CONCEPTO DE INTERESES

The decision to focus on keeping the user experience as streamlined as possible, making few major changes from version 1 of the VRS to ensure consistency, appears to have facilitated a smooth transition to version 2 for the students. Many student reflections commented on the ease of use of the video segment sharing and commenting features, while also offering opportunities for improvement.

The vast majority (n=36) of students’ comments focused on the ease of use of the system and the ease with which features could be used to their advantage. 21 comments

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specifically mentioned the ease with which video segment sharing and commenting features could be used and how this improved the quality and efficiency of their interaction with the group. Students commented on how it was ‘P03 - good to be able to share the video with everyone at the same time’ and how this ‘P10 - was quick and easy and very efficient on gathering and collecting information’. One student commented how the ‘P42 - the video system was brilliant for interacting with the members in my group and sharing interesting videos we discovered online’. A specific benefit drawn out by some of the students was the advantage of the system over more tedious processes such as copying and pasting video links into email or other communication methods. Students commented ‘P15 - when a group member found a useful video… they simply told us the title of the video in a group chat… instead of linking the video to an email and sending it out to each member in the group. I personally found this very helpful and thought it saved me a lot of time’ and ‘P30 - the group recommendations and comments were a good idea so that we did not have to email them to each member of the group’. In addition to the positive comments specifically related to the sharing and commenting features, many students (n=15) commented on the general usability of the system and how this contributed to the completion of their assignments. Students commented that the system was ‘P27 - easy to use and understand’ and that ‘P59 - the video system was much quicker this time round’. One student commented that ‘P69 - I found the video system very easy to use and once you got going and searching different links it was easy to find helpful videos on your topic. The video system was displayed very simply which made it easy to use and understand’. One student in particular again mentioned how the ‘P47 - browser would automatically bring you to the relevant piece in the video, this saved a lot of time which would usually be wasted on watching pointless videos’.

However, while the vast majority of comments were positive, one negative theme emerged from the responses with a small number (n=3) of responses. This concerned the way in which the groups were set up for the assignment, indicating that the lack of

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password access meant that other groups could look in on their conversations and see what comments they were making on videos. Students said that ‘P01 - It was easy to get into other groups work and look at their recommendations and this could cause a problem with groups’ and that being able to sign in as another person ‘P20 - allowed for other people to be able to see the videos we were recommending for our own group, enabling them to just copy us instead of researching themselves’. However, given the variety of references used in the groups’ presentations (see appendix I), this issue did not materialise in this cycle of study.

A small number of students also had some suggestions for improvement for the system: it was the only theme that was represented in the data with three comments to improve the layout and appearance of the system design. Students commented that they ‘P02 - would like to see more time spent on developing the video system to make it more appealing’ and that ‘P69 - would like to see a more colourful system implemented’. The data above illustrated that the ease of use of the system enabled students to use the video segment sharing and commenting features to work as a group to integrate video content into their assignment. They found using the system quick and easy, and the use of the video segment sharing and commenting features straight forward and effective for the task at hand, especially when compared to copy and paste features offered by other approaches. The nature of the system brought with it natural drawbacks in terms of presentation and understandably some students picked up on this and would like to see some energy put in to the aesthetics of the system. Finally, the most pressing concern from the students and the most significant area for improvement was the process of accessing groups. Students highlighted the need for more secure access to the ‘group recommendations’ section to ensure groups can comment on video content without fear of other groups accessing their work.

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5.6.3 Conclusions from cycle 2

The purpose of this cycle was to address the questions:

R1. What impact do the features of the video retrieval system have on students’ ability to work with online video for use in assignments?

 What is the impact of the video segment sharing and commenting features on students’ ability to share and comment around online video for a group assignment?

R2. What strategies can be employed to enable students’ digital literacy with online video?

 What strategies support students’ use of online video in assignment work?

 How can assignments be designed which enable the use of online video?

 What impact does video have on students learning experience?

R3. How do students display digital literacy in practice when given the context and tools in which to do so?

 How do students use online video to inform the development of a group presentation?

Findings from this cycle were broken down into two broad themes: 1) Student impression of the VRS as a tool to enable video sharing and commenting for a group assignment; and 2) student use of online video to inform the development of a group presentation. In the first theme, findings indicate that when provided with categories and themes to focus their work (Ellis & Childs, 1999; Mitra et al., 2010), the video segment sharing and commenting features had an overwhelmingly positive impact on group communication around online video. Students displayed the ability to share a range of content related to their work, allowing the group to view a wider range of

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content (Sinclair, 2010; Eshet-Alkalai & Chajut, 2009). Students also communicated effectively around digital video (Martin, 2005; Hague & Payton, 2011) not only sharing their reasons for video choice and delegating work, but also offering and receiving opinions and ideas on video segments (Pearson, 2005). Evidence of this was not only displayed in students’ own reflections but in the range of interactions which took place, with students even beginning to use the system to interact socially. Students also provided some options for the future, with a multitude of suggestions on how features could be improved such as integration with social media, whole class sharing and rating of content, and email notifications.

In the second theme, students’ use of online video to support the development of their presentations, findings again demonstrate the learning value of online video in an online context (Koumi, 2013). Students were readily able to understand content as it related to their presentations, with comments suggesting that videos were especially useful in witnessing communication skills in practice (Berkhof et al., 2011). When supported in their use and referencing of content, student comments and referencing data showed an ability to source (Gilster, 1997) and synthesise (Martin, 2005) key information about designing, developing and delivering presentations and the ability to re-use this information (Sinclair, 2010) to support the development of their work. Significantly, students also commented more generally on skills learned from videos, displaying the ability to reflect on the meaning of this (Martin, 2005) and apply it to contexts outside the given task. For example, they identified key skills concerning group work and body language, showing an understanding of the impact these areas play on the relationship between groups. From a practical perspective, the ease of use of the features of the VRS was a key factor in enabling this use of video for students. Students commented on the seamless nature with which they were able to interact and share with fellow group members. Future development in this area for consideration include: revamping the look and feel of the system; an improved, more secure group log in area; examining

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possible integration with social media; and trialling alternative communication methods.

5.7 Conclusion

This cycle focused on examining they key areas of digital literacy of communicating and sharing digital content for use in assignment work, while examining the use of a VRS to support these tasks. Data has shown that not only do the tools provided enable student to interact with each other around online video and integrate this into their work, but that these have a positive impact on their learning experience. The VRS provided students with the tools to share and comment on video in a variety of ways, demonstrating students’ ability to display these aspects of digital literacy when given the opportunity to do so. The significance of this cycle is that it furthers our understanding of students’ ability to communicate and share online video in an academic context, while again confirming the learning value of video in developing students’ understanding of the topics under investigation. Aside from experimenting with alternative communication methods, the most pressing development from a student perspective was improving the look and feel of the system and improving the security of group access.

Following the investigation of the key areas of digital literacy over the last two cycles and the evaluation of the VRS to support these, the next cycle of research moves to investigate some of the potential improvements to the VRS namely: improvements to search clarity; and provision of text based information.

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Chapter 6 – Cycle 3: User evaluation of VRS features in