EDUCATION IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS: QUALITY AND

EFECTIVENESS IN E-LEARNING
PRESENTATION OF THE COMPLETE COMMUNICATION
It is recommended that the maximum length oI the document doesn`t exceed Irom 10.000
words (approximately 20 pages in times new roman 12 pt style, simple space).
Title: Design oI a Constructivist Virtual Learning Environment composed by video
summaries
Author/Authors: Alberto Ramirez Martinell, Julie-Ann Sime, and Michael O`Donoghue
Institution: Centre Ior Studies in Advanced Learning Technology. Department oI
Educational Research. At Lancaster University
Tel: 44 (0) 8701702566
Fax: 44 (0) 1524592914
E-mail: a.ramirezmartinelllancaster.ac.uk
Summary (approximately 200 words, more or less 15 lines in times new roman 12 pt style).:
This article describes the theoretical rationale of the design of a mechanism that aims
to adduce a concise version of a two-hour video lecture without letting the viewers
skip over crucial arguments of the lecture, by means of a specially recorded 3-to-5-
minute video of the course convenor presenting the central or more important
propositions of a lecture. Along a brief, clear, appealing and engaging video summary,
a series of video links and hyperlinks, that aim to redirect the viewer to certain points
of the comprehensive videoed discourse, are timely displayed, giving the viewer full
playback control of not only the video synopsis, but also the general contents of the
lecture. The criteria for the design of this learning artefact has its roots in some
theories about constructivism (Duffy and 1onnasen 1992, Perkins 1992 and 1onassen
1999, Mayer 1999), use of video for educational purposes (Pinnington 1992, and
O`Donoghue 2002), multimedia integration (Mayer 1999, Mayer 2001, England and
Finney 2002, Mayer 2005), and in the analysis of an empirical study carried out from
October to December 2005, where video was used as the central presentational
element of a webcast environment.
Three key words:
Video Summaries, Video Streaming, Constructivist Virtual Learning Environments
Objectives:
To gain understanding on an ICT-based Teaching Learning Process underlying a
Constructivist Virtual Learning Environment that resorts to video streaming as a learning
arteIact.
To appraise the incorporation into an existing Virtual Learning Environment and
subsequent use oI a video summary that aims to increase the learning perIormance oI a
group oI graduate students that are given access to the recorded Iashion oI the Iace-to-Iace
lecture they attend Ior the purposes oI recapitulation, review and enhancement oI Iurther
discussion.
To identiIy the most suitable conditions and research mainstream to Iormulate a theoretical
rationale that may articulate the reasons Ior using video summaries as brieI introductory
hyperlinked-based video
Description:
This communication describes the second stage oI a three-phase research project that aims
to propose and validate a methodology Ior a Constructivist Virtual Learning Environment
that includes video streaming. The Iirst phase oI the research consists on the analysis oI a
webcasted lecture and its virtual environment which is composed by a set oI slides,
navigation controls and the videoed version oI the two-hour lecture. This webcast
environment was used to provide an electronic version oI the lecture to a group oI 49 local
and international postgraduate students at the Lancaster University Management School,
UK, Irom October to December 2005. The lecture webcasting consisted oI six two-hour
sessions intended Ior synchronous and asynchronous use. The design, delivery and
pedagogical concerns were inquired by either interviewing or giving questionnaires to the
webcast designers, the technical support oIIicer, the lecturer and the users. The obtained
results were presented to the lecturer together with a proposal oI implementing, Ior Iuture
use, a prototype, mainly composed by a video summary oI the lecture, hyperlinks to
speciIic points oI the videoed lecture and a discussion board. The lecturer agreed on testing
the prototype and stated that he planned to continue video capturing the lectures Ior Iuture
courses and reuse the previous recorded lectures Ior his own academic purposes.
The current and the Iollowing phases oI the research project consist oI the conception and
design oI a working prototype based on the theoretical rationale that underlies its
construction and the empirical rationale outlined with the qualitative and quantitative data
gathered within the study group oI the phase one; and its evaluation and validation with a
group oI local and international students at the Lancaster University Management School,
registered in the same subject and guided by the same lecturer that the study group oI the
Iirst phase but a year a part. The learning perIormance is to be compared under two
diIIerent perspectives: Irom a historic point oI view; comparing the learning records oI the
current group with the archived records oI the Iormer group; and Irom a usage point oI
view; comparing the learning outcomes oI those who resort to the prototype and those who
attend the lecture without having accessed the Constructivist Virtual Learning
Environment.
