The Use of Asynchronous Video Communication to Improve Instructor Immediacy and Social Presence in a Blended Learning Environment

Abstract

Instructors in a blended learning format struggle to find an effective balance between face-to-face instruction that is high in fidelity and online instruction that is high in flexibility. This chapter presents three cases where asynchronous video communication was used to help offer students instruction high in fidelity and flexibility. Although the medium for sharing asynchronous video varied between the three cases, findings indicate that video was a useful tool to improve instructor immediacy and/or social presence with a minimum amount of face-to-face instruction. The instructors in all three cases saw asynchronous video communications as an effective way to communicate with students, and the majority of students responded positively to asynchronous video communications.

Student Preferences for Learning Resources on a Land-based Postgraduate Online Degree Programme

“…A very similar pattern of feedback was received for both interventions: that online lectures were most favored (supporting the findings of MacPherson & Nunes, 2004;Mitra et al, 2010;Borup et al, 2011;Carmichael et al, 2017;Crook & Schofield, 2017;Scagnoli et al, 2017) and that the podcasts were the most criticized (Lawlor and Donnelly, 2010). Views were mixed on the use of outdoor videos to assess urban trees in the second intervention, some students wanted higher production values in terms of technical content and sound recording.…”

“…There are several studies that found the use of audio/visual learning resources for online learners to be effective, especially the use of instructional video and online lectures (MacPherson & Nunes, 2004;Mitra et al, 2010;Borup et al, 2011;Carmichael et al, 2017;Crook & Schofield, 2017;Scagnoli et al, 2017). Although now a popular delivery format in online courses, moving away from a high level of reading content, Pomales-Garcia and Liu (2006) warn against providing overlong videos or lectures.…”

Examining the impact of video feedback on instructor social presence in blended courses

“…As a result, some researchers have sought to establish their social presence via asynchronous video communication. Overall student response has been positive, reporting that the richness of video helps them to perceive their instructor as real (Borup, Graham, & Velasquez, 2011;Borup, West, & Graham, 2012;Matheison, 2012) and caring (Griffiths & Graham, 2009b;Moore & Filling, 2012 that the visual cues in video helped their instructor to feel more conversational (Silva, 2012), friendly (Griffiths & Graham, 2009b), and personal (Griffiths & Graham, 2009a;Matheison, 2012;Parton, Crain-Dorough, & Hancock, 2010). For example, Borup et al's (2012) analysis of student interviews found that students' abilities to hear and see their instructor made him feel more real.…”

The impact of text versus video communication on instructor feedback in blended courses

“…As a result some online instructors have attempted to improve their feedback methods by providing students with asynchronous video feedback as a way of retaining some of the benefits of asynchronous communication and increasing the richness of information that they convey (Borup et al 2011(Borup et al , 2012(Borup et al , 2013Graham 2009a, b, 2010;Moore and Filling 2012;Silva 2012). Additionally, online technologies have enabled students to apply their understanding in new and authentic ways, which may require different feedback methods.…”