Screencast Videos for Applied English Center (AEC) Students

1. Screencast Videos for Applied English Center (AEC) Students MajedAlsalam Ryan Olesh PaiWang ~ ELPS 812 Spring 2012 ID Presentation: Client Project

2. Instructional Goals and Performance Objectives • Our project, Screencast Videos for Applied English Center (AEC) Students, is a collection of videos created using Camtasiasoftware • (screen video capture movies). • Sound booth in the computer lab in Budig Hall room 10 • available to all KU faculty and staff.

3. Instructional Goals and Performance Objectives • Currently: • the KU libraries offers screencasts regarding: library searches • Instructional Development and Support (IDS) services offers screencasts for teachers on how to set up their Blackboard sites, • Atomiclearning.org offers some resources regarding these tools • However, within KU resources, there are, apparently, no screencasts apparently exist to help students specifically learn how to : • Use basic Blackboard functions • Use Microsoft Word for document formatting • Audacity for analysis of their spoken language (students could select the best parts of their recordings and provide a rationale of why they exemplify effective language skills). • The video files will be available within a PBWorks wiki site.

4. Instructional Goals and Performance Objectives • In order to achieve AEC’s academic goals, promotes use of: • various software programs • online programs • KU’s VLE, Blackboard • Project would help to facilitate students’ English language skills, particularly with regard to: • Writing • Research • speaking skills

5. Instructional Goals and Performance Objectives • Although the AEC, as part of university education in Kansas, is not bound to K-12 standards per se, the AEC shares similar goals. For example, the Kansas Department of Education espouses the following goals which the AEC also promotes: • Standard 1: • The student listens to spoken English to develop communicative competence in social and academic language use. • Standard 2: • The student speaks in English in socially and academically appropriate ways. • Standard 4: • The student writes narrative, expository, technical, and persuasive text in English to achieve academic success in the content areas. (Kansas Department of Education, 2012)

6. Instructional Goals and Performance Objectives • Moreover, the International Society of Technology in Education’s National Education Technology Standards (NETS) includes a few other goals related to the aim of our project.   • Communication and Collaboration: • Students use digital media and environments to collaborate, communicate and interact with other students, teachers and professionals. They also engage in a cultural and global awareness and contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems. • Technology Operations and Concepts: • Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations so they are able to select, transfer, understand and troubleshoot various systems and applications productively and effectively. • Research and Information Fluency: • Students apply digital tools to plan, organize and gather information, in order to be able to inquire, analyse, organize and evaluate information.

7. Instructional Goals and Performance Objectives • Students would use technology to facilitate communication with their instructors regarding • written work • audio files used as assessments within spoken language classes. • To facilitate learning and assessment within their AEC classes, students would need to be fluent in • various Blackboard functions • several software programs and tools

8. Instructional Goals and Performance Objectives: Benefits • Overcome the initial learning curve of these technologies for both students and teachers. • Instruction will be available in the most clear possibly way thus enhancing learning and saving teachers time in considering how to best explain technology to students • teachers can simply watch the videos themselves and learn how to best instruct use of these technologies. • Students able to use these technologies without needing a significant amount of time • E.g. more than 30 additional minutes of class time over the course of the semester • Prevents teachers having to re-explain how to use the technologies needed for class. • Students who miss instruction for any particular reason will be able to access requisite information.

9. Instructional Goals and Performance Objectives • Success in this objective will be exemplified by, for example: • students’ writing correctly formatted essays • successfully submitting recordings via WIMBA • successfully uploading necessary files to Blackboard.

10. Target Audience(learner characteristics and client description) • Our client is the Applied English Center (AEC) at KU. The Applied English Center serves roughly 500 international students per semester at KU. • Department Resources Include: • Learning English Online Lab (LEO) in Fraser Hall, • ErmalGaringer Academic Resource Center located in Wescoe 4068.

11. Target Audience(learner characteristics and client description) • Our target audience will be students at all ability levels at the AEC. • Students come from many different countries, but the majority of students come from the People’s Republic of China. • Academic expectations and requirements differ drastically within K-12 schools between different countries in terms of • the amount of writing required • the amount of instructional technology used in schools • Classroom participation in discussions required • Amount of personal opinion required in discussions and writings • Other considerations

12. Evaluation Strategy: Alpha Trial • In order to test the efficacy of the videos within the alpha trial phase: • AEC teachers would simply post a link to our wiki site on their Blackboard sites. • Teachers would instruct their students to watch the videos either at the beginning of the semester or at the appropriate, convenient time within their academic curriculum plans. • Teachers would report back to Dawn Haverkene-Ens, our client or the members of our group to tell the technology working group whether the videos were effective in quickly teaching students how to use technological resources and whether time was saved by teachers not having to repeat instructions multiple times. • Within the second phase of alpha testing: • outside expert teachers may observe students’ ability to use software programs in classrooms whose teachers use the instructional videos and in classrooms whose teachers do not use these videos. • The department could administer surveys to both students and teachers in both of these types of classrooms. The surveys would include questions concerning the amount of time needed to teach and learn how to use particular types of classroom technologies.

13. Evaluation Strategy: Beta Trial • If alpha phase successful, to empirically validate their usefulness, beta testing trials in which students unfamiliar with Blackboard would be given a specific set of discrete yet tasks which are introduced by our videos • having to open a file on Blackboard • upload a file on Blackboard • make a recording using WIMBA voice board. • Steps would include: • A subset of such students in a control group could be given verbal instructions by a teacher • another subset of such students in an experimental group could be told to watch the appropriate videos. • Both sets of students would then be told to perform the three discrete tasks while being video recorded. • If the experimental group were able to complete the tasks independently in significantly shorter amount of time than the control group, then it could be said that our product was successful.

14. Evaluation Strategy: Beta Trial • It would be more difficult to validate the efficacy of our product over the long term through use of beta testing. • That is to say, would be more difficult to know definitively that our product saved teachers’ time through saving them from explaining themselves multiple times. • Nevertheless, it would be possible to have teachers in both control (without use of videos) and experimental (using videos) to maintain a time log of the amount of time necessary to explain use of instructional technology. • If the experimental group teachers were able to explain concepts in a significantly shorter amount of time over the course of a semester than the control group, then it could be said that our product was successful.

15. Client Evaluation • Were the instructional or other goals clearly identified?  • “yes—the goal being to save time for teachers and coordinators by making the information available in a demonstration format.  Also to enhance student learning.” • Did the instructional materials achieve these goals?  • “I believe so.” • Overall, how do you judge the quality of these materials?  • “Very good—they show methodically how to accomplish each task.” • Dawn Haverkate-Ens, Senior Lecturer, Applied English Center, University of Kansas

16. References International Society of Technology in Education | NETS Standards. ISTE | Membership, NETS Standards, Books, Journals and Professional Development for Teachers. Retrieved April 26, 2012, from http://www.iste.org/standards.aspx Kansas State Department of Education. ESOL Curricular Standards. (n.d.). Welcome to KSDE. Retrieved April 26, 2012, from http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4694

17. Thank you! Any questions and/or suggestions?