With access to the findings of generated through the Blended Learning Grants Program, educators across the globe are able to gain a greater understanding of the impacts and benefits surrounding blended learning technology. These valuable results are helping to shape future pedagogies, use cases and product development in our efforts to continually improve efficiencies and outcomes.
Here are some highlights from successful projects funded through the Blended Learning Grants program:
Research Team:
Kai Pan Mark and Douglas R. Vogel | City University of Hong Kong
Eva Y.W. Wong | Hong Kong Baptist University
Grant Awarded: August 2009
Project Objective: This project aimed to identify perceptions from students and teachers on which features and usage patterns of a lecture capture solution (Echo360) would develop long-term continuance behaviour through both conscious and unconscious behaviors.
Project Highlights: “The lecture capture system is undoubtedly perceived as being useful not only by students, but also by teachers. Teachers in particular find Echo360 beneficial in improving efficiency and for providing feedback to students.”
Exploring Lecture Capture Technologies: Universal Accessibility for Students with Disabilities
Research Team:
Sue Vajozki and Susan Watt | McMaster University; Ontario
Nancy Fenton | University of Waterloo; Ontario
Grant Awarded: August 2010
Project Objective: This project investigated the perceptions and experiences of instructors and students with disabilities on their use of lecture capture in order to understand how it aligned with new accessibility legislation standards (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act-AODA).
Project Highlights: “Students with and without accommodation needs used this resource in a variety of ways and were satisfied with the ease of use and quality of the captures. In addition to reinforcing learning, it appears that captures help students to deal with the conflicting demands of home, job, and health circumstances while maintaining their studies.”
Using Academic Analytic Tools to Investigate Studying Behaviours in Technology-Supported Learning Environments
Research Team:
Rob Phillips, Pauline Roberts, Wendy Cumming-Potvin, Jan Herrington, and Dorit Maor | Murdoch University, Western Australia
Maree Gosper | Macquarie University, New South Wales
Greg Preston | The University of Newcastle, New South Wales
Grant Awarded: August 2009
Project Objective: This study looked to answer the question ‘How do students engage with well-designed blended learning environments to study and to learn successfully?’ with an ultimate aim of better understanding what comprises an effective environment for blended learning.
Project Highlights: “The use of WBLT has provided both internal and external students with a high degree of flexibility in access to lectures. Although external students appeared to be more systematic in their usage patterns, both internal and external students used WBLT in similar ways to support their learning and were generally positive about their experience of using WBLT. They found WBLT made it easier for them to learn and helped them to achieve better results.”
Me2U – Exploring the Effective Use of Echo360 Personal Capture
Research Team:
Dr. John Davies and Claire Hardman | University of Sussex, United Kingdom
Grant Awarded: August 2010
Project Objective: This project, known as ME2U, examined the multitude of ways PCAP can be used to create short screencasts to enhance both teaching and learning.
Project Highlights: “Students who accessed screencasts performed significantly better in the associated assessment than those who had not accessed the screencasts. The validity of this finding was strengthened by looking at these two groups of students on another module that did not contain screencasts. The marks for the two groups did not differ significantly, indicating that the PCAP recordings may have had an effect on the improved performance.”
Lecture Capturing to Transform Student Learning Opportunities in Large Classes
Research Team:
Stephanie Corliss, Ph.D., Michael Heidenreich, James Henson, Ph.D.,
and Erin Reilly | The University of Texas at Austin, USA
Grant Awarded: August 2010
Project Objective: The purpose of this project was to determine how the use of lecture capture impacts student performance. Researchers also studied large-enrollment courses to support non-traditional uses of the technology to provide time for interactive student-centered learning opportunities in the classroom, with the expectation of improving students’ learning.
Project Highlights: “Evidence of positive student learning effects was found in the study examining the innovative uses of lecture capture. The Echo360 lecture capture technology was used to facilitate the inverted classroom model, where students view typical lecture material outside of class and participate in collaborative application activities during class time. Overall, students who viewed a pre-recorded lecture and participated in student-centered classroom activities that were well- aligned to the lecture content performed best on measures of students’ knowledge.”
