Videos Improve Student Success
Have you ever heard someone express doubts about registering for an online speech class? In actuality, the demand for online Public Speaking courses at Lone Star is extremely popular. However, there’s the misperception that online classes are not as challenging as traditional courses. As a result, speech courses experience a high dropout rate.
To address the retention problem, I chose to listen, create and innovate. I interviewed online students, and they asked for more interactive examples by stating, “Let’s see real students give real speeches.” Armed with student feedback, I earned a sabbatical to create an innovative video archive of actual speech students delivering presentations and receiving instructor feedback, which I then extensively annotated. Irvin Yanez, a creative Learning Center staff member, taught me how to create the annotated videos using the YouTube technology that everyone knows and can access.
The video annotations allow students to engage in peer review while analyzing presentations asynchronously and multiple times, a benefit over live, in-class presentations. Additionally, they reinforce what speech and non-speech professors look for in good presentations, aiding both the student in developing a solid speech and the instructor in evaluating the presentation. The result of integrating video technology in my curriculum has had a positive impact on my speech students’ success.
In all, fifty (50) student presentations were annotated in the following: