are expected to appeal to
many students in the modern media culture, where the medium of information delivery may
improve study effectiveness and learning.
2. In this study, video lectures are designed to appeal to an analytic learning style with more
time spent on step-by-step explanations of concepts and problem-solving methods. In con-
trast, classroom lectures give an overview of the subject material and inherently appeal more
to global learners. Students can enhance the analytic emphasis in video lectures by repeating
step-by-step explanations.
3. A classroom lecture is presented to a large population of students, and it co-exists with a va-
riety of sounds and other surrounding stimuli. Some students find this learning environment
distracting and difficult. They may thrive when hearing the lecture in an environment they
choose – a less distracting environment where they can better focus on lecture content. Also,
students can study video lectures at a time of their choice, when they may be better able to
concentrate and focus on the subject material.
4. A classroom setting typically imposes behavior and physical constraints on students. Video
lectures may make better learning possible by enabling individuals to choose locations
where they can take frequent breaks, move around, eat/drink, and enjoy physical comfort.
5. Finally, a student may have a learning preference for repeatedly studying one section of sub-
ject material until it is learned and then moving to the next section. Classroom lectures nec-
essarily move through a large amount of material at one sitting. Video lectures allow pauses
and repetition until sections of the material are learned.
Student Acceptance and Use of Video Lectures
The survey response rate for students with the videos available was 56% (74 out of 132 students).
Students who reported using the videos were 73% (54/74) of the responding students. The high
use rate suggests that students broadly accept and use video lectures as a form of computer-based
instruction and as an enhancement of traditional classroom courses.
The survey asked students how they used the video lectures and if they found them helpful in
preparing for classroom lectures, understanding topics, doing homework, and preparing for ex-
ams. Following are the usage patterns reported.

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1. To understand better the concepts and problems presented in the classroom lectures. A sur-
prisingly large percentage of students (31.5%) viewed the videos in advance of classroom
lectures. While this percentage is not statistically significant (31.5% < 62% for α = .05), its
size contradicts a finding in the education literature that students study mostly in the two
days prior to an exam, regardless of the education tools available (W. Maki and R. Maki,
2000). A statistically significant percentage of students (68.5% > 67% at α = .01) who used
the videos – before or after the classroom lecture – said they helped understand the subject
material.
2. To do homework
. A statistically significant percentage of students (72.2% > 67% for α =
.01) used the videos to do homework. A statistically significant percentage of students
(66.7% > 62% for α = .05) said the video lectures helped (5.5% fewer students than used
them). These results suggest student acceptance of computer-based instruction in learning to
solve technically complex problems.
3. To prepare for weekly exams
. A statistically significant percentage of students (72.2% >
67% at α = .01) used the videos to prepare for weekly exams and found them helpful.
Weekly exams are students’ initial exams, and the process of studying for them reflects stu-
dents’ use of study resources for initial learning.
4. To prepare for midterm exams
. The percentage of students who reported using the video lec-
tures to prepare for midterm exams was not statistically significant (61.1% < 62% at α =
.05). However, a statistically significant percentage of students (68.5% > 67% for α = .01)
report being helped by the videos for this purpose.
For many students, the process of studying for a midterm exam might be better characterized
as review than initial learning. In this context, the use/helpfulness responses indicate the
video lectures are often seen as useful for review, although a little less so than for initial
learning (as seen in “1., 2., and 3. above”).
The 61.1% of students who report using the videos to study for midterm exams is less than
the 72.2% of students who used the videos to do homework and prepare for weekly exams.
This decline is inconsistent with Maki & Maki’s (2000) finding that student use of study re-
sources increases prior to an exam. An explanation is that video lectures are substantially
appealing and effective for initial learning – obtaining general understanding, doing home-
work, and studying for weekly exams.
An explanation of the 7.4% difference (68.5% - 61.1%) in students who were helped by the
video versus those who used them to prepare for midterm exams is that some students did
not use the videos as a study focus for midterm exams but either accessed them for a limited
purpose or recalled the instruction they provided in prior use.
