Paananen & Simpson: Using Web Accessible Pre-recorded Lectures

This project aims to evaluate the effect of using web accessible recorded lectures and slides as a supplement to traditional face-to-face teaching for International students. Specifically, we examine whether the use of blended learning has an impact on students’ exam results. In our study, held in accounting classes, we have used traditional teaching methods (lectures and seminars) during the first half of a semester and during the second half we recorded lectures using SMIRK (Simple Media Integrating Resource Creator) and made them available on the University’s Managed Learning Environment, StudyNet, and used the face-to-face time in the classroom for seminars only. We have evaluated the association between the availability of SMIRK lectures and the students’ performance in tests under the traditional and blended learning modes to test whether students’ performances are increasing as a result of using SMIRK. We also collect information on attendance, students’ StudyNet activities, other demographic details, and grade point average (GPA) at enrolment, to ascertain whether or not alternative explanations are driving our results. We find that students are performing better when taught using blended learning. Students achieved a significantly higher mark with the average mark in the first in-class test increased from 0.45 to 0.61 (one-tailed p-value 0.006) and the average mark in the end of semester comprehensive in-class test increased from 0.45 to 0.56 (one-tailed p-value 0.055).