In this context the concept oI learning environment suggests the idea oI a space where
meaning making is Iostered and the learner is supported by the ambience itselI. The idea oI
learning environment may vary depending on the way knowledge is conceived. Under an
inIormation acquisition view oI learning, knowledge is transIerred Irom the teacher to the
learner, as iI the learner were a void vessel whose 'mind is seen as an empty container that
needs to be Iilled by the teacher pouring in some inIormation (Mayer, 2005:12), however,
under a constructivist conception oI learning it is assumed that knowledge cannot be
transmitted but '(.) individually constructed and socially coconstructed by learners based
on their interpretations oI experiences in the world (Jonassen, 1999: 271). Within these
premises, the concept oI Constructivist Learning used in this Iramework reIers to the
situation 'when the learner actively creates her own knowledge by trying to make sense out
oI material that is presented to her (Mayer, 1999: 143), and thereIore, the concept oI
Constructivist Learning Environment (CLE) is when meaning making is promoted by
means oI a set oI spatial, temporal and social conditions. For Wilson (1996), a
Constructivist Learning Environment is the 'place where learners may work together and
support each other as they use a variety oI tools and inIormation resources in their guided
pursuit oI learning goals and problem-solving activities (Wilson, 1996: 5). To provide a
deIinition oI Constructivist Virtual Learning Environment, we extrapolated the idea oI
'place that Wilson adduced to a non-tangible space that mimics the physical notion oI an
area with clear or ambiguous boundaries, enabled by technology but still intended to
promote learning under the characteristics previously described. For Laurillard, the concept
oI 'virtual applied to an environment reIers to 'an interesting Iorm oI simulation, which
diIIers in the nature oI the representation oI the reality it is simulating (Laurillard, 2002:
133). Within these considerations, when we reIer to a Constructivist Virtual Learning
Environment in this context, it is alluded to a learning environment which is not strictly
bound to a physical place such as a classroom, a science lab or a school, but it is enabled by
the use oI electronic computers, computer soItware, communications technologies and the
timely disposition oI learning arteIacts.
A constructivist learning environment either virtual or based in a traditional classroom can
be parsed into some oI the Iollowing Iive Iacets (CI. Perkins, 1992): InIormation banks,
symbol pads, phenomenaria, construction kits, and task managers. An InIormation bank is a
source oI explicit inIormation such as a teacher, a video or a book; a symbol pad is a
surIace Ior the construction or manipulation oI symbols such as a blackboard, an online
discussion board, or a notebook; the construction kits are 'packaged collections oI content
components Ior assembly and manipulation (Wilson, 1996:6) such as Legos, authoring
tool soItware or laboratory apparatuses; phenomenaria is an area oI the learning
environment where observable Iacts are made evident Ior learners to gain experience Irom.
Some examples oI phenomenaria are terrariums, simulations and aquariums ; and a task
manager is a Ieature that controls the learning process, provides Ieedback and guides the
learner through her learning process. Examples oI task managers are answer lists, tests and
questions.
The design oI the Constructivist Virtual Learning Environment Ior this phase oI the
research project considers the videoed lecture and a supplementary visual aid as an
inIormation bank; the asynchronous text based communication as a symbol pad and the
asynchronous Ieedback Irom the lecturer via discussion board as a task manager, which
according to Perkins (Perkins, 1992), would comply with the characteristics oI a minimalist
learning environment or also called traditional learning environment. Although Perkins
deIines as richer learning environment the environments that resort to phenomenaria
instead oI inIormation banks, and construction kits rather than to symbol pads, iI the learner
is encouraged to manage her own learning process and to bear more responsibility oI her
own task management by accessing an interIace that can direct her to speciIic parts oI the
asynchronous video lecture or to the discussion board by means oI a concise and brieI
introduction video enriched by video links, hyperlinks, and Iull navigation controls, the
learner will be able to Iollow the video sequence and learning pace that better suits to her
and enrich the learning environment by her own active participation. This Ireedom oI
'deciding what to study, when to study and the preIerred learning style to Iollow (CI.