5. To obtain tutoring help
. Finally, a statistically significant percentage of students (63% > 62%
for α = .05) said the videos provided tutoring help. This response is remarkable compared to
a lower positive response rate that might be expected if students were asked whether reading
the textbook or class notes had tutoring value. Some possible tutoring qualities in video lec-
tures are as follows.
(a) They have a focused-help quality in that 100% of the videos’ coverage is relevant to what
students must learn to succeed in the course. Students may view the videos as focusing on
their needs. (b) The help provided by the videos is directly from the instructor, adding to a
perception of the videos’ focus, accuracy, and reliability in addressing learning needs. The
explanations are also consistent with what they heard in the classroom lectures. (c) Students
can pause or repeat segments of a video lecture, re-listening to the instructor’s explanations

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until the material is understood. Students may experience this process as similar to repeat-
edly questioning a live tutor. (d) A sense of personal connection may come from listening to
the instructor talk about the material and watching his or her comments being written on the
computer screen. This continuing personal contact with the instructor removes some of the
isolation of reading and studying written material.
Student Learning/Grade Performance
Responding to a survey question of whether the video lectures helped raise their course grade,
38.9% of all students using the videos said “yes”. Statistically, this percentage is less than a criti-
cal value of 62% for α = .05 and is not significant. Similarly, a statistical comparison of observed
course grades for all students with videos available versus those without videos does not show
statistically significant grade improvement (at α = .05).
However, when grades for the two groups are graphed (Figure 1), it can be seen that with video
lectures available, there are substantial differences in grades earned in the lower parts of the grade
distribution, i.e., grades in the 0-50% and 50-60%, and 60-70% ranges. When all students are in-
cluded in the statistical analysis, this distinction is lost. Statistically, the grade improvement in the
lower-end of the distribution is offset by a reversal of effect for the 70-80% and 80-90% grades
and the closeness of the number of grades in the 90-100% range.
Addressing the extent to which video lectures help students in the lower end of the grade distribu-
tion, i.e., underachieving students, the survey asked all students if using the video lectures helped
pass the class. 20.4% (11 of N = 54) said “yes”. Qualitatively, this percentage is significant in
terms of the educational goals that students learn and that they pass a required core course. Ena-
bling students to learn is particularly important at a middle-level State University with a teaching
mission that includes nontrivial numbers of students with substantially diverse motivations and
capabilities.
Additionally, of the sample group without videos, 24.2% of the students are in the 0-50% grade
range and failed the course. With the videos available, 6.8% of students are in this range. Sub-
tracting, there are 17.4% fewer grades in the 0-50% range with videos available. This is a 71.9%
(17.4%/24.2%) pass-rate improvement with videos available.
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
%
o
f
S
t
u
d
e
n
t
s
0-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% 90-100%
Grade Range
Videos Not Available
Sample
Videos Available Sample
Figure 1: Course Grade Distributions

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A final learning-effects consideration is whether the availability of video lectures is associated
with improved final exam grades. That is, does the evidence suggest that video lecture help stu-
dents successfully review an entire semester’s lectures in preparation for a comprehensive final
exam? The available data are limited for this analysis because of survey anonymity and having
conducted the survey before the final. More evidence is a direction for future research.
Nevertheless, if students’ use of the videos to prepare for midterm exams and the underlying
characteristics of this use are the same for the final exam, a tentative evaluation can be made.
Figure 2 shows the distribution of final exam grades for students with and without video lectures
available. The availability of video lectures is associated with students making fewer low grades
in all of the 50% - 70% grade ranges and more high grades in all of the 70% - 100% ranges than
if they did not have the videos. However, these improvements are not statistically significant (at
α = .05).
Qualitatively, though, these grade improvements are important. An element of the teaching strat-
egy, particularly for weaker students, is to offer the final exam as a motivating force to get stu-
dents to learn the material even if late in the semester. The final exam grade replaces lower grades
that were received during the semester for homework, practice problems, and exams – up to a
maximum number. For example, a 74% final exam grade replaces up to four homework and prac-
tice problem grades and up to three exam grades, but only for previous grades lower than 74%.
