Microlectures, Lightboard, and Video Accessibility

March 14, 2022

Microlectures and Lightboard

What is a microlecture and how can it impact learning?

- Microlectures are intentionally short (less than 10 minutes) and specific lectures on a single topic or skill.

They are best used for fundamental concepts/skills and challenging topics in the course.
Microlectures can benefit your students by providing essential content within the window when their attention is strongest. Evidence suggests that as more time is spent viewing a video, there is a measurable decrease in active attention being paid to that video (Guo et. al, 2014).

Is this to suggest that we simplify content to cater to short attention spans?

Not at all! This research rather reflects a pattern of human cognitive attention capabilities and should not be interpreted as ‘laziness’ on the part of learners or that we are not trying to challenge them.
The challenge of a course should be relevant to the content itself, not how much endurance a student has working the attention center of their brain.

Using Clemson Online Lightboard to make Microlectures

Lightboard allows you to create a visually engaging video where you can write on tempered glass while still facing your students.
Creating a simulated face-to-face presence in your online course can help learners maintain their attention (Ravensbergen et. al, 2018).
The Clemson Online Video Production team produces your content from start to finish. Learn more here.
Schedule a meeting with Dallas Lenderman, Video Production Manager, be email: dlender@clemson.edu

Video Accessibility

A general goal of accessibility is to remove as many access barriers for as many learners as possible. Recording key content through microlectures could benefit learners who have difficulty paying attention for typical amounts of time.
By recording your content with our Video Production team, you can be sure that other accessibility concerns, such as captioning, are taken care of by the team.
For the videos, you already have, be sure to check out Clemson Online’s Multimedia Accessibility Services and Resources page.

References:

Philip J. Guo, Juho Kim, and Rob Rubin, “How Video Production Affects Student Engagement: An Empirical Study of MOOC Videos,” in Proceedings of the First ACM conference on Learning@ Scale Conference, March 2014: 41–50

Ravensbergen, S., van Gog, T., & van Wermeskerken, M. (2018). Effects of instructor presence in video modeling examples on attention and learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 89, 430-438. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.11.038

Upcoming Live Training

Workshop Wednesday: Accessibility

If you’re interested in improving course accessibility, whether teaching online or F2F, this workshop will offer two resources that can help: a short checklist for accessibility standards in Canvas, and COFFEE: Accessibility, an online faculty development course.
Participants will learn about elements in the accessibility checklist and get an overview of COFFEE: Accessibility.
Facilitated by Digital Learning Strategist Sharyn Emery, PhD, who is also the COFFEE facilitator.
Register here to join Sharyn on Wednesday, March 16th, from 1:30 pm – 2:15 pm.

Special Edition Quick Hits: Lightboard Livestream

Join this Special Edition Quick Hits to learn how you can easily make impactful and dynamic recorded lectures for your students. In this live demonstration of Clemson Online’s Lightboard system, we will share what Lightboard is, how you can use it to create impactful lectures for the key difficult concepts of your course, and how easy it is for you to schedule a Lightboard recording session.
This Quick Hits is open to all but is especially relevant for anyone instructing students in an online or F2F setting.
So, join us as our Video Production Manager, Dallas Lenderman facilitates a brief live demonstration, and we answer your questions.
Register here to join us on Thursday, March 17^th from 3:30 – 4:00 PM.