The problem

I had planned lectures across the semester – now I can’t have timetabled face-to-face lectures, what choices do I have? What should I be doing?  Who can help me? I don’t have much time!

Why is this a problem?

• RMIT is not allowing timetabled face-to-face lectures anymore.
• RMIT has made this decision as research into pedagogy and student learning provides evidence that traditional didactic lectures are passive in nature.
• Instead students should be coming together synchronously for more engaging, active and meaningful learning experiences such as tutorials, lectorials, studios and workshops.

Benefits and tips for video chunking your lecture content

Benefits:

• It makes the structure of the content and concepts explicit.
• It allows you to more clearly frame learning objectives with different concepts.
• It supports student cognition and revision.
• It allows breaks for pauses, reflections and other activities.
• It’s a sustainable resource for the future.

Some considerations!

• Organise your materials ahead of time: Ask yourself “What is the most important information I want students to learn from this content?” and prepare that content (e.g. a slide deck).
• Sequence your chunks in a logical order. Consider how many bit-sized (topic) chunks you will create and how they will progress.
• Record yourself presenting on a topic for a maximum 5 minutes. It is better to record videos in small topic chunks, rather than a single 1 hour lecture style recording (research demonstrates that students often stop watching after approximately 6 mins).

How do I record lecture videos using Canvas Studio?

Canvas Studio is a recommended video creation tool that is easy and ready to go in Canvas. Find out from the DSC L&T team how quick and simple it is to create a lecture video in the introductory video below.

Other video options

The following video making options may take longer and require more support. Please reach out to the DSC L&T team if you are considering these at dsc.lt@rmit.edu.au

Record videos and podcasts using Press Play

Located in RMIT Melbourne CBD campus in Building 8, Press Play studios is a digital production space intended to support you in developing  high quality digital learning content – available with LT Team support or for some self-service use.

https://www.rmit.edu.au/staff/teaching-supporting-students/press-play

 How to make videos on your phone (short video series)

Watch this video series that looks at how to use your phone to create videos and provides tips on lighting, framing and more.

Lunchtime Bytes – The future of Lectures (webinar recording)

Filmed in October 2021, this Lunchtime Bytes session looks at how lectures have and will continue to evolve during and post COVID. Guest presented by Associate Professor Andrew Butt, Associate Professor Tayyab Maqsood, and Dr Rucelle Hughes.

You may need to log in to Microsoft Stream to view this video.

RMIT case study: The flipped classroom (video)

Watch this case study to find out how this RMIT educator flips her classroom and has students watch lecture videos prior to their interactive face-to-face session.

Video length in online courses (research)

https://www.qualitymatters.org/qa-resources/resource-center/articles-resources/research-video-length

Further reading

• Geri, N., Winer, A., & Zaks, B. (2017). Challenging the six-minute myth of online video lectures: Can interactivity expand the attention span of learners. Online Journal of Applied Knowledge Management, 5(1), 101–111.
• Guo, P. J., Kim, J., & Rubin, R. (n.d.). How video production affects student engagement: an empirical study of MOOC videos. L@S ’14 Proceedings of the First ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale Conference
• Lagerstrom, L., Johanes, P., & Ponsukcharoen, M. U. (2015). The myth of the six-minute rule: Student engagement with online videos. Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education, 14–17.
• Mayer, R. E. (2014). Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. In The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (pp. 43–71). Cambridge University Press.