Planet No.

18 June 2007

Virtual lecturing: Delivering lectures using screencasting and

podcasting technology
Sandy Winterbottom
School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling

Abstract

Where is it being used in higher education?

Delivery of lectures using web technology is now an accessible

and relatively straightforward option for University os Stirling
(University) teaching staff. In this study, conducted with a 2nd
year Environmental Science module, a series of 8 lectures
were delivered via screencasts and podcasts. Feedback from
the students via a questionnaire was extremely positive, with
flexibility and the ability to repeat lectures cited as the main
advantages. However, caution must be exercised in that this is
not a mechanism for replacing face-to-face teaching, but is used to
provide additional material or to free-up time for more discussion
sessions or practical-based teaching.

Screencasting and podcasting are increasingly being used within

a Higher Education setting to deliver a range of educational
material. In the US, many Universities, including Yale and
Princetown, are podcasting their public lecture series, while
institutions such as Stanford and UC Berkeley are podcasting
lectures from a range of modules. Indeed, Berkeley has taken the
step of making all of its recorded lectures series freely available
to the public (http://webcast.berkeley.edu/). In the UK, the
University of Wales, Aberystwyth, was the first University in the
UK to create podcasts of its lectures (Thomas, 2006). Formal
studies on the effectiveness of screencasting and podcasting in
HE are few and far between, but a number of studies are now
beginning to emerge (e.g. Chan and Lee, 2005) while ongoing
research through the IMPALA project aims to explore the
beneficial effects of podcasting and to deliver pedagogical models
of podcasting for student learning in Higher Education (www.
impala.ac.uk).

Introduction
The recent increase in the accessibility of personal broadcast
technology has opened a wealth of new opportunities for learning
and teaching, which can enable us to meet the emerging needs
of our students and address issues resulting from the changing
dynamic of the student population. These issues include the
requirement for more flexible learning, as students need to work
increasingly long hours in paid employment to meet the cost of
their education. The number of students who are making their
own recordings of lectures either as a result of dyslexia or other
learning difficulties, is also on the increase.

What is screencasting and podcasting?

Screencasts are, effectively, a digital recording of your computer
screen, and can include an audio commentary. Screencasting
is being increasingly used to record Powerpoint presentations
using software such as MicroSoft Producer for Powerpoint or
Camtasia Studio, which act as plug-ins to Powerpoint allowing
users to run and control the software from within the Powerpoint
environment. These programs also have the ability to record a
WebCam image to accompany the slide and audio recordings.
Screencasting has significant advantages over audio recordings
in that the presentations can include diagrams, photographs and
videos. This is an important consideration for visually rich subject
areas such as the Earth and Environmental Sciences, where visual
aids are often highly important for the understanding of much of
the subject material.
A podcast, in its truest sense, is a digital media file (audio
or video) which is distributed and shared over the web, so that
users can subscribe to digital content such as a lecture series, for
example. This is then automatically delivered or downloaded to a
personal computer. Files can either be played back on a computer,
or transferred to a personal media player. The term podcast
can refer to either the media file itself, or the way in which it is
delivered.

Production and delivery of the online lecture

series
In this study, part of the lecture series for a second year
Environmental Science module in Earth and Landscape Evolution
was delivered via screencasts and podcasts. The rationale behind
the study was to explore the student experience of using and
learning via this type of technology, and to determine the most
appropriate and popular delivery formats for online lectures.
Traditionally, the module consists of 20 lectures, five practical
sessions, and four help sessions, which are designed to support
the students in completing the assessments and for discussion
of the course content. The module is supported by a WebCT
based VLE. There were 105 students enrolled in the class. A midsemester online test was used to examine the students on the
content of the electronic lectures.
The first eight of the 20 lectures were delivered electronically.
The lectures were recorded prior to the start of the course using
Camtasia Studio, desktop microphone, and WebCam. A short
introduction to the course and the electronic lecture series was
also recorded.
Using Camtasia Studio, the lectures were produced as high
and low resolution screencasts. The audio file was exported to
GarageBand (a Mac based software bundled with iLife for creating
podcasts) to create high and low resolution MP3 audio files and
enhanced podcasts (as mpeg4 files) which include chapters and
images. The rationale behind producing such a wide range of
formats was to make the material as accessible as possible, and
also to determine which format the students preferred.
The introductory lecture was placed on the entry page of the
WebCT site for the module. The page contained full instructions
for viewing and downloading the introductory e-lecture, with
instructions about what to do if they had problems accessing the
screencasts or podcasts. As teaching commenced, two lectures