To motivate students to attempt and accomplish improved performance, i.e., to attempt a last ef-
fort to learn the course material, they must believe that they can study all of the course’s material
and succeed on the final exam. Study resources are a key to this success, where instruction has
ended and the final exam’s content is comprehensive and as rigorous as that in the midterm ex-
ams. Video lectures support end-of-semester study by making an entire semester’s lectures, deliv-
ered by the instructor, available.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
% of Students
0-50% 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% 80-90% 90-100%
G rade Range
Videos Not Available
Sample
Videos Available Sample
Figure 2: Comprehensive Final Exam Grades

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Conclusion
The education literature has noted that the learning effectiveness of many technology applications
is unknown (Maki & Maki, 2000). This study develops video lectures and addresses this defi-
ciency for them. It is a study of video instruction’s use as part of a teaching strategy. Student ac-
ceptance of video instruction, student use patterns, and videos’ effects on learning are examined
in a non-IT, traditional classroom course. Qualitative and nonparametric statistical analyses are
used to examine survey responses from students with the videos available and grades from stu-
dents with and without the videos available.
Video lectures are web and CD viewable video files, created in the instructor’s office with free
and easy to use media file encoding software. They are a study resource that provides classroom
lecture content but are more than technologically sophisticated lecture notes or recordings of
classroom lectures. They are produced using Microsoft Producer software for encoding, Micro-
soft Office files for topic content, and a microphone for the instructor’s audio lecture. Chalkboard
writing is simulated by using the keyboard and mouse pointer, giving the lectures the look and
feel of a live lecture. For this study, the time needed to produce a 75-minute video was about two
hours where the Office files already existed for use in the corresponding classroom lectures.
This study is experimental in testing whether video lectures enable a teaching strategy used
throughout a course. The videos repeat the course instructor’s classroom instruction, with the
video lectures presented at a slower, more detailed, and more thorough pace. They are relied upon
to meet weaker students’ extended teaching needs at a university with a mission of teaching a
broad spectrum of students. They free classroom time so that more challenging and complex cov-
erage can be added to classroom lectures. Additionally, they enable classroom lecture time to be
reduced and converted to problem-solving labs that emphasize active learning.
In the lab sessions, students are given complex and methods-comprehensive problems to solve,
where they can use notes, work in groups, and call on the instructor for help. The problems ag-
gressively challenge and move forward students’ skill in understanding concepts and working
with the course material.
For video lectures to be most effectively used by students, they should appeal to students learning
style preferences. Individual preferences may differ from those appealed to by classroom lectures
and written resources such as textbooks or course notes. Video lecture appeals are as follows: (a)
Their content is 100% relevant to course performance requirements and is presented at a more
detailed pace than classroom lectures; (b) Videos can be replayed and enable students to repeat
the instructor’s explanations; (c) They can be viewed at a time, location, and under environmental
conditions of a student’s choice; (d) Their portability enables listening and study without the
competing distractions that often accompany classroom lectures.
Students use the video lectures to (a) understand concepts and problems presented in the class-
room lectures, (b) do homework, (c) prepare for weekly exams, and (d) receive instructor-quality
tutoring assistance. The number of students using and being helped by the videos for these pur-
poses was statistically significant in all cases. Large but statistically insignificant numbers of stu-
dents used the videos to prepare before classroom lectures (31.5%) and for midterm exams
(61.1%).
All of these uses indicate broad acceptance of computer-based instruction from the course in-
structor in a course that is not advertised as computer enhanced. They indicate that video lectures
are substantially appealing to many students and are perceived as effective for learning. As a per-
centage of the student population responding to the survey and using the videos, video lectures
help large numbers of students raise their course grades (38.9%).

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Comparing the average percentage of students without videos who fail the course with the per-
centage who failed with the videos available, there is a 71.9% reduction in failing grades with the
videos available. These data indicate that video lectures help achieve important educational goals
of learning improvement and retention for students most at risk of failure.
Finally, video lectures make an entire semester’s lectures available for study at the end of the se-
mester in preparation for the final exam. Analysis of students’ comprehensive final exam grades
shows improvement in all grade ranges with videos available. This improved last-minute learning
was expected, although the results are not statistically significant in terms of the number of stu-
dents benefited.