Sime and O`Donoghue, 2004) corresponds to the concept oI Open Learning that Bates
deIines as 'the provision oI learning in a Ilexible manner, built around the geographical
social and time constraints oI individual learners, rather than those oI an educational
institution(Bates, A.W., 1995: 27).
Sime and O`Donoghue (Sime and O`Donoghue, 2004) citing Mayer (Mayer 1999) say that
open learning and constructivist learning are narrowly bound due to the activity oI the
learner who creates her own knowledge by interacting with the resources that the
environment oIIers to her. However this autonomous learning style may converge with the
experience oI other learners who are parallelly dealing with the same learning materials,
enabling active learning within a networked learning oriented environment that takes place
in the asynchronous textual discussion space. We reIer to networked learning to the kind oI
'learning in which ICT-based Teaching Learning strategies are used to promote
connections: between one learner and other learners, between learners and tutors, and
between a learning community and its learning resources by means oI either synchronous
or asynchronous text-only or multimedia driven communication. It may involve learners
who are geographically distributed and/or learners who spend much oI their time at a
common location(CI. Goodyear, 2002: 8).
Due to the characteristics oI the study group in which the prototype is tested, both the Iace-
to-Iace social interaction and the computer conIerencing among participants are enhanced.
Nevertheless in this research project the endeavour oI the inquiry Iocuses on the non-
contiguous interaction driven by the virtual learning environment.
The Constructivist Virtual Learning Environment designed Ior this phase oI the project is
going to be tested in a weekly lecture oI the MSc programme oI InIormation Technology,
Management and Organisational Change oIIered at the Lancaster University Management
School. It consists oI a weekly-delivered video summary that brieIly presents a holistic
view oI a videoed lecture and redirects the viewer to speciIic points oI its Iull linear version
and to an asynchronous text-based environment that aims to provide an additional
communication channel among the in-campus participants besides the plentiIul or scarce
Iace-to-Iace interaction enhanced during the classroom-based lecture. Within this
methodology the learners will be exhorted to visit the online environment and to, ideally,
read their peers` comments or commit their own ideas to the asynchronous board aIter
watching the video summary oI the lecture and the lecture itselI. The videoed material is
the live unedited recorded version oI the on-site lecture, which is composed by ten-two-
hour sessions given within a ten-week period. The lecture is recorded in a lecture theatre oI
the Lancaster University with the presence oI the course convenor, international and local
students and the camera operator.
The objective, content and Iorm oI a typical higher education lecture is to communicate
certain sets oI Iacts and to develop the necessary skills Ior thinking about a given Iield oI
study in a socially-driven learning environment with a time constraint oI about 120 minutes
(length oI lectures at Lancaster University). I assume that neither in Iace-to-Iace lectures
nor in videoed lectures does the course convenor expect the learners to commit the whole
speech to memory verbatim, but to accurately recognise the central or more important
propositions oI the lecture and to get acquainted with major details and the context oI the
argument. Research in the Iield oI texts and their summaries (Reder and Anderson, 1980),
shows that the logical structure oI text helps the readers recognise, veriIy and recall the
central or more important propositions; that 'learning material Irom summaries is at least as
good as reading the original text; and that the readers` ability to recognise important Iacts
about a topic aIter studying it is superior when the inIormation is learned Irom a summary
(Reder and Anderson, 1980:132).
A summary is the concise oral or written presentation oI the central ideas oI an extended
verbal expression whose aim is to provide an approximation to a comprehensive discourse
without letting the viewers skip over crucial material. Summaries have to be brieI, clear,
appealing and engaging. The minimalist concept oI less is more (Carroll, 1990) is an
strategy that has been applied in the development oI training designs that try to capitalise
the attention, time and eIIort oI the learners while approaching a learning material (CI.
Carroll, 1990: 7). The length oI online videos Ior academic purposes can also be subsumed
under a minimalist perspective, and despite the lack oI conclusive arguments that provide
the ideal length oI an online educational video, some researchers (Mason, Alessi and
Trollip, and Sime and O`Donoghue) agreed that the more concise a video is, the less
distracted the viewer might get. This is mainly because a multimedia presentation enriched
with a video Ieature might 'intensiIy students` concentration but, at the same time, the
attention spans tend to shorten (CI. Mason, 1994: 107).
