David McGarvey (and Katherine Haxton) Chemistry School of Physical & Geographical Sciences TAKING THE LECTURE OUT OF THE LECTURE

 Brief history  Overview of screencasting applications, practicalities etc.  ‘How to’ screencasts.  Lecture replacement screencasts  Pre-Lecture screencasts  Student use of screencasts and student feedback  Conclusions OVERVIEW

 About five years ago we scheduled class contact ‘lecture’ time for activities such as: IT skills (spreadsheets, word processing) Use of software (e.g. Chemical structure drawing) and online resources Mathematics for Chemistry (for students without A-Level Maths)  Since ~2009 these and other activities (events) have increasingly become provided for via screencasts with the contact time being released for more student-centred learning activities (e.g. workshops).  To cite a specific example (2 nd year Inorganic Spectroscopy), Katherine Haxton has employed screencasts to change an 8-lecture course to 4 hours of lectures and 4 hours of workshop  We (Katherine Haxton, David McGarvey, Laura Hancock) are now making extensive use of screencasting to fulfil a variety of purposes within the chemistry curriculum (and beyond). BRIEF HISTORY

SCREENCASTS What is a screencast? A recording of the computer screen that can include narration and synchronous visible author activity such as mouse movements, annotations, editing and operational tasks.

SCREENCASTING APPLICATIONS Feedback (individual or cohort) Use of online resources Worked examples Use of software Lecture supplement Model Answers Whole Lectures Open Day Talks

Katherine J Haxton and David J McGarvey (2011), ‘Screencasting as a means of providing timely, general feedback on assessment’, (HEA Physical Sciences) New Directions, 7, David J McGarvey and Katherine J Haxton (2011) ‘Using audio for feedback on assessments: tutor and student experiences’ (HEA Physical Sciences) New Directions, 7, 5-9.

SCREENCASTING: PRACTICAL ASPECTS

SCREENCASTING: PRACTICAL ASPECTS

 Can free-up valuable lecture/contact time to use for more student-centred activities.  They can generally be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection.  They can be viewed again and again and again allowing students to study at their own pace and to digest complex and detailed topics.  Some may be transferable across modules, years, programmes and cohorts.  Others..... SCREENCASTS: PROS

WE HAVE INFLUENCED OUR QA OFFICE!

 Time-consuming to plan and prepare  Shelf-life  There can be too many....  Managing student expectations SCREENCASTS: CONS

Camtasia Studio fully editable and can produce table of contents for a PowerPoint-based screencast (using the slide titles). This makes navigating screencasts easier for the students. SCREENCASTING: THE SOFTWARE WE USE

SCREENCASTING USING CAMTASIA STUDIO Clickable Slide Menu for Screencast Navigation Download PowerPoint Slideshow with annotations Pause

Data Analysis in Excel BASF Sunscreen Simulator ‘HOW TO’ SCREENCASTS

Use of Chemical Structure Drawing Software Web of Science ‘HOW TO’ SCREENCASTS

 Unhook the phone, hang a ‘do not disturb’ sign and feed the cat  Have a plan/script with clear sections.  If available/applicable, employ navigational features for the end user and the facility to download the PowerPoint slideshow.  Avoid reference to specific modules, dates, etc. which can impact on the shelf-life/versatility and may require time-consuming editing or having to re-record.  Avoid editing unless absolutely necessary. SCREENCASTS: TIPS

BEDMAS Units and unit conversions Rearranging equations Linear equations and making curves straight Equation of a Straight Line Principles of Logarithms Graphs and Tables Powers, reciprocals and roots Significant figures Fractions Differentiation (3 Screencasts) Units and Equations Integration (3 Screencasts) Scientific Notation Prioperties of Logarithms LECTURE REPLACEMENT SCREENCASTS MATHEMATICS FOR CHEMISTRY

EXAMPLE 2 Temperature (T)Rate constant (k)1/Temperature (T) 280 K dm 3 mol -1 s K K0.041 dm 3 mol -1 s K -1 Graphs and Tables

PRE-LECTURE SCREENCASTS 1 ST YEAR CHEMISTRY Integrated Rate Laws Equations of Light NMR Spectroscopy IR Spectroscopy Effective Nuclear Charge VSEPR Formal Charges in Lewis Structures Writing Lewis Structures MO Diagrams for Homonuclear Diatomics 1 st order kinetics Using the Arrhenius Equation MO Diagrams for Heteronuclear Diatomics Some of these topics have also been supplemented by additional screencasts on worked answers to problems etc.

EXAMPLE (HYDROGEN FLUORIDE) MO Diagrams for Heteronuclear Diatomics

CALCULATING K Thermodynamics Worked Examples

TAKING THE LECTURE OUT OF THE LECTURE: PRE-LECTURE SCREENCASTS

SCREENCAST: CALCULATING EFFECTIVE NUCLEAR CHARGE (~60 CHEM STUDENTS) Posted 25/11 Lecture 29/11 Class test 12/12 Exam 17/01

SCREENCAST: INTEGRATED RATE LAWS (~60 CHEMISTRY STUDENTS) Posted 9/11 Lecture 10/11 Class test 21/11 Exam 19/01

SCREENCAST: HOMONUCLEAR DIATOMICS (~60 CHEMISTRY STUDENTS) Posted 4/12 Lectures 8-9/12 Class test 12/12 Exam 17/01

‘Please keep the screencasts going they are very much appreciated by us students as they reinforce our resources and enhance our revision sessions’. ‘I think that the screencasts are an important part of my study as it helps me to understand topics better and at my own pace. Also, I think that more screencasts on topics such as thermodynamics and kinetics would be beneficial to my learning as it is hard to assimilate everything in lectures’. ‘Screencasts really help me’ ‘The screencast pre-lectures and mp3 feedback was brilliant’ ‘Excellent use of screencasts – very beneficial to learning’ ‘Screencasts are very helpful and work well in conjunction with lectures’. ‘Screencasts improve understanding before and after lectures’ TAKING THE LECTURE OUT OF THE LECTURE:

‘I am revising for exams at the moment, and the only way that I can understand some of the harder concepts is by having them explained to me via a screencast. I can watch them again and again until I understand the material, which is great. It is a much more efficient use of my time to watch screencasts whilst revising than reading through tricky textbook language’. ‘I think the screencasts are very useful. I've never experienced teaching in this way before, but when I came to Keele and I was introduced to them I was surprised at how good they are. You can go back to them whenever you want and use them to answer problem sheet questions, labwork and homework. I'm really glad I have access to them and it's like having a mini lesson at home one to one and you can pause and rewind if you don’t get it the first time. I think as a student I am really lucky to have access to these screencasts and hope they continue throughout my time at Keele’.

CONCLUSIONS  Powerful and versatile technology with many applications.  Very popular with students, who say screencasts benefit learning.  We do need to learn more about how students use these resources and their effectiveness as learning resources. We plan to conduct interviews/focus groups during

HEA Physical Sciences Subject Centre Project STAF: Technology Supporting Assessment and Feedback Keele undergraduate chemistry students Dr Katherine Haxton, Chemistry, Keele Dr Laura Hancock, Chemistry, Keele Acknowledgements