Using Videos As Relationship Builders in a Digital Learning Environment

Abstract

The growth of online learning has increased dramatically over the past decade. The National Center for Educational Statistics (2014) estimate that over 5.5 million college students in the United States are enrolled in online courses. Online learning offers many advantages to students, including the ability to interact with course content anywhere at any time. However, there are some disadvantages as well. Students in online courses have reported feelings of isolation from other students and the instructor. This study, using a mixed methods approach, explored the use of instructor-made videos as relationship builders within a digital learning environment. The study had two purposes: 1) to investigate students’ perceptions of non-content-oriented instructor-made videos that were designed to build relationships between students and the instructor, and 2) measure the level of student achievement in a digital learning environment when instructor-made videos are provided. The study collected data from three sources. First, students in an online course responded to 13 items from the Communities of Inquiry survey. Four of the items from the survey measured teaching presence, the other 9 items measured social presence. Second, a purposeful sampling of students participated in an interview to explore their perceptions of the instructor-student relationship and instructor effectiveness. Third, student achievement data was compared to historical student achievement data to determine the difference when videos as relationship builders are provided. The survey results from the study found that students’ perceptions of the teaching presence through the design and organization of the course by the instructor was not significantly different before the exposure to the relationship videos compared to after. The study also found that students had no significant difference in perception of the social presence within the classroom through group cohesion. However, the students’ perceptions of social presence through affective expression and open communication did have a statistically significant difference. The interview data revealed four themes about the students’ perceptions of the instructor-student relationship and instructor effectiveness. The four themes were, 1) students perceived the instructor as being more of a “real person” and more approachable, 2) participants enjoyed communicating with others in the class, 3) students appreciated having content created by the instructor that was not related to the course, and 4) participants liked having something to interact with before working on class activities and content. Analysis of student achievement data was less conclusive. Students did not perform as well on the formative assessments when the relationship videos were provided compared to when they were not. However, a larger percentage of students were able to master the content on the end of unit exam when the videos were available. This study contributes to the overall understanding of using instructor created multimedia within a digital classroom to build teaching and social presence. The study provides insights into students’ perceptions of the use of multimedia and suggestions for future research.