Although the length oI the video depends a lot on its content and how it is used, it has been
suggested that video segments in multimedia presentations should be limited to either
twenty to thirty seconds (CI. Alessi and Trollip, 2001:74) or to around 1 to 3 minutes (Sime
and O`Donoghue, 2004). In either case the central proposition clearly suggests that video
components should be short, and stating a speciIic length may not apply to all contexts in
which educational video is used. Austerberry claims that 'video and audio are accepted as
the most natural way to communicate essentially because through the experience oI
television, video has become the primary vehicle Ior the dissemination oI entertainment and
knowledge (CI. Austerberry, 2005:3). It has also been claimed on Iavour oI the use oI
video that 'moving images add authenticity and reality to the learning context, and can
bring the course content alive (Thornhill, Asensio, and Young, 2002:8).
The idea oI resorting to video summaries as an introductory part oI a webcast environment,
where the central learning arteIact is a two-hour video lesson, has its roots in the analysis oI
a lecture at the Lancaster University Management School that during a ten-week period in
year 2005, made use oI a webcast environment Ior retransmitting the on-site discourse oI
the lecturer synchronously and asynchronously via web. The course convenor decided to
resort to a videoed lecture with a multimedia presentation and host it on the web aIter a
Ioreign student asked him Ior an audio version oI the lectures. He determined not only to
make the audio available Ior asynchronous use, but to provide his Ioreign and native
students with a video Iashion oI the lecture accessible on-demand and real-time as well. Six
out oI ten two-hour lectures were put into this Iormat and some technical improvements
were handled as well, such as the inclusion oI an Edirol M-100FX mixing consol and a
wireless lapel microphone aIter Iinding out that the sound oI the Iirst webcast did not have
an acceptable Iidelity, and a portal webpage that contains links to the lecture webcasts to
ease the accessibility. The 20 Ioreign students and the 29 local ones that were registered in
the study group, were given an evaluation questionnaire in which they wrote their opinions
about the videoed lecture and their suggestions to improve the environment. The lecturer
asked the students to hand in their questionnaire iI and only iI they had made use oI the
webcast environment. Seven (14.28) out oI 49 did submit their Iorms, however
considering that the lecturer resorted to the implementation oI the webcast environment to
help the Ioreign students to cope with language issues, the active users oI the reduced target
group added up to 35 (7/20).
The users (100 oI the sample) agreed that the Ieature was useIul Ior recapping on the
lectures and clariIying missed points and they (57) Iound the use oI video as an
interesting and engaging Ieature Ior an online multimedia presentation. Anyhow the active
users (100) brought into agreement that the videoed lecture sessions were too long and
thereIore they would not watch it as a whole, instead, they (71) would search Ior
keywords and watch the sections oI the sessions that they Iind useIul. The virtual learning
environment where the video summaries are implemented, is composed by ten two-hour
videoed sessions oI an MSc lecture that is part oI the InIormation Technology,
Management and Organisational Change programme oIIered at the Lancaster University
Management School Irom October to December 2006. The corresponding course convenor
is Iamiliar with the use oI the webcast environment and its promotion among his students,
mainly due to the experience he gained with the previous generation oI students that were
enrolled in the same subject a year beIore, and resorted to a webcast environment as a
learning aim. Bearing in mind the idea oI increasing the use oI the webcast environment not
only among the non-English speakers but also among the English students, the course
convenor agreed on resorting to a mechanism that aims to present the contents oI the video
lecture by means oI a summary that includes video links and hyperlinks to speciIic points
oI the session.
Giving the users an academic sneak preview in the same Iormat the Iull-length videoed
lecture is presented, may help to the viewers interested in the longer videos that Iollow the
summaries. To implement this mechanism, the way the video was going to be delivered
was a decisive issue, because we did not want the users to waste time or hard disk space on
downloading the video and we did not either want the attention oI the users to dispel, and
since the course convenor was Iamiliar with the video streaming technology due to the
webcast environment presented in a diIIerent stage oI this piece oI research, we resorted to
video streaming instead oI recurring to the download-and-play approach. Although a
diIIerent technology oI delivering online video, called progressive download, could be used
instead oI video streaming, the trend at Lancaster University, due to the Central IT Iacilities
provided by InIormation Systems Services, is to make use oI the Helix streaming server.
