Kelly L. Jones, Ph.D.Instructional Designer

 Julie PhelpsInstructional Designer

Powerful Instructor Presence via Video:

Intros, Bios, and Digital Stories

Instructor Presence via VideoPowerful instructor presence

engages students.

Intro videos encourage personal connection and increase student motivation. not lectures or course content

videos a welcome message for students helps set the tone of the course,

humanizes the instructor, and build students’ enthusiasm

Social Presence and eLearning

Social presence describes the degree to which students feel personally connected to their instructor and peers (Sung and Mayer, 2012).

Instructors teaching online, blended, and distance courses should establish credibility with students by being visible and maintaining a strong social presence (Aragon, 2003).

Presence = Personality

I need to talk about my syllabus, not myself.

Students don’t care about my hobbies.

I want my students to respect me.

I want to be taught by a human, not a robot.

I hope my professor is approachable.

I want to be able to relate to my professor.

Instructor Expectation Student Expecation

Introductory Videos - Rationale

The instructor’s voice is key.

It’s about relationships, not technology.

Introductory videos are appropriate for all types of

e-courses (online, blended, flipped, hybrid, and distance) in undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education programs.

Instructors need to establish social presence right away, at the beginning of a course (Lowenthal & Dunlap, 2010; Akvol & Garrison, 2008; Rourke et al, 1999).

Online courses should include a welcome message from the instructor (Aragon, 2003).

A Helpful Taxonomy Instructors are encouraged to create the type of

welcome video that aligns best with their teaching style, with their personality, and with the tone of their course.

Course Intros Introduction to the course from the instructor

Enthusiastic welcome

Overview of the field, college, campus, department, outcomes, and instructor’s credentials

Connects students to the institution, department, and discipline

1st, 2nd, or 3rd person

Interview or narration

What is this course about? Why should students take this course? What is the best way for students to contact you? What strategies do you recommend to help students succeed in this course?

Course Intro Example

Instructor Bios Focus on the background and personality of instructors

Include their teaching philosophies, the reasons they decided to work in their chosen fields, academic credentials, research interests, and hobbies.

Help students see instructors as multifaceted human beings.

Include images from their homes, offices, favorite campus spots, etc.

Narrated in first person by instructor or via interview

What jobs have you had in this field? Why do you enjoy studying this topic? What do you like best about teaching at this institution? What is the most important thing you want students to learn about this subject?

More informal than course intro videos, but less personal than digital stories

A good fit for instructors who wish to share their professional experiences as well as their genuine interest in the subject matter.

Instructor Bio Example

Digital Stories Personal narratives designed to provide emotional

connections between creator and viewer (Lambert, 2010).

Emotion, humor, and presence can be communicated easily in a digital story, (Lowenthal & Dunlap, 2010).

Digital stories are narrated in first person by the instructor.

They share life experiences outside of the classroom as well as professional interests and accomplishments.

Who influenced or assisted you in shaping your career, interest, or skill in this area? How has your profession or interest affected your life as a whole? What has been the highlight of your vocation?” (Lambert, 2010, p.7).

Instructors who are natural storytellers, who are more extroverted, or who wish to share interesting aspects of their lives with students may find a digital story to be the best fit for an introductory video.

Digital Story Example

Video Creation Tools

Introductory videos may include a combination of audio, images, and video.

Required tools include a microphone, video camera/webcam/smart phone

Software such as Explain Everything, Animoto, Movie Maker, iMovie, VoiceThread, Snagit, or Camtasia.

Animations, titles, and background music may be added to enhance the video but are not required. It is more important for instructors to create a genuine welcome message than to create a highly technical multimedia presentation

10 Instructor Video Tips

1. Keep it short

2. Write the script

3. Be professional

4. Abide by copyright

5. Ask for help

10 Tips, cont.

6. Avoid dates and codes

7. Speak up

8. Make it accessible

9. Promote the work

10.Encourage response

Tips for Camera Presence Keep information general enough that it may be reused. Keep it “current” as long as possible

“I’ve been here since 2010”, rather than, “I’ve been here 3 years.” Avoid wearing clothing that dates the video; dress professionally

Wear colors that contrast the background and compliment your skin tone. Many backgrounds are green screens, so avoid green or shades of green.

Remember that most unwanted content may be edited out. No need to memorize a script. “Ums”, pauses, and repeats may be cut out, so there is no need to start

over. Relax and Smile! Voice: raise the volume, lower the pace, vary the inflection Include photos, graphics or callouts to keep the video interesting. Vary the camera angles. Stage the lighting. Minimize background noise.

Conclusion

Intro videos are powerful tools for increasing social presence in blended, online, and distance courses.

Intro videos should include the instructor’s voice, be brief and conversational, and should personal connections between instructors and students

Two Favorite Resources

Best Practices for Web Video Production http://tinyurl.com/instructor-cam

50 Ways to Tell a Digital Story http://50ways.wikispaces.com

ReferencesAkyol, Z. & Garrison, D.R. (2008). The development of a community of inquiry over time

in an online course: Understanding the progression and integration of social, cognitive and teaching presence. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Network, 12(3-4), 3-22.

Aragon, S. R. (2003). Creating social presence in online environments. New Directions  for Adult and Continuing Education, (100), 57-68.

Baker, C. T. & Edwards, J. T. (2011). A holistic approach for establishing social presence in online courses and programs. The International HETL Review, 1(7), 44-52.

Borup, J., West, R.E., & Graham, C.R. (2012). Improving online social presence through asynchronous video. Internet and Higher Education, (15), 195-203.

Clark, R. C. & Mayer, R. E. (2011). e-Learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning, 3rd Ed. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Cobb, S. C. (2009). Social presence and online learning: A current view from a research perspective. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 8(3), 241-254.

References, cont.Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment:

Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2–3), 87−105.

Lambert, J. (2010). Digital storytelling cookbook. Berkeley, CA: Digital Diner Press. Retrieved from http://storycenter.org/cookbook-download

Lowenthal, P. & Dunlap, J.C. (2010). From pixel on a screen to real person in your students' lives: Establishing social presence using digital storytelling. The Internet and Higher Education, (13), 70-72.

Rourke, L., Anderson, T., Garrison, D. R., & Archer, W. (1999). Assessing social presence in asynchronous text-based computer conferencing.” Journal of Distance Education, 14(2), 50–71.

Short, J., Williams, E., & Christie, B. (1976). The social psychology of telecommunications. London: John Wiley & Sons.

Sung, E. & Mayer, R. E. (2012). Five facets of social presence in online distance education. Computers in Human Behavior, 28, 1738-1747.

Questions? Contact Us!

Kelly JonesInstructional designer, ElsevierEmail: kellyleejones@gmail.comPhone: 478-951-3934

Julie PhelpsInstructional designer, MS&TE-mail: phelpsja@mst.eduPhone: 573-202-9564