Researcher@Leeds reflective videos (Paula Fallon - ISS)

Subject / level being taught:

Research skills / PG

Teaching carried out:

Semester 2, 08/09

Brief outline of the project:

Provide training to researchers in the use of FLIP video cameras to record a brief video of themselves explaining their research interests. Videos were then uploaded to LUTube, embedded into blogs and personal web pages.

Aims and Objectives (Why?):

Providing a medium for researchers to quickly and simply explain their research interests and use web 2.0 services to communicate. Using videos encourages participants to present their research succinctly and in a more "media-friendly" way and can potentially help "Translate excellence in research... into learning opportunities for students" (University of Leeds strategy map: T6).

Project methodology (How?):

Researchers were shown a brief video on LUTube outlining the process of using FLIP video cameras (selected owing to their simplicity) and uploading content to LUTube (http://lutube.leeds.ac.uk/acdsjd1/videos/351 - also see below). Once the videos had been created and stored in LUTube, researchers were then encouraged to embed them in blog postings in Elgg and include them on their personal web pages.

Reflections on the experience:

LUTube worked effectively and was found to be very intuitive for students to use. FLIP cameras have proved popular as they are easy to use and the quality is fit for purpose. Although some were reluctant at first, researchers could see the value of using video as a form of communication and enjoyed the activity which was effective in re-enforcing the potential of web 2.0 channels for communication.

Finer grained access control in LUTube would increase it's effectiveness as a social networking tool and give greater value to the project. In future we would like to see LUTube developed to allow for more fine grained access control to allow us to restrict access to videos or embed code to a pre-defined group or individuals.

Links / other information:

Jasjit Singh's Researcher@Leeds sample video from LUTube - taken from http://lutube.leeds.ac.uk/trs5j2s/videos/612

Using a flip camera with LUTube - taken from http://lutube.leeds.ac.uk/acdsjd1/videos/351

Teaching keywords:

Content, feedback, Student created content, Research led teaching, Teaching with technology

Tools / technology keywords:

VLE, Video, Blogs