Author: Steve Spencer, s.spencer@shu.ac.uk

Author: Richard Pountney, r.p.pountney@shu.ac.uk

JISC e-Learning Activity Area: Learning Resources and Activities

Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: Sociology, Anthropology and Politics

This case study illustrates...use of video, an effect on learning, an effect on student personal development, student satisfaction with e-learning, innovation in learning and teaching, an influence on educational research, staff satisfaction with e-learning, staff personal development, a positive effect on recruitment, a positive effect on retention, an effect on social equality

Tangible Benefits

What tangible benefits did this e-learning approach produce?

• a general increase in the interest expressed by students in visual methods, at master's level
• the developing repository of video links has helped to enhance the value of using small amounts of video to a broad range of staff in our faculty and across the University as well as nationally through the C-SAP Sociology Reference Group
• students who have been exposed to critical approaches to visual research are more likely to become what Bell Hooks (1997) has termed 'enlightened witnesses' - i.e. better able to recognise agendas which the popular media (and often the government of the day which has increasingly close links with media sources) presents through visual representation of issues (e.g. ideas of 'death of multiculturalism' or the necessity of a 'war on terror')
• there are signs that some staff are availing themselves of the opportunity to develop basic skills in video production being offered on campus (e.g. a successful programme 'User's as Producers' gives academic staff the basic skills in video production)
• the video sequences (Under the Skin) are being used by colleagues in Sociology as well as by others in Urban and Regional Studies, Education and Cultural Studies
• an important benefit is the development of a more active research culture at department and faculty level which in turn encourages students as scholars.
• sociology is a moral discipline and a partly realised benefit is that this approach has assisted a social justice agenda, vulnerable groups like those who contributed to the video sequences have actively used images and articles from the production to support their case for remaining on the contested home site.
• The interest and active use of the resource by universities in US, Australia, and in Spain is a benefit which demonstrates the universal appeal of the materials and the method of integrating visual culture into the research process.
• finally - the development of these technologies is an important aspect of ongoing professional development, allowing lecturers to demonstrate their research honestly to wider audiences and perhaps with wider appeal. Students on the MA Qualitative Research module said the following:
  
  'I found the use of visual material within the class very useful as it frames the research well and gives context which can only allow for a greater understanding and a step, for the researcher, towards that in which it seeks to understand/explore and gain insight into. For pupils wishing to gain an understanding of qualitative research this is an excellent way to teach, the research becomes real and as a student with qualitative research interests visuals like those used by yourself, only gain your attention, and most definitely, your excitement.'
  
  'Sometimes I find it easier to retain information on a topic if I have a visual memory of it. Also, I believe the visual representation of a topic can provoke an emotional response within an individual, which in turn helps them connect with the subject and stimulate interest. I am very much in favour of video/ visual methods within teaching, and I think it should be used more frequently.'
  
  'I did find the use of video materials in class this year to be really useful, I think what I most vividly remember was the video on aboriginal communities that you had made. I think when a case study is introduced and discussed in class and then supplemented with a video it resonates much more, I suppose for the obvious reason that you can see some of the features discussed demonstrated in front of you and it allows the viewer to form an opinion on the strength of evidence, for example you can read about the marginalisation of aborigines but I now can actually visualise examples of it with the footage of people in communities literally on the fringes of society and contrast it with the images you see from the 'other side' of aborigines getting drunk, during the day on the side of the street. I also enjoyed the video of public attitudes on the Iraq war in Sheffield, I think it's too easy to talk about public opinion sometimes and it's a good reminder when you actually listen first hand to a member of the public's opinion and everything that comes with it, the naturalness of the guy you talked to on the Moor, being I suppose initially flattered that his opinion was sought and then it became a bit of a platform for him to put the world to rights. That example brought out aspects of say interview technique that would be very hard to get across on paper, when I was doing some interviewing for the diss I realised that you don't get this perfect interview where you can control all the topics to be discussed, to get to the things I was looking for it helped to allow the interviewee to talk about the things they wanted first.'

Did implementation of this e-learning approach have any disadvantages or drawbacks?

There are a number of potential problems with the production and use of visual ethnography:

• The production of original material requires technical knowledge and is time consuming.
• Visual methods of research entail many problems; they can be inappropriate and intrusive, require lengthy periods to build trust, and are best used in a collaborative fashion which can take much longer.
• Visual evidence may give the illusion of objectivity - but research suggests that the visual is as prone to bias and distortion as other approaches (and has the added problem that people are less critical of photographic media).
• Need to be used in conjunction with other forms of evidence in research.
• Needs to complement other texts when used in teaching and to encourage reading (not as a substitute for it).
• May encourage a passive form of learning if not used interactively and in conjunction with developed teaching strategies
• In terms of the use of other visual resources such as online video clips there are issues of copyright and their use on and off campus is uncertain and must be carefully considered. Even where local permission and institutional policy allow the use of such materials they may not be dependable resource - links may disappear as they are withdrawn due to legal challenges to their public use.
• These, however are not insurmountable problems - merely ones which must be taken into account and addressed - as most of them already have been.

How did this e-learning approach accord with or differ from any relevant departmental and/or institutional strategies?

The move towards adopting more audio-visual modes of delivery in lectures and through Virtual Learning Environments is certainly a growing trend. Some colleagues are also producing video resources to be used in conjunction with traditional lecture materials or as stimuli for seminars or assignments, these are often sourced from existing off-air recordings or increasingly from online sources like YouTube. The Joint Fellowship project I initiated (Under the Skin) received funding from the Learning, Teaching and Assessment section of the University - which demonstrates that it was in step with institutional objectives.