Although the waiting time in a website with embedded video streaming should not
stimulate dispel oI the users` attention, England and Finney suggest the use oI 'headings,
text labels or something relevant to what they (learners) are looking Ior so that they begin
to relate to the content as the page is Iorming (England and Finney 1, 2002:194). Another
Iactor that might be decisive Ior keeping the attention and motivation oI the viewers is the
time that the elements oI the learning environment take to load in the website. We should
keep in mind that 'iI the users are not engaged quickly by Iinding relevance in even the
Iragments oI pages that build Iirst as they load they will move on (England and Finney
1, 2002:193).
To deliver a video clip over the web, the video Iile has to be subjected to an encoding
process, that is to say, that 'aIter you have a Iilm sequence, you need to convert it into the
appropriate Iile Iormat Ior streaming (such as .rm, .wm, .mov) (Thornhill, Asensio, and
Young, 2002:35). The encoding process is not only used Ior 'optimising the video Iile Ior
the speed oI the connection oI the viewer (ibid:48); but also is it used Ior resizing the
video to a suitable window size, and Ior creating a variety oI video Iile Iormats. Accurately
accomplishing these three issues, the constrains oI web streaming should not hinder the
visual communication enhanced by the on-demand video delivered over the web.
BeIore encoding the video it is recommended to know who the target audience is, in order
to consider relevant issues Ior the interIace design such as their multimedia literacy level,
the operating system and the web browser they normally use, the type oI Internet
connection they have access to, and the video player they preIer. The construction oI a
technical proIile oI the target audience does not only help to determine the type oI video
Iile that it is going to be produced, but also does it provide useIul inIormation Ior design
issues. 'The more you understand your target audience, the better your design will be
(England and Finney, 2002-1:185).
In an evaluation oI the use oI Video Streaming in Higher Education (Zenios, 2002) it was
encounter that users beneIited Irom resorting to on-demand online video in Iive diIIerent
ways: a) ease to access to authentic material, b) selI regulated learning pace by means oI
Iull playback control, c) Iull-integrated multimedia presentations, d) bridging theory and
practice, and e) change in the perceptions about technology.
By incorporating video streaming in a virtual learning environment, the user is able to save
the time and hard disk space that either a two-hour videoed lecture or a short video clip
requires when it has to be downloaded in order to be played. No matter iI the video is
embedded in the webpage or launched in a separate video player or a popup window, 'the
online learning system has to be kept Iunctioning at is simplest, avoiding a complicated or
conIusing interIace design (CI. O`Donoghue, 2002). To access an online application that
employs streaming technology to present video over the web, the Iront-end user, who in
this case is the leaner and user oI the virtual learning environment, only needs an internet
connection, 'a suitable computer, web browser and a media player (O`Donoghue, 2000).
Within the implementation oI a 3 to 5 minute video summary that Ieatures the central
propositions oI the lecture given by the course convenor in the Iorm oI a talking-head, the
viewers may gain a general overview oI the lecture and proIit Irom the advantages oI
accessing the inIormation via a summary, and may have access to speciIic detailed
inIormation provided during the two-hour videoed session without having to watch the
whole lecture. The video summary is not intended to be the compact version oI the
complete lecture that is committed to strict video editing procedures, but a specially
planned concise Iashion oI the lecturer`s speech, designed and presented by himselI.
However a new challenge arises Ior the course convenor: to develop an eIIective summary,
able to address the central points oI the lecture and to capture the attention oI the viewers.
While the contents oI the summary may directly depend on the way the course convenor
identiIies and arranges a logical structure oI the central propositions oI the lecture; the Iorm
oI presenting those concepts in a constructivist virtual learning environment lies on the
presentational skills oI the course convenor and on the media to be used, either plain text,
audio, images with voice over, or video.
Pinnington (Pinnington, 1992) identiIied and classiIied the beneIits and implications oI
using the video medium in training and education, into ten diIIerent objectives, that state
the video medium can.
