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Enhancing Student Learning with Video Projects

Abstract

This paper will explore the use of digital video as a teaching tool in college courses. Two very different courses of potential interest to engineering educators are cited as examples. The first is a foreign language course offered at the University of Notre Dame which uses video technology to encourage students to write, produce, and star in original Spanish language "telenovelas" or day-time dramas. The second course is an introduction to computer networking course offered at Kansas State University at Salina which uses video technology to teach the fundamentals of computer networking. Both courses use digital storytelling to enhance student learning, and strengthen communication skills.

Some scholars argue that "the multimedia language of the screen has become the current vernacular" and it is time for video instruction to become foundational to undergraduate general education. Digital video is becoming increasingly affordable and accessible, providing an engaging method of instruction in a variety of subject areas.

Video provides an excellent and familiar medium for enhancing student learning in a variety of disciplines, including engineering. Video serves as a bridge between the humanities and engineering when it brings technology into the humanities classroom and when it brings the humanities into the technology classroom.

ABET accreditation requires that all engineering graduates have effective communication skills, have an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams, and have an understanding of the world, the economy, the environment and society. It is a challenge to fit the broad education required for gaining this kind of understanding into an intensive engineering education. Digital video technology addresses this challenge.

Introduction

Video production has a long history in the humanities because it was developed for storytelling out of a theater tradition. While the emergence of digital video has made video production a relatively affordable, manageable, and accessible tool in secondary and post-secondary humanities classrooms in the last decade, its use in engineering and science courses has been quite limited to date.

Searches of engineering education related databases such as ASEE, IEEE and ACM Digital Libraries return hundreds of articles on digital signal processing of video as well as algorithms for storage and optimization of video, but very few (if any) articles have yet been published about courses requiring the creative use of video technology for communication of engineering and technology concepts in a student video project.

Presentation of video content as an instructional aid in the classroom is commonplace, but the production of student created video in engineering and engineering technology courses is apparently uncommon. With the ease and accessibility of modern digital video creation

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Genereux, B., & Mangione-Lora, E. (2009, June), Enhancing Student Learning With Video Projects Paper presented at 2009 Annual Conference & Exposition, Austin, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--5702