Instructional videos in an online engineering economics course

Abstract

The use of video lectures is a common method of delivering course content in online learning environments. Over time, our understanding of what makes an effective online video has evolved with advances in educational research and technology. In the past decade, free online video services such as YouTube have allowed widespread dissemination of instructional videos. Prevalence of high-quality instruction produced by organizations such as Kahn Academy has advanced our knowledge of effective video techniques and raised our students' expectations. Recent research has explored the elements of lecture videos and presentation styles that either contribute to, or detract from, student engagement. This paper explores one instructor's experience with teaching an online course in engineering economics multiple times, the original development of lecture videos and the subsequent editing and rework of those videos. Until recently, the effectiveness of the course videos was judged primarily from student feedback in course evaluations. However, the most recent version of our institution's learning management system allows collection of detailed student viewing data on the videos, including number of views, average view time and drop-off rates. Correlation between video viewing habits and student performance is explored and recommendations and lessons learned are provided.