. extend human experience by the inclusion oI material that is not Iamiliar to the learner
. be a source oI relevant timely and meaningful information
. stimulate interest on the viewers by making use oI well-designed shot and edited
material with engaging appeal Ior the viewers
.guide the students response by means oI a role model
. 'transport the viewers to places and times that they would not otherwise be able to see
(ibid:11), overcoming phvsical limitations
. encourage the learners to reIlect on what they have seen and been asked to do to
stimulate problem solving activities
. 'be used to help the learners understand concepts or topics which, Ior one reason or
another, are diIIicult to be visualized (Ibid: 14) acting as diagnostic and remedial tool
. 'be a powerIul means oI developing better understanding within a group oI learners
(ibid: 14), by the simultaneous Iacilitation oI the understanding oI the learning content
. increase commitment on the students by involving them on the control oI the video and
the Ilow oI its contents
. keep the learners suIIiciently inIormed oI their process oI achieving their learning
outcomes.
For the video summaries here proposed, some oI the roles played by the audiovisual
medium still apply, such as providing meaningIul inIormation, stimulating interest, guiding
student response, overcoming physical limitations, increasing viewers` commitment and
achieving given outcomes. Within these six objectives, and the assumptions oI
constructivist conceptions oI learning, the video summaries aim to engage learners, to
promote meaning making and provide meaningIul access to detailed inIormation. The
model Ior designing constructivist learning environment proposed by Jonassen 'conceives
oI a problem, questions, or project as the Iocus oI the environment, with various
interpretative and intellectual support systems surrounding it. The goal oI the learner is to
interpret and solve the problem or complete the project. Related cases and inIormation
resources support understanding oI the problem and suggest possible solutions: cognitive
tools help learners to interpret and manipulate aspects oI the problem;
conversation/collaboration tools enable communities oI learners to negotiate and
coconstruct meaning Ior the problem; and social/contextual support systems helps users to
implement the CLE (Jonassen, 1999: 217-218).
From Jonassen`s model Ior designing CLEs, in the proposed learning environment, the
video summaries play the role oI a multimedia rich source oI just-in-time inIormation, and
as a whole, the elements oI the Constructivist Virtual Learning Environment here proposed
are mirrored to the six methods stated by Jonassen. See table 1.
Table 1. Correspondence between the model Ior designing Constructivist Learning
Environments and the stages oI the Virtual Constructivist Learning Environment
Method Stage oI the Virtual CLE
Selection oI an appropriate problem,
question, case, or project
Learning objective oI the lecture
Provision oI worked examples Webcasted Lecture
Provision oI selectable just-in-time
inIormation
Video Summary
Provision oI cognitive tools Video links oI the video summaries,
Provision oI communication and
collaboration tools
Discussion Board
Social contextual support Discussion Board, Iace-to-Iace interaction
The working prototype complies with the design principles oI multimedia learning (Mayer,
1999) and the premises Ior designing constructivist learning environments (Jonassen,
1999), and it is intended to operate under the perspective oI the SOI (Selection, Organizing
and Integrating) model stated by Mayer (Mayer 2001). The interIace, which England and
Finney deIine as the 'inIrastructure that links the component parts oI the online
environment together so that users understand what is contained in them, how the
inIormation is organized, and what they need to do to activate the separate pieces (CI.
England and Finney, 2002-1:P180) is composed by a video summary, a webcast
environment and a discussion board. See Iigure 1.
Figure 1. Learning Environment
The video summaries aim to encourage the students oI the MSc. programme oI InIormation
Technology, Management and Organisational Change to make use oI the two-hour videoed
lectures in a more accessible and personalised way. They consists oI a weekly short-length
clip that Ieatures the course convenor as a talking-head, who, in an inIormal and relaxed
conversational style, holistically delivers the central concepts oI a two-hour lecture. This
brieI and concise multimedia instructional message is accompanied by complimentary
visual aids that may include links to certain points oI the Iull-length videoed lecture and
hyperlinks to the discussion board, to external links or to downloadable Iiles. Keywords,
diagrams, hierarchical structures or any other visual element that may enrich the summary
can be included on demand.
