News and Background Information on the Conference

Video-Supported Learning Keeps Students in Line

Alex Strømme is a biologist with a specialisation in insect physiology and also has experience as a researcher in this field. From 1995 onward, he has worked with teacher education in biology and as a university teacher in biology. Strømme is now a professor in science education and university pedagogy at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim. In his work, he focuses on the use of ICTs in education, both in schools and universities.

Many universities use learning management systems (LMS) intensively. “Being a university teacher for over 15 years, the introduction of the LMS suddenly made me a better teacher, and my students became better students as well,” says Alex Strømme about the impact modern technology has on his work.

Combined with the power of videos, LMS can be of great benefit to prepare students for upcoming classes and keep them engaged throughout the course. For his biology course, Strømme produced short videos of about five minutes each in which he presented the upcoming topic, as well as recapitulated previous subjects of the curriculum. Each video ended with questions intended to encourage his students to consult their textbooks and invest more time in preparing for the next class. Additional tests were used to keep the students on track and to check the outcome of their work.

The presentation of the videos, as well as the accompanying tests, were delivered via the university’s learning management system. But one distinctive feature in Strømme’s approach is providing the videos and tests on two platforms – for PCs and mobile phones. During the project the students were given mobile phones that enabled them to get the latest materials whenever they wanted to, and more importantly wherever they wanted.

“The benefits of using the phone are its mobility, accessibility and the multifunctionality,” Strømme points out. In order to find out about students' reactions to this new and convenient way of accessing learning materials, Strømme carried out thorough research in collaboration with the "Lifelong Learning Research Centre" and "The Program for Learning with ICT" at NTNU. The results turned out to be quite positive: The students showed strong support for the implementation of videos into the curriculum and also praised the possibility of learning on-the-move with their mobile phones. “When the same material is presented both on PC and mobile phone formats, students will first choose the PC. But, from time to time, for example when they are on-the-go and without ordinary Internet access, they just love to use their phones,” says Strømme. The research also shows that the compulsory tests were an important part of the project, ensuring that the videos are not viewed “just for fun” but are taken seriously for getting good results.

At OEB, Alex Strømme will present examples of the videos he used on Thursday, December 4th, 12:00 – 13:30, in the session "The Power of the Picture". He will highlight the production process and how the clips were made available, both for the PC and for mobile phones. In his presentation he intends to discuss both the technological and pedagogical aspects of the project.

25.08.2008

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