CAPÍTULO V: PROPUESTAS Y RESULTADOS
5.2 Canal
This taxonomy is for the classification of attributes of the study context, which, if changed, may impact on the perceptions of the video feedback ie: the ’cause’ of the perceptions.
• Class
In this case Class is a loose term for the set of students observed in a study, (rather than students in a single taught session). It may describe a small group of participants within a taught session group, or it may describe several cohorts. However, if numbers cross cohorts the group may need to be divided into separate studies in order to enable the recording of different attributes. For example, the first and second year students may be the group studied but one assignment might be a design, and another the production of a physical artefact. Therefore, the level studied, the type of assessment and potentially the recording source all vary.
There are several characteristics that are recommended for classification regarding the Class.
– Academic level
The year of academic study.
The use of common and therefore, easily comparative terms, is recommended here, but not too general. For example, ’Freshers’ is a common term for first year undergraduate students. ’Post graduate’ could mean anything from a seven year part time student on a research degree,to a three year full time taught degree, and ’undergraduate’ could mean any one of a four year span. It is recommended that the year of academic progress is an appropriate level of granularity.
– Subject studied The degree, unit or topic may be recorded here, or all three.
The unit title may need the additional context of the degree title, since e.g., a ’communications’ unit on a teacher training degree will likely take an entirely different approach to one on a computing degree. Therefore, the appropriate granularity maybe the degree title or subject area of degree titles where mixed, and the unit.
– Assignment type
The Assignment type needs to express the media of the assignment submission.
The type of assignment submission impacts on the recording source selection. For example, is likely that the recording source for feedback submitted as an electronic essay is likely to be a screen cast. A physical sculpture will potentially have feedback recorded by camera.
– Size
Three measures regarding the size of a class are recommended. These are:-
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Numbers of students in the class*
Numbers of staff sharing the workload*
Longevity of the studyThe purpose of classifying the Size characteristic is to help staff determine the feasibility of the workload. Therefore, the number of staff in the marking team sharing the workload, as well as the numbers of students being assessed should be recorded here. A short term burst of intensive marking may be possible to complete a study which is not feasible over a longer period of time, hence the inclusion of the longevity of the study.
– Diversity
Suggested characteristics for reporting are at least the numbers of: -
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Mature students*
International students or non native speakers*
Students with additional learning needs*
Students with particular learning stylescomparison across studies in an area, where normally results would be dismissed as insignificant in a single study.
• System
The system facet contains the characteristics of the system used to create and distribute the video feedback.
– Recording technology
This facet is for the classification of the recording technology characteristics. The recording technology can currently involve the integration of several elements of physical equipment, software and/or cloud services.
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Recording sourceWhether a camera, screen cast or other recording source is used. Current literature suggests that the selection of the recording source is significantly impacted by the media of the submission. Current options are the use of a camera or screen casting. At the moment these are the only options, but this may change in the future as media formats evolve.
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Recording and editing facilitiesThe software or the cloud facility used for creation and editing is recorded here. If different services or software are required for different functions then each need to be listed.
In some cases editing facilities may not be available at all and may not be missed. In others editing facilities may be very good but never used. Therefore, it is important to record what is used to inform judgements regarding how much to spend and on what services or software.
– Distribution
This facet holds the attributes the system used to distribute the videos, or to upload videos, for student access.
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Storage and privacyThe service used for storage and the facility for limiting access is classified here.
The simplest is when storage is built into the virtual learning environment. However, video feedback could be stored on a cloud service and a link placed inside the VLE account. Perhaps that link is emailed to the student. Either way explicit consideration of the capacity of the storage system, and the means of protecting the students privacy requires consideration. Lack of capacity will cause staff frustration, and breaches of privacy will impact student perceptions.
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TimelinessThe length of time taken from student submission deadline to returning feedback to students. It is anticipated that this will be expressed in days or weeks.
This is an indicator of feasibility for meeting deadlines. Deadlines may come from implications for learning, institutional policies or impact on staff workload. This must be considered in conjunction with the Size of the Class in terms of student numbers and the size of the marking team.
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AccessConcise description of the means by which students access their video feedback, including whether the access is via direct access or a hyperlink. Studies normally choose the virtual learning environment or email as a delivery mechanism currently. Email is normally limited in capacity for sending a video file, so hyperlinks can be sent to storage space elsewhere.
– Screen Content The visual content of the video is classified here. There are
several suggested characteristics, several of which may hold values for a study, but it is unlikely that all will be used in a single study.
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WorkRefers specifically to the student submission.
Video feedback may answer the main criticism of audio feedback, which is the lack of direct reference to work (Ekinsmyth 2010), by placing student work on the screen. The facility to point out/highlight areas of work as they are explained, is considered very valuable (Marriott and Lim Keong 2012, p.593, Hyde 2013, Orlando 2016). This engages
students because it clarifies the learning message (Cranny 2016).
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MarkerA video of the marker on the screen whilst they narrate. Some studies include this believing the additional non verbal
communication cues will improve the message conveyed (Henderson and Phillips 2015; Mayhew 2016), although be aware that some students are not keen on being confronted by the marker on screen (Mayhew 2016).
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DocumentsStaff may use marking schemes and rubrics to explain why marks are given, or stress points in the assessment brief by highlighting them on screen.
It is common to use documentation to demonstrate the differences between what was achieved by the student, and what was expected of high quality work. These types of documents have been used as on screen content in synchronisation with the work (Thompson and Lee 2012; Turner and West 2013; Denton 2014; West and Turner 2016).
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IllustrationThe illustration of learning points can be achieved with demonstrations, simulations, and bringing examples, diagrams, visual explanations on screen or hearing staff reading original and amended versions of written work (Jones et al. 2012) .
Illustration aids understanding particularly of the reason why a change is an improvement (Ghosn-Chelala and Al-Chibani 2013).
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DurationRefers to the duration of the videos for the study participants. It might be expressed as an average, or additionally include the shortest and longest duration.
There may be a point at which videos are considered too long by
students. Some implementations limit durations on the free service. Are they long enough for a full explanation? Student opinion may be reflected in the Perceptions taxonomy.