{"132981":{"#nid":"132981","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Faculty Use Video Projects to Engage Students","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen it comes to gauging a student\u2019s understanding of what\u2019s going on in class, a video can be much more revealing than the average homework assignment.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cStudents tend to stretch the limits of the collaborative nature of your average homework assignment and often arrive at the correct answer without understanding the material,\u201d said Ed Greco, an instructor who coordinates half of the introductory courses in the School of Physics. \u201cBut when the assignment requires them to problem solve in a short video, it becomes very difficult to hide the gaps in their understanding.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGreco began using the videos as a learning tool after attending a workshop sponsored by the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. At the workshop, Greco met Jarrad Reddick, academic support manager for OMED: Educational Services, who was already using video as a way to urge calculus students to demonstrate their knowledge.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI became interested in championing video use in class because my master\u2019s thesis focuses on the integration of multimedia technologies into science, technology, engineering and math courses at Georgia Tech,\u201d Reddick said. \u201cIn addition to providing Ed with support, I\u2019m currently working with faculty from the schools of Mathematics and Biology to help them integrate video use into classes. And I\u2019ve partnered with the Center for 21st Century Universities to work on other ways to employ video use in the classroom.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis academic year, Greco gave students the option to submit a short video response to a physics-based problem for extra credit. Last\u0026nbsp; semester, for example, he provided a viral video of people swinging on the world\u2019s largest rope swing (visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/7lhcdf7\u0022\u003Etinyurl.com\/7lhcdf7\u003C\/a\u003E).\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EApproximately 20 percent of his students participated and created five-minute videos that modeled the physics of the swing. Students were asked to respond to questions including, \u201cWhere along the trajectory is the tension of the stretchy rope the greatest?\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGreco encouraged students to use whatever video camera was available, whether it was a camcorder or a cell phone. (The Library offers a variety of digital camcorders if students are in need of one: visit \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.library.gatech.edu\/gadgets\u0022\u003Ewww.library.gatech.edu\/gadgets\u003C\/a\u003E.)\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EReddick was available to help Greco\u2019s students with the projects and encourages any student who has a question about creating a video to contact OMED for assistance.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI think one of the greatest misconceptions about OMED is that we only serve minority students. In reality, we support all students,\u201d Reddick added.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to making a video to earn the extra credit, each participant also had to rank eight student videos, which Greco randomly assigned, from favorite to least favorite. The amount of extra credit earned was dependent on the student\u2019s average ranking received from their peers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cIt\u2019s important to emphasize to students that the videos will be judged on the quality of the physics, not the production quality of the video,\u201d Greco said. \u201cThis prevents students from inflating their rankings with comedy or satire.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGreco didn\u2019t provide a specific rubric or solutions, just questions for students to keep in mind as they viewed each video. The problem itself was open in nature, so there was no correct answer, he added.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEach time Greco offers these assignments, he is able to improve the process.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cFor example, last semester when I first tried this, I didn\u2019t realize that most students will wait until the last second to submit their assignment, and this was problematic when it came time for students to upload their videos to T-Square,\u201d Greco said. \u201cT-Square couldn\u2019t handle hundreds of students uploading and converting large videos all at the same time.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo remedy the problem, this semester students were allowed to upload their videos anywhere on the web (e.g., to YouTube or Vimeo). The only requirement was that they had to provide a URL where the video could be accessed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnother change that Greco will make next semester is to require the videos rather than make them extra credit.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cStudents have been receptive to the videos being mandatory, with the understanding that I would need to dial back some other tasks related to the class, given creating the videos takes more time and effort,\u201d Greco said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m willing to do this, because the videos are much more useful to me when it comes to ensuring that students are learning the material.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information, email \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:ed.greco@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EGreco\u003C\/a\u003E or \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jreddick@omed.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EReddick\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen it comes to gauging a student\u2019s understanding of what\u2019s going on in class, a video can be much more revealing than the average homework assignment.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"When it comes to gauging a student\u2019s understanding of what\u2019s going on in class, a video can be much more revealing than the average homework assignment."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2012-05-29 09:50:08","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:12:18","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-05-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2012-05-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"34551","name":"Ed Greco"},{"id":"34561","name":"Jarrad Reddick"},{"id":"166847","name":"students"},{"id":"14302","name":"Teaching and Learning"},{"id":"197","name":"video"},{"id":"34571","name":"video projects"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}