Although the majority oI the computer labs at Lancaster University have MicrosoIt
products and licences, and other projects at the University that revolve around the use oI
web video Ior educational purposes have been MicrosoIt-oriented, we have resorted to the
creation oI a Ilash Iile, also called Ilash movie, to widen the compatibility oI the online
environment with more operative systems and Internet browsers. There are many versions
oI Flash or Flash-based authoring tools such as Camtasia Studio 3.0, but to author the video
summary Iile, we resorted to Macromedia Flash MX 2004, mainly because oI
inIrastructural issues. Besides the high compatibility scope, other advantages oI using Ilash
movies are the reduced number oI Iiles needed Ior web administration purposes (just an
.swI Iile and a Ilash video Iile), the portable Iile size and the potential implementation oI
interactivity Ieatures.
The resulting Ilash movie is a 450x215 pixel window composed by two main areas: The
recorded video oI the course convenor is placed on the leIt hand side, and on the right hand
side, there is a space Ior the on-demand visual aids that can be either the JPEG version oI a
slide created with any slide manager projector, Ilash animations, diagrams with hotspots or
any other graphic Iile.
We have decided to develop a horizontal 450x215 pixel Ilash movie because, at the
moment the design oI the prototype was carried out, the most popular web log providers
(Wordpress, Blogger, etc), and content manager systems (Drupal, Joomla, Mambo Open
source, Xoops, etc) seemed to admit aesthetically in their deIault templates an .swI Iile oI
those dimensions and keeping in mind that the resulting Ilash movie could be embedded in
any web space such as a personal website, or the above mentioned web services, the
consideration oI the Iile dimensions is an important issue.
The video oI the talking head, which is originally recorded as a Digital Video, is transIerred
to the computer, edited and converted into a Ilash video, so that it could be streamed once
the Ilash movie is hosted on the web. Flash video can only be displayed iI the user has
installed a Iree downloadable Ilash player.
The video summary environment is intuitive and easy-to-use. The playback controls are
represented by the common playback symbols, such as play, pause, Iast-Iorward, rewind
and stop. The links, either hyperlink or video links, are indicated by blue, underlined text
and the hotspots and any clickable object (including links and playback buttons) change the
mouse pointer into the clicking hand cursor.
Assuming 'that the human inIormation processing system includes dual channels Ior
visual/pictorial and auditory/verbal processing, that each channel has limited capacity Ior
processing, and that active learning entails carrying out a coordinated set oI cognitive
processes during learning (Mayer, 2001:41), the layout design oI the video summary
application, complies with the seven principles oI multimedia design stated by Mayer. The
principles and their direct correspondence to the design oI the video summary are described
as Iollow:
Multimedia principle. 'People can learn more deeply Irom words and pictures than
Irom words alone (Mayer, 2001: 1).The brieI and concise multimedia instructional
message given by the course convenor in the Iorm oI a video Iormat encourages the
users to learn Irom words and pictures.
Spatial contiguity principle. 'Students learn better when corresponding words and
pictures are presented near rather than Iar Irom each other on the page or screen (Ibid:
81).In a Iinite 450x215 pixel area, keywords, video links and hyperlinks are presented
near the talking head.
Temporal contiguity principle. 'Students learn better when corresponding words and
pictures are presented simultaneously rather than successively (Ibid: 96). Keywords,
hyperlinks and video links are displayed in the visual aid area just when the course
convenor mentions them, and in the case oI slides, they are synchronized with the
speech oI the talking head and are presented simultaneously.
Coherence principle. 'Eliminating interesting but irrelevant material Irom a lesson
helps students to better remember the remaining material (Ibid:120). Detailed
inIormation, long and complicated explanations and extraneous words are excluded
Irom the multimedia instructional message.
Modality principle. 'Students learn better Irom animation and narration than Irom
animation and on-screen text; that is students learn better when words in a multimedia
message are presented as spoken text rather than printed text (Ibid: 134). To provide
the summary oI a lecture, visual and auditory materials are simultaneously exposed to
the viewer, copping with the dual channel assumption. The visual material oI the video
summary pursues to accommodate in the viewers` mind schema a multimedia version
oI a traditional classroom based lecture, where the course convenor gives a speech and
illustrates it with keywords, diagrams or slides. England and Finney state that 'even iI
most oI the time you only hear the voice, it is nice to show the viewers what the Iace
behind the voice looks like (England and Finney, 2002:132).
