Lecture Webcasting Program Evaluation - University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin published a case study report of a class lecture recording and webcasting pilot pilot conudcted in 2004-2005 (see below for link to full report).  The report includes some interesting findings regarding how students use and perceive course webcasts.

Major findings include:

• Attendance was not significantly affected by webcasts, even given the limited degree to which some students repeatedly substituted webcasts for attending class.
• Students perceived webasts to be a helpful tool for learning, but the impact of webcasts on their performance in terms of grades and test scores is not clear.
• Students used webcasts for learning benefits (e.g., reviewing course content) and psychological benefits (e.g., anxiety reduction, course satisfaction).
• A majority of students watched webcasts at least once, typically 1-7 times, before exams or 1-3 times a month, at night from home through high-speed connections.
• Most students watched the entire lecture and typically they both listened to the lecture and watched videos and slides.
• Female students and students who cared about their course grades perceived webcasts as more beneficial than did male students or those who did not care about their grades respectively. Also, those with certain difficulties non-native speakers of English, students with a learning disability, and students with difficulty in understanding the professor’s speech) did not report benefits from webcasts, contrary to our expectations.
• Students rated most current and future webcast interface features as important, in particular stop/rewind (current feature), scan (current feature), manipulating the slides or video window (current feature), and better quality or full screen animation/video (future feature).
• Students and instructors were generally satisfied with webcasts’ quality and did not experience many technical problems. Many problems they did report can be resolved through training of instructors, students, and camera operators.
• Both students and instructors in general indicated that webcasts were good supplemental learning resources but not a substitute for attending class.