Reflecting on the Completed Interview Assignment and Using PowerPoint for Voiceover

At the beginning of March, I interviewed a professional working in the Higher Education sector as part of the TW5212 module. Based on that interview, I was required to produce both a presentation and a written report of my findings. Having submitted both parts of the assignment this week, I feel now is an appropriate time to reflect on what I learned during the process.

When the interview was complete, I had a decision to make as to whether I would work on the presentation or the report first. I approached this dilemma with the mindset that the slideshow was going to be a summation of the report. As such, I decided the best route was to focus on the write-up. I believe this was the right choice. When I finished the report, I found it a relatively straight-forward process to adapt the material for a presentation. Going forward, this is the approach I will take if I need to produce presentations based on my research.

The main takeaway from this assignment for me was the skill of adapting content to a different medium. At first, I was concerned that my presentation was merely repeating the work in my report. It took some time before I realised that this was not necessarily a bad thing. A slideshow is a much different delivery method than a long-form written report. Learning to condense my findings into an easily digestible seven-minute presentation will doubtless be a useful technique of which to have experience.

Another important aspect of this project was gaining experience in recording a voiceover in Microsoft’s PowerPoint software. Before this work, I had only ever recorded narration using Audacity. However, we were required to synchronise our audio with the presentation, so it was necessary to use PowerPoint’s built-in features. At first, I found this to be a difficult task. I found the interface to be somewhat unintuitive. Initially, I didn’t realise that it was possible to record narration for each slide individually. I made several attempts to record the entire presentation at once, which resulted in mistakes and an overall low-quality result. When I figured out that the program would seamlessly knit individual clips together, the process became more manageable.

I still feel there are significant limitations to the tool’s set of features for this purpose. The inability to edit the recordings for a slide often results in the need to re-record an entire segment if you make an error or need to remove silence. This problem can be frustrating, especially to someone accustomed to having access to a broader range of tools. Further, the estimated total length of the final output video can be inconsistent if you include slide transitions in your presentation. The time these transitions take is not included in the figure the software presents you with before you export the video. Only after the video has been generated can you determine the correct length. This limitation is not ideal if you have a strict time limit to which to adhere.

However, these problems aside, I believe completing this work was beneficial in terms of developing my skillset. While recording a voiceover in PowerPoint would not be my preferred option in the future, it is reassuring to know that if I need to produce a video presentation, I now know the technique required. I also feel that this assignment has made me more confident in my ability to adapt information to various formats, something which is a vital aspect of technical communication today.

Thoughts on the Five-Stage Model of Teaching and Learning Online

Previously, I have written about my work as an E-moderator and Technical Support agent for UL’s Information Technology Division (ITD). In the role, I provide support to the lecturers and students of modules delivered online through the BigBlueButton platform. In EL6052 this week, we looked at the theory behind E-moderation, and in particular, studied the Five Stage Model of Teaching and Learning Online put forward by Gilly Salmon. In this post, I’d like to discuss my perspective on this model, how I apply aspects of it in my work, and how I have experienced its’ application in my studies.

Stage One: Access and Motivation

The first stage mainly involves students accessing the system and getting accustomed to using it. In my work, I facilitate this stage by posting an announcement to SULIS (UL’s Virtual Learning Environment) detailing how the pupils can join the session. I provide a direct link to the room and also outline the steps which they can follow if they need to “dial-in” to the class using their phones. I further provide support to both the tutors and learners at this initial period by dealing with any technical difficulties they may be having. A lot of the students in the modules I work with are mature students who are not overly familiar with technologies like BigBlueButton. Based on their feedback, it’s clear that having this assistance is very important to them. As they become more confident, the incidences where I must intervene reduce.

Stage Two: Online Socialisation

The second stage concerns learners interacting with one another. The tutors of the classes I support handle this in different ways. Some rely on the text-only chat feature for interaction. Others actively encourage their students to engage in the conversation using their microphone. In my opinion, those teachers that allow voice interaction tend to get a better response. I have noticed that more individual pupils contribute when the discussion takes place orally. When they are restricted to text, only the most engaged add to the conversation.

In my studies, our lecturers have encouraged the class to participate in regular online discussions. I believe these have been an enormous benefit. As our course is a mix of online and on-campus students, these online conversations are an invaluable opportunity for us all to collaborate as one group. This approach exposes us to a broader range of ideas.

Stage Three: Information Exchange

This stage relates to how the learners share ideas. The primary method I have seen tutors use in my work is the splitting of the class into smaller groups and allowing these sub-groups to converse for a time. The teachers then request feedback from these groups, and this is presented to the larger student body. Some instructors ensure that all members engage in the process by observing each sub-group in turn. This technique appears to be an effective method of generating and sharing numerous ideas and concepts.

As part of the MA, we share opinions, ideas and resources in an online discussion forum. While this contains useful information, I sometimes find it overwhelming to try and keep up with the pace of posts. With four modules, each having a forum which has unique sub-forums and multiple topics, it is challenging to read every contribution. This situation has, unfortunately, led me to occasionally not contributing to conversations. By the time I have read all other submissions, I am often in the position where I feel I have nothing further to add, or that the conversation has run its’ course and my classmates have progressed to the next topic.

I believe I have gotten better at managing this as the semesters have passed. I try to contribute to each main topic, but I do sometimes ignore more specific subjects which I view as not being particularly relevant to me.

Stage Four: Knowledge Construction

Stage four deals with pupils taking a position on a topic and discussing and debating that position with their peers. The best example I have encountered has been our TW5212 discussions on issues such as ethics and copyright. On these issues, it is clear that the class has varying opinions and, through the forums, we put our views forward, and the cohort assesses them. I feel this is very beneficial. It challenges our perspectives and forces us to defend our position. In doing so, we gain a deeper understanding of a topic. At the end of the conversation, we may still hold the same outlook, but we will have experienced others’ viewpoints and, ideally, sourced additional evidence to support our own.

Stage Five: Development

The final step is where students reflect on their learning and become more personally responsible for their learning. I have seen this in action in my work for ITD. At the end of the first semester, participants in the online classes provided lecturers with opinions on the content and delivery of the classes. It was interesting to observe some pupils constructively challenging some of the methods employed by the tutors. Speaking with the instructors after the fact, they viewed this as incredibly positive, as it meant their students were not merely taking information as read, they were applying their judgement to it and reflecting upon it.

Overall, I think this five-stage model is quite useful. While it is by no means a perfect model (it’s designed for fully online courses rather than blended, and there is ambiguity as to what constitutes sufficient contribution to conversations for example), as a guide I feel provides a useful approach for facilitators to apply.