Redundancy principle. 'Students learn better Irom animation and narration than Irom
animation, narration, and text (Mayer, 2001:147). To avoid overloading the visual
channel, just relevant inIormation such as keywords, diagrams, hyperlinks and video
links is to be presented in the visual aid section.
Individual diIIerences principle. By means oI the video summary, users can access the
Iull-length videoed lecture as it better suits them, either linearly or not. Learners who
are new to the topic, or low-knowledge learners can proIit Irom the summaries by
making 'connections between the corresponding visual and verbal representations held
in working memory (Ibid:166) in a non redundant Iashion, and more seasoned
learners or High-knowledge learners can perceive the video summaries as a videoed
index able to redirect the Ilow oI the Iull-length video to a speciIic point, without
having to watch unwanted sections oI the lecture.
Once the multimedia instructional message has been delivered in the Iorm oI a video
summary, the viewer should select the relevant words, and images Irom the multimedia rich
presentation, organize them into a coherent visual representation and integrate them with
her prior knowledge. 'Constructivist learning depends on the activation oI several cognitive
processes in the learner during learning, including selecting relevant inIormation,
organising incoming inIormation, and integrating incoming inIormation with existing
knowledge (Mayer, 1999: 148). Within a summary the selection oI relevant content is
easier than in a Iull-length lecture, because to have created the summary, the lecturer had to
reIine the content oI the two-hour lecture to achieve a clear and brieI instructional message.
To perIorm the selection process within the video summary, the learner is not conIronted to
unnecessary inIormation and the discrimination process oI relevant words and pictures in
the Iorm oI hyperlinks, video links and keywords may result straightIorward. AIter
selecting relevant inIormation Irom the summary, the learner needs to organise the new
visual and auditory inIormation trying to create a more detailed schema oI the newly
learned concept. To achieve that, by Iollowing the video links careIully provided, the
learner can access in depth to on-demand inIormation located at a given point oI the Iull
Iashion oI the lecture. AIter having decided which concepts were relevant Ior her learning
activity and arranged them into the most suitable time pace and concept succession, the
learner may make connections between previous knowledge and newly Iostered
knowledge. To carry out this integration process, the learner can address to the playback
controls oI both the summary and the webcasted lecture, and to the discussion board to ask,
read or report how she constructed her current mental representation.
The webcast environment is composed by three main sections: the live 160x120 pixel video
streaming and the session contact details on the leIt hand side; the slide controls in the
central column; and the slides on the right hand side. This webcast environment, which was
developed by Michael O`Donoghue, Steve Childs and Michael Barber back in the year
2000, is based in a PowerPoint presentation, saved as an html Iile. An additional webpage
with the video streaming is created and included in a Iinal html document that incorporates
in two Irames, the embedded video streaming webpage and the web version oI the
PowerPoint presentation.
Figure 2. Webcast interIace
The discussion board is an asynchronous text-based web space where the participants can
write a new comment or question, answer an existing one, elongate a discussion, or simply
passively read the existing text-based interaction driven by the video summary, or by the
lecture.
It is expected that the use oI the video summaries, the webcast environment, and the
discussion board contribute to a more Ilexible and resourceIul use, and reuse, oI multimedia
rich video lectures delivered via web.
Conclusions:
It is expected that the video summaries will not only be conceived as a videoed index oI the
webcast environment and oI the discussion board, but as a visual arteIact that may enhance
an on-demand, Ilexible access to detailed inIormation Irom a holistic point oI view either
presented in Iorm oI a videoed lecture or a text based asynchronous discussion. We think,
that enabling the learners, either native English speaker, Ioreign students, current students
or Iuture students, to control not only the video by means oI the playback controls but the
way they access the whole virtual learning environment and the way they proIit Irom the
inIormation, may involve the learners in an engaging and meaningIul learning process.
The video summaries and the whole Constructivist Virtual Learning Environment will be
validated Ior similar learning scenarios aIter analyzing the results oI the comparison oI the
learning outcomes and the learning beneIits achieved by the users who resorted to this
learning arteIact and those who did not, as well as by means oI a set oI participant
observations, interviews, questionnaires and online questionnaires. But so Iar, there is still a
question to be answered which in turn raises inIrastructural, Iinancial, administrative and
organizational issues.
May the learning beneIits oI using the virtual learning environment overcome the time and
eIIort invested in its production?
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