Use multimedia for creating content

Asynchronous

You can quickly and easily record content asynchronous class recordings for students to watch in their own time prior to tutorials or seminars using Zoom or Panopto from your home or office. In fact, filming in an informal setting is shown to more effectively engage students than professional looking studio locations.  Make sure to establish a visual connection with students by introducing yourself and talking directly to the camera, before starting your presentation.

Screen recording can be used to capture your presentation slides or for on-screen demonstrations, such as demonstrating how to use speciality software and applications. You can even combine screen recording with on-screen annotation to further illustrate concepts in visually interesting ways. You can even insert Youtube clips and interactive quizzes to encourage active learning once you have uploaded your recording.

Recommendations

• Break your recordings into multiple chunks covering a single key concept or theme per video. Keeping videos short will make them easier to record, and easier to process for your students.
• If you make a small stumble, take a breath, and continue from your last sentence.
• Keep your presentation slides simple. Avoid simply reading from your slides, instead expand upon your dot points. You can even illustrate points with on-screen annotations if you have left enough blank space.
• Add an activity, such as questions to students for think about before watching the video, or an interactive quiz, which can increase learner engagement with the content.
• You should include closed captions for your videos to make your lecture more accessible, where possible. With Panopto, you can quickly generate automatic captions in English and other languages.

Synchronous

Many Monash teaching spaces automatically record scheduled activities in Echo360, which are available for students to watch during and after through a link in your Moodle unit. For teaching activities other than lectures, such as tutorials and workshops, you may need to make a request if you would like your on-campus activity to be recorded. Recordings will typically capture video, audio and screen capture depending on the AV set-up for each teaching space.

Click through the branching scenario below to check if your on-campus activity will be automatically recorded.

Topic introduction videos can be used to provide an overview of a topic or introduction to a key concept, while inviting students to explore it further in class. Explainer videos can form a key component of your teaching strategy and can be used for asynchronous learning, both pre and post-class, to address common misconceptions or concepts that students struggled with.

Recommendations

• Use topic introduction videos to quickly introduce a key concept. A more complex subject can be divided up over the course of several videos.

• Aim a length of around 4-6 minutes. If your message requires a longer time, look for ways to break it down into two smaller parts. Just remember - keep it short and to the point!
• Introduce a difficult problem, which students will learn the skills and knowledge to solve throughout the week's learning.

Example

This video was produced in the Microstudio for SCI2010.

Credits

Dr. Bronwyn Isaac, Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences

You can effectively demonstrate and explain concepts in a visual way by combining your presentation slides with screen capture and annotation. For example, you could draw diagrams, write mathematical formulas, express scientific notation and draw or annotate over images in your slides.

You can do this simply by screen recording your PowerPoint presentation with Panopto while using the pen tool to create drawings and annotations on your slides. iPads or tablets with a stylus are particularly helpful to create freeform drawings. You can even create engaging ‘chalk and talk’ style videos, which combine drawing and screen annotation with face-to-face engagement with the Lightboard.

Recommendations

• Keep your presentation slides simple. Keep each slide focused on a single key concept or theme and leave enough blank space to illustrate points with on-screen annotations.

Example

Credits: Michelle Lazarus, Associate Professor (Education Focused), Anatomy & Developmental Biology

Interviews allow you to draw from the unique perspective of others who can offer their own insights and experiences to students, such as working professionals (police officers, nurses, lawyers or scientists), industry experts or even Monash graduate alumni.

Using Zoom, interviews can be conducted live, with opportunities for students to ask questions, or they can be recorded and uploaded later. Interviews can be filmed remotely in a quiet space, or from a dedicated Microstudio on campus.

Interview formats

Example

This series of ‘diversity in science’ interviews shows scientists from a broad range of disciplines, giving advice on how to communicate with different audiences. This series of interviews were filmed in the Microstudio.

Credit
Prof. Doug MacFarlane, Federation Fellow, School of Chemistry
Prof. John Lattanzio, School of Physics and Astronomy
Prof. Roslyn Gleadow, Plant Science, Faculty of Science
Assoc. Professor Michael Brown, School of Physics and Astronomy
Sivan Kohn, Lecturer, Pharmacology

Demonstrations are staples in teaching that allow you to use real-world examples to demonstrate course concepts and practices. Visual illustrations of processes have been shown to consistently improve performance on recall of conceptual information and creative problem solving, especially when paired with active student engagement., such as asking students to predict the outcome of a demonstration before observing it (Crouch et al., 2004; Miller et al., 2013).

Recommendations

• Plan well. Consider the shots you will need, including different angles, close-ups or other visuals you want to include. It is recommended that you use a storyboard to make sure you can keep track of filming all shots you will need, so you can film everything in one go.
• Limited tech. You can film a demonstration of practical skills using your phone in the workspace. You may need additional support or a tripod to film from the demonstration from different points of view.
• Clear explanations. Provide an audio voice over to explain processes or actions being performed on screen. You may need to record this separately and add it later.
• Get creative. Unlike physical in-class demonstrations, students are not limited by physical distance to the demonstration in what they can hear or see. You can include on-screen annotation, close-up shots and include micro or macro images or other visuals not possible in a live demonstration.
• Add interactivity. Ask students to predict the outcome of a demonstration before observing it. This has a dramatic impact on their likelihood of remembering the correct outcome and being able to explain the underlying concept (Crouch et al., 2004; Miller et al., 2013).
• Utilise existing resources. You can use existing online multimedia to enrich your teaching material. YouTube allows streaming or embedding of their clips meaning you can add a Youtube clip inside a Panopto video without infringing on copyright. However, downloading or further recording through screen-recording in zoom recordings is not permitted.

You can use virtual tours to simulate environments which may be impractical or difficult to access, or even walk through a simulated workflow or process before students access the real environment. You can add images, audio and video to further add information and context. For more information, see H5P activity and Virtual tour(360).

Recommendations

• Plan well. Consider the visuals you will need, including different angles, close-ups or other images you want to include. It is recommended that you use a storyboard to make sure you can keep track of all the shots you will need, so you can capture everything you will need in one go.
• Capturing 360 images. You can take 360 images using your phone and the Google street view app. Although, you may wish to use a tripod and a 360 camera if you do not have a steady hand. Contact your faculty educational designers to see what resources may be available to you.
• Add interactivity. Posing some questions and adding ‘easter eggs’ for students to find within your virtual tour may encourage students to explore the virtual tour in a more engaged way.

Example

The CLE360 simulation lab at Monash peninsula campus is set up to replicate a four bed ward area and is set up to simulate real scenarios of clinical placements. This virtual tour provides an introduction and orientation to the space before students enter the lab.

Use your mouse to click and drag to explore the space.

Credit
Samantha Dix, Director of Simulation, Monash Nursing & Midwifery
Hollie Jaggard, Unit Coordinator, Monash Nursing & Midwifery