Streaming Student Speeches on the Internet: Convenient and "Connected" Feedback in the Basic Course
Date
2003Author
Sims, Judy Rene
Publisher
Basic Communication Course Annual
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the use of video streaming of student speeches on the Internet as a method of feedback. Streaming video refers to motion video with accompanying audio that is delivered live or asynchronously and is available at the click of a mouse on a website. A random sample of 73 undergraduate students enrolled in three sections of a basic speech course over a period of three semesters at a mid-western university chose to fully participate in the study. To research the topic, student speeches were videotaped and posted to a “protected” Internet site that could only be accessed by the students in the class. Students then had the opportunity to access the site, view their speech, prepare a list of speech goals based on their viewing, and later evaluate the experience by means of a questionnaire. The purpose of the questionnaire was to provide the students with an opportunity to evaluate the video streaming of their speeches on the Internet as a method of feedback. According to the results, the students reported the viewing of their streamed speeches on the Internet to be a convenient and effective medium for feedback and an experience in “connected” learning that allowed them to share their speech with friends and family. All of the students were treated in accordance with the ethical standards outlined by the university’s Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects. All of the students were informed about how the data would be used; each student was given a Consent Form and informed about issues of confidentiality and/or anonymity of the data. Students who chose to provide open-ended responses on the questionnaire were given the opportunity to choose if they would like their name associated with their comment. The anonymity and/or confidentiality of the open-ended data was guaranteed, contingent upon the student’s written request. As the study makes clear, issues of privacy, controlled access, copyright, and ownership are topics of enormous concern. Faculty must take steps to protect their students and themselves.
Future research should explore how, if at all, the use of streamed speeches in the basic course improves students’ communication competencies. Although this study was not designed to measure improvement, it did appear that students began to consider more seriously their own impression management and improve their delivery skills. (Contains 75 references, Appendix A: Speech Goals, and Appendix B: Questionnaire)
Subject
Video speeches
Connected learning
Online instruction
Pedagogy
College students--Research
Public speaking
College students--Knowledge and learning
Permanent Link
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/78786Citation
Sims, J.R. (2003). Streaming student speeches on the Internet: Convenient and "connected" feedback in the basic course. Basic Communication Course Annual, 15, 1-40.