Teaching business students law by virtual means

In this article from the Spring 2008 issue of Directions Odette Hutchinson (Birmingham City University) details her experience introducing video lectures to first year business students studying the English legal system as part of a business law pathway.

The motivation for my decision to transfer lectures to video format as the primary mode of delivery was borne out of concerns familiar to most working with higher education today, such as institutional squeeze and the acknowledged limitations of traditional lecturing as an effective mechanism for promoting deep learning and reflective practice. The increasing diversity within the student population and the inclusion of an increasing number of key but not core skills into an already crowded curriculum frequently requires module leaders to make sacrifices.

The move to video format was in essence an attempt to reclaim the lecture slot, both to facilitate opportunities for the students to apply their emerging legal knowledge and to enable them to garner legal scholarship skills. Having experimented with several software options, it was evident that the medium and design of course material is one of the most crucial aspects of blended learning, and Articulate™ was ultimately selected as offering the most potential.

Articulate Presenter embeds into PowerPoint, allowing non-technical users to create engaging and easily navigable MP3 and video lectures through the addition of narration and interactive slides. The end product is then converted into Flash format, installed on 98% of Web browsers, allowing the file size to be condensed and trouble free viewing on both PCs and Macs.

Key features:

• slide notes are automatically embedded into the final Flash presentation
• slides can be narrated individually, allowing individual slides to be dropped or added as appropriate following developments in the law (no need to re-record the whole lecture)
• a search facility allow students to locate issues within the presentation
• interactive diagrams and charts can be embedded

A primary concern of the shift to video lectures was the reduced opportunity for student participation and questions. Hence the course was blended, enabling students to identify core concerns arising from the substantive material through participation in online forums. Lecturers reviewed their submissions and used this information to construct bespoke activities addressing the students’ learning needs.

The use of video lectures increased learner autonomy, encouraging students to take ownership of the learning experience and to learn at a comfortable speed. The embedded markers within the course, requiring the students to have acquired a certain level of knowledge for contact sessions, curtailed this autonomy somewhat, however, this strategy was intended to mitigate the likelihood of students falling too far behind. Anecdotal indications from one or two students suggested that international students and students with disabilities benefited from the ability to pause the lecture and repeat important parts.

‘Test your knowledge’ slides, including a variety of MCQ formats, were embedded into each lecture, with the settings initially set to force students to attempt each question, although this decision was quickly reviewed following grumbles from students re-watching the lectures. The tests were then posted separately on the VLE, enabling the tracking of test attempts. Most students undertook the tests repeatedly until scoring 80% or above.

A small group of students acknowledged that the ability to view the lectures at their leisure resulted in their leaving this task to the end of the course. As a result their participation in group activities was limited. Of course, there will always be a number of students who leave things to the last moment – whether this mode of delivery encourages this tendency is unclear.

The use of video lectures as a mode of delivery was founded on the premise that students actually want lectures delivered in this format and will embrace the technology when offered the opportunity. However a handful of comments at the end of the module suggested that some students did not possess the necessary IT skills to access and utilise the material, and would have benefited from more detailed information on how to use it effectively.

Despite the positive feedback on the module and the mode of delivery, it is clear that video lecturing as an educational device needs more extensive and rigorous pedagogical research. Few studies exist on students’ learning experiences, and the literature that does exist is limited to small projects like this one, consisting predominantly of positive accounts of informal user satisfaction. As emerging educational technologies, video and MP3 lectures have very relevant application in higher education, but they must be carefully integrated into curriculum design.

Last Modified: 9 July 2010