An appealing extension of video instruction is to online courses. However, as the term “video
lectures” is used in this study, it refers to the use of video instruction to support a comprehensive
teaching strategy. This strategy enables improved performance for weaker students, a stronger
curriculum, and more classroom time spent on active learning. In addition, video lectures are used
as supplements to classroom lectures, and there is ongoing instructor-student interaction that may
contribute to making video lectures effective, particularly in having tutoring value. A direction
for future research is to investigate how video instruction may strengthen or broaden teaching
strategies that are possible in online education, and how their use in online courses may simulate
the teaching dynamics of in-residence courses.
An application of video instruction that is particularly appealing to this study’s authors is to use
short-summary instructional videos in an online tutoring library for students. This application
would have many of the properties of videos discussed in this study and by Whatley and Ahmad
(2007). A college’s budget resources for live tutors are limited, and student-tutors’ competence
may be limited to their previous course experience and personal capabilities. An online library of
video tutorials that is available to all students in an academic area could greatly expand free tutor-
ing availability and extend it to many students who would not seek out a live tutor. These videos
would have the competence of being taught by regular faculty instructors.
References
Cuban, L. (2001). Oversold and underused: Computers in the classroom. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Uni-
versity Press.
Dunn, R. (2000). Capitalizing on college students’ learning styles: Theory, practice, and research. In R.
Dunn & S. Griggs (Eds.), Practical approaches to using learning styles in higher education (p. 10).
Westport, CT: Praeger.
Dunn, R., & Dunn, K. (1993). Teaching secondary students through their individual learning styles: Prac-
tical approaches for grades (pp. 7-12). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Dunn, R., & Griggs, S. (2000). Practical approaches to using learning styles in higher education: The how-
to steps. In R. Dunn & S. Griggs (Eds.), Practical approaches to using learning styles in higher educa-
tion (p. 29). Westport, CT: Praeger.
Hornik, S., Saunders, C., Li, Y., Moskal, P., & Dzuiban, C. (2008). The impact of paradigm development
and course level on performance in technology-mediated learning environments. Informing Science:
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Keengwe, J. (2007). Faculty integration of technology into instruction and students’ perceptions of com-
puter technology to improve student learning. The Journal of Information Technology Education, 6,
169-180. Retrieved from http://jite.org/documents/Vol6/JITEv6p169-180Keengwe218.pdf
Maki, W. & Maki, R. (2000). Evaluation of a web-based introductory psychology course: II. Contingency
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Computers, 2(32), 240-245.

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Sarker, S. & Nicholson, J. (2005). Exploring the myths about online education in information systems. In-
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Whatley, J. & Ahmad, A. (2007). Using video to record summary lectures to aid students’ revision. Inter-
disciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects, 3, 185-196. Retrieved from
http://ijello.org/Volume3/IJKLOv3p185-196Whatley367.pdf
Appendix:
Det
ailed Discussion of Video Production Mechanics
The discussion in this appendix reflects experience gained in the production of videos lectures for
this study and subsequently.
Software Used
All of the software used was and continues to be from Microsoft. Producer was used for this
study to encode the videos; however, Encoder 9 Series has been used since this study. Producer
and Encoder create Windows Media video files (wmv files). Wmv files play in either Windows
Media Player or RealPlayer, so their use is not an issue for distribution and student use. Microsoft
Office files are used for topic content, including PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and HTM files.
A partial reason for using Microsoft software is its apparent universality. Given a large number of
students that a university registers over time, students commonly have familiarity with Microsoft
products, at least at the authors’ university in the USA. Even Mac computers have software that
makes them able to run Microsoft Office and wmv files.
More importantly, the choice of Microsoft products is grounded in Office being the information
processing/creation standard for the authors’ College and its Management Information Systems
academic department. Students possess and are trained in the use of PowerPoint, Excel, and Word
software, which is also available in campus labs. Thus, students are able to use video lecture con-
tent files that are made available for download through the course web site and a CD that is now
distributed to students at the start of each semester.