Planet No. 18 June 2007

were placed online each week and an e-mail was sent to inform
students they were available. The lectures were released in all
the formats produced, along with a downloadable ZIP file of the
high resolution screencast. Pdf files of the Powerpoint slides
used in the presentations were also provided. Students were seen
face-to-face in the first week during a practical session where
informal feedback was solicited. No students reported any access
problems and initial feedback was positive.
The first lecture in this series can be viewed or downloaded
from: http://www.sbes.stir.ac.uk/env3e3/e-lectures/lecture_1/

Student feedback and response

At the end of this part of the course, an anonymous questionnaire
was put on to the WebCT site and students were encouraged
to fill this in by way of a prize draw for respondents, with the
chance to win an MP3 player or a 20 iTunes voucher. In total, 94
students completed the questionnaire.
In terms of the format, 86% of the students watched the high
resolution screencast and 20% downloaded and listened to the
audio files (note that some students accessed the lecture material
in more than one format). Of those that watched the high
resolution screencasts, 58% watched them in the computer labs
on campus and 40% watched them off-campus using a broadband
connection. Of those that downloaded the audio files, 90%
accessed the high resolution MP3 file or mpeg4 files.
The students were reminded that the questionnaire was
anonymous, and were asked when they had accessed the lectures
during the course. 45% accessed all or most of the lectures
within a week of release. 34% started to access them regularly,
but then fell behind, and 21% only accessed the material during
the week before the exam.
Finally, the students were asked if they liked having lectures
delivered in this way. 85% of the students responded positively,
while 8% were ambivalent, and 7% responded negatively. When
asked if they would like more lectures to be delivered in this
way, 76% responded that they would, 17% were not sure and 7%
responded negatively.

It is certainly the best revision aid

you can get your whole lecture all
over again.

The students were also asked open questions and were given
a textbos in which to record their answers. In terms of what
they liked about having the lectures delivered in this way, the key
responses were flexibility, and the ability to pause and rewind
either to catch up in their note taking or to repeat sections they
didnt fully understand. Students also thought it was a useful
revision tool. Some key comments included:
The flexibility was great as my little boy finishes nursery at 6 so I
didnt have to attend the 5 6 lecture
I even managed to do one of them during my lunch break at work
one weekend when I was really busy and hadnt had time during
the week.
I liked being able to pause and rewind bits so I could write down
notes. I really struggle writing notes in lectures
You could take your time, go back over things as many times as
you liked and you could use the Internet as you worked for research
on topics.
I liked the idea of having it online so you could watch it when you
wanted. Sometimes because of 9 oclock starts you feel tired and
dont take in as much.
...no one coughing/talking/distracting you from a lecture.
It is certainly the best revision aid you can get your whole
lecture all over again.
In terms of what the students didnt like about the lectures, the
key complaints were that it was easy to fall behind with them.
Unless students were very motivated, they often put off watching
them until another day. Students also noted that it took them
much longer to access the lectures in this way as they were
pausing and rewinding the recordings which meant that it often
took them twice as long to go over the material than it would
have taken them to just attend the lecture. Some students
complained that they felt isolated from the lecturer and from their
fellow students and that they missed being able to ask questions.
Some key comments included:
It was easy to put off doing a lecture, as you knew you could
do it later and this could lead to leaving it to the last minute and
cramming.
I fell very behind with the lectures and it also took about double
the time of the lecture to actually watch it as I became obsessed
with catching virtually every word.
I found I was writing every detail down which took forever, whereas
in the real lecture you write key points you need to know.



