Effects of YouTube videos as pre-lecture preparation

Abstract

Classroom lectures convey course concepts more effectively when students have prepared in advance. Traditionally, students prepare for lectures by reading the course textbook. Textbooks are the default study material for most educational courses; however, some technical subjects are better conveyed in video format. Therefore, in this study, we required students to supplement their learning resources with web-based video tutorials that provide detailed demonstrations with the respect to technical network configuration and management. Our course, Cyber 350 (CY350), Network Engineering and Management, introduces the entire spectrum of the student body to current practices in the design of network topologies and configuration, troubleshooting, and management of network devices such as routers and switches. YouTube is a video sharing website that can provide free educational tutorials and instructions on technical subject matter, where students can observe practical human-machine interaction to prepare for lectures and increase overall course performance on exams, assignments, and laboratory projects. Our goal was to compare the overall performance as well as the level of active class participation between two groups of the same computer networking course. We found that the group that used YouTube videos for pre-lecture preparation, consisting of 83 students, scored approximately 3% higher on exams but 5% lower on homework assignments than the control group (textbook only), consisting of 81 students. There was no statistical significance between the two groups with respect to overall course grades. Study habits and degree of class participation of each student correlated more strongly with overall course performance than whether the student viewed the videos.