Producer was chosen for this study as the encoding software because Microsoft was marketing it
as a solution for the type of application the authors envisioned for video lectures. It was the au-
thors’ initial effort in encoding video lectures, and, incidentally, Producer was a free download at
the time of the study. After developing the videos for this study and realizing the encoding diffi-
culties encountered (as discussed in the body of the paper), a phone call to Microsoft led to the
suggestion to use Encoder. Encoder is a free download from the Microsoft link
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmed
ia/forpros/encoder/default.mspx
Rather than using Microsoft encoding software, alternative software may be desirable for a de-
veloper, for example, RealNetworks’ RealProducer or an Adobe Flash-Media encoding product.
Some IT-professionals in the authors’ university IT-group advised the use of RealNetworks’ en-
coding software. However, the use of Office content files led the authors to initially chose Pro-
ducer and to now use Encoder. The authors see Microsoft encoding software as a best bet for
timely stability and effectiveness in encoding performance of Microsoft Office content files
across time, where the code in the content files evolves/changes in new Office versions.

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Content Files
For the authors, the greatest use of time is in creating the content files, not in recording a video
lecture or giving the narrative instruction. Issues concern the type and structure of content files.
The authors have experimented with using different types of files – from the mix of files used in
this study (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and HTM), to solely using PowerPoint slides, to solely us-
ing Word files (the authors’ current preference). Goals are to display the content being lectured
with maximum content per screen and to move through a series of screens easily and smoothly
without interrupting the discussion.
What the authors view as major difficulties with PowerPoint slides are having to cram a lot of
information into the confines of a single slide and the sense of discontinuity created in a lecture
by having to toggle between different slides to encompass the total content of a concept or prob-
lem.
Alternatively, topic development in a single Word file seems to flow seamlessly, with more in-
formation contained in a single screen than in a PowerPoint slide and a smooth movement
through the material by scrolling down the minimum needed to display the next element of the
discussion.
Additionally, with the capabilities of Word files, Excel files are unneeded if the sole purpose is to
display finished content. For instance, material can be developed in Excel and pasted into Word.
Excel is probably a better platform for content files if the instructional goal is to demonstrate the
process of making a series of computations. And, of course, a particular software platform is ap-
propriate if the goal is to demonstrate the configuration or use of that software. Finally, with
Word, browser links can be accessed from within the file, and images can be pasted into Word
files and resized or formatted as needed.
Regarding the structure of content files, the developer must decide how much time to spend put-
ting lecture content in written form. Possibilities include the following.
1. Simply use whatever PowerPoint slides are distributed as instructor resources with an
adopted textbook. Files with solutions for end-of-chapter assignments may also be provided
as part of an instructor’s textbook adoption package. If these files are available and used,
there is essentially zero content development and file preparation time required. Files are
downloaded from the textbook web site or copied from an instructor resource disk and be-
come the content files for the video lectures.
2. Alternatively, the textbook resource files (in “1” above) may be enhanced to include material
unique to the course as taught. This approach to content file development is still time effi-
cient because existing files are only being customized.
3. A third approach to creating content files is to build them from the ground up to fit the
unique content and presentation style used in the course. This approach can be relatively
simple or elaborate, with corresponding implications for the development/production time
required.
The authors have used all three approaches as they build and change content files as a course is
developed and improved. While video lectures must be redone as content files change, a video
lecture is prepared in an hour or two if the instructor is simply recording known lecture content
with existing content files.

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Screen Writing/highlighting & Narrative Lecture
In the classroom, with an image projected to the side of the chalkboard by the computer, an in-
structor verbally adds lecture and written comments or computations on the chalkboard. The same
thing occurs in video lectures, where the keyboard or mouse is used to enter the chalkboard writ-
ing. Content entry using the keyboard is easier to do when Word software (or Excel) is displaying
the content file, as opposed to PowerPoint where slide space and structure limitations can make
ad hoc content entry very problematic. Using Word, content is easily added, as it would be in any
word-processing action.