Planet No. 18 June 2007

I didnt like the fact that you couldnt ask questions during the
lecture. I also didnt like the lack of bonding between the lecturer
and student.
Not being able to ask what something meant. Not being able to
ask fellow students if they understood a lecture i.e. in the same boat
as each other therefore reducing your confidence. Not being able
to mix with other students and get to know how everyone is doing
with regards to assignments etc.
In terms of technical problems, some of the students complained
that the files were often slow to download, and that they had
problems accessing a free machine in the computing labs during
busier times. A couple of people said that they couldnt get the
MP3 files to work on their own MP3 players, although nothing was
said at the time.
Finally, we asked the students what they thought we could
do to improve the e-lectures. The main answer was that they
would have liked more face-to-face contact, possibly through a
weekly discussion/question and answer session, or by having more
practical sessions. Students also requested the lectures on a
DVD, if possible, and the inclusion of a trouble-shooting page.

with the evidence that a few students did experience technical

problems, which they reported in the questionnaires, and indicates
some reluctance to admit to or seek help for difficulties when they
ariseperhaps a more detailed troubleshooting guide is required.

References
Chan, A. and Lee, M.J.W. (2005) An MP3 a day keeps the worries away: Exploring
the use of podcasting to address preconceptions and alleviate pre-class anxiety
amonst undergraduate information technology students. In D.H.. Spennemann
and L. Burr (eds.) Good Practice in Practice: Proceedings of the Student Experience
Conference (pp. 58-70). Wagga, NSW, September 5-7.
Thomas, K. (2006) The power of the podcast. Viewpoint, January 2006. www.
furturelab.org.uk/viewpoint/art70.htm

Discussion and conclusions

In general, the feedback from the students was overwhelmingly
positive, with only 7% of students not in favour of this form of
delivery. Flexibility was one of the key criteria for the students, as
they could then view the lectures at the time of day most suited
to their learning style, rather than be constrained by lecture times.
Students also reported learning more, being able to take better
notes, and gaining a better understanding of the lecture material.
However, the mid-semester test that examined the content of
these lectures had not previously been run in a similar format,
so it is not possible to judge whether this anecdotal evidence is
matched by the students exam performance in previous years.
Further work is needed to assess the validity of this finding.
While the feedback from the students was very positive,
there are issues that need to be addressed if we are to continue
and extend lecture delivery in this format. Students miss the
interaction not only with the lecturers, but also with the other
students. Clearly, this method of teaching is not to be used to
replace face-to-face teaching time, but it could be used to provide
much of the theoretical material for a course. This could free
up staff time to introduce more small-group teaching, discussion
sessions, and practical-based teaching into course modules. This
may also address the issues of motivation, if weekly follow up
sessions are provided. Students will also need coaching in how to
take lecture notes from this form of delivery. It is not appropriate
or effective for them to be writing down every word the lecturer
says, but this is clearly a temptation when the lectures can be rewound and replayed.
In terms of the preferred viewing and download formats,
the majority of the students were accessing the high resolution
screencasts, podcasts and MP3 files. While some commented
that download times were slow, clearly the quality of the audio
and video recordings was paramount. Despite the fact that the
students were strongly encouraged to report technical difficulties
if they encountered them, none did at the time. This conflicts


GEES Subject Centre

Enterprise, Skills &
Entrepreneurship Resource Pack
Enhancing the Curriculum in Geography,
Earth & Environmental Sciences
This resource is available online or in hard copy
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examples of practice and case studies which is
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http://www.gees.ac.uk/projtheme/
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or for a hard copy
email: [email protected]