Concerning the playing length of the video, the authors have moved toward writing much less and
having more prepared material already in the content file. A key objective is to shorten the play-
ing time in order to avoid student loss of interest. Excessive writing lengthens playing time. Ex-
ploiting highlighting by the mouse is an alternative and quick way to focus attention on a section
of content and still retain the sense of the instructor connecting his or her words to a chalkboard-
type action.
For the audio narration, the instructor uses a microphone attached to the computer. Lecturing this
way is the same as lecturing in the classroom. It is convenient to have a microphone headset so
that the instructor’s attention in giving the lecture is focused on the screen displays and naviga-
tion through the screens. The authors have found that investing about $50 (US dollars) in a high-
quality headset is more comfortable to use and gives better audio quality than the cheap micro-
phones that come with computers. The headset the authors use is marketed for use with computer
games.
Encoding Configuration and Techniques
The computer should have sufficient RAM to keep open the encoding software, whatever Office
products are used to open files, and all the content files that will be used. Having all of these pro-
grams and files open speeds navigation between content files and shortens video playing time.
All the instructor has to do to record a video lecture is start Encoder and then navigate to content
files, talk, and highlight/write into the information processing file that is on display on the screen.
When through with the lecture, stop Encoder and save the wmv file. Using the <alt><tab> key-
board combination to toggle between programs provides fast navigation. Within Word 2003, the
“previous window”/”next window” menu buttons can be clicked to navigate, with the buttons
placed on a toolbar.
The authors do not attempt to crop the beginning display when Encoder is started or the ending
display when the instructor toggles back to Encoder and clicks the Stop button. Additionally, no
editing software is used to correct mistakes or otherwise enhance a video. A downside to this ap-
proach is the need to re-record the entire lecture if a major mistake is made. Otherwise, the result
is a little imperfect, but overall it requires much less video production time.
Learning how to set up and repeatedly use an Encoder configuration may require technical assis-
tance. There are several parameters to consider, and configuring, saving, and initiating a template
may require initial help. Encoder does have complete help references.
A core configuration issue is to maintain video and audio quality while limiting the size of a wmv
file. Large wmv files are space consuming and slow to upload to university servers. Wmv files
created with highest quality video and lossless quality audio settings are so large that a single 75-
minute file can consume a majority of a 700 megabyte CD and be completely infeasible for re-
mote upload to a server.

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At the authors’ university, server capacity is freely available to faculty, with media files placed on
the regular course web site server. Although free, it is understood that server space is a scarce
resource, and file size is an issue. For the sixteen wmv files available to students in this study, the
most common file size was about 17 megabytes, with files ranging from 10 to 32 megabytes in
size. Using Producer, a total of 237 megabytes were used.
Currently, the Encoder video and audio quality settings the authors use are medium quality as
shown in Figure 3. The video/audio quality is better than in this study’s files, but file size has in-
creased to mostly 28 to 35 megabytes per file.
Distribution to Students
At the time of this study, the videos were available to students solely through the class web site
and could be viewed online either at home or at the university’s computer labs. However, home
viewing of 75-minute videos is infeasible for students with dial-up connections, and the cost of
high-speed connections makes this access unavailable to the poorest students.
Today, the pervasive availability of DSL, cable, and high-speed satellite connections in the USA
makes home online access relatively inexpensive and readily available. Even so, CDs containing
the videos are distributed at the start of the semester as a way to eliminate cost as a consideration
for access and to ease and promote the videos’ use.
Biographies
H. David Brecht is a Professor of Accounting. His principal areas of interest have varied over the
years – from managerial accounting with emphases on behavioral/organizational dynamics and
computer information systems, to auditing, accounting information systems, and currently peda-
gogy in the use of information technology in teaching financial accounting. He has published in
academic and professional journals, including decision sciences and the above accounting areas
of interest.
Suzanne M. Ogilby is the Associate Dean of Faculty and a Professor of Accounting. Her princi-
pal areas of interest include financial, governmental, and nonprofit accounting, including innova-
tive pedagogy in teaching these areas and topics that pose particularly difficult learning chal-
lenges to students. She has published in academic and professional journals including the above
areas of interest.
Figure 3: Encoder Quality Settings Currently Used