Audiovisual media design in tertiary education systems (MOOCs)

The “Audiovisual Media Design in Tertiary Educational Landscapes” project is funded by the Gebert Rüf Foundation and supported by the following project partners: Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW, University of Basel, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the University of Passau.

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are one of the pioneering formats in tertiary education. They are used to strategically position and communicate course content and educational material, and offer the prospect of merging analogue and digital teaching. This project investigates the opportunities and risks associated with the implementation of MOOCs and analyses the interdependence of knowledge content and knowledge design. Determining how to design MOOCs and apply reflective aesthetic paradigms are among the greatest challenges in developing this new teaching format.

At the interface of media design, visual and media sciences, the potential of MOOC videos is being investigated in an interdisciplinary joint project between the Basel Academy of Art and Design FHNW (HGK Basel FHNW) and the University of Basel, the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the University of Passau.

MOOC videos vary greatly in their aesthetic and technical implementation. This project focuses on the evaluation and optimisation of aesthetic implementation both in front and behind the camera, and investigates, further develops and experimentally evaluates the implementation of MOOC videos using techniques from audiovisual media design.

The project first provides analyses existing MOOC videos from a visual studies and media sciences perspective, and develops an innovative media design concept for the implementation of videos for tertiary education. The most significant finding from the analyses is that MOOCs have a strong tendancy towards redundancy with regard to formats, but that their design has a demonstrable impact on the knowledge to be shared.

Knowledge from audiovisual media design is discussed with Swiss experts, tested in design processes and workshops, and developed into a new design concept for teaching. New MOOC formats are being developed in close cooperation with EPFL Lausanne. Furthermore, a “Video Manifesto” developed by the MOOC community provides example suggestions for the further development of MOOCs.

Although the project is fundamentally development- and product-oriented, the high potential of MOOCs in terms of teaching dynamics should not be ignored. MOOC formats offer the opportunity to rethink forms of analogue and digital communication, techniques of interaction, and formats of production and publication in a pedagogical context.

What makes this project unique?

This project aims to provide new insights into tertiary education and the transformation thereof through the incorporation of MOOC videos. The main focus of the project is to examine the interdependence of knowledge content and knowledge design, which is generally neglected. In this respect, the project is intended to serve a pilot project: The interdisciplinary cooperation between FHNW Academy of Art and Design, the University of Basel, EPFL and the University of Passau makes it possible to disseminate the importance of reflective media design to a wider audience.

Status/results

The project analysed and evaluated a data set of approximately 450 MOOC videos from the years 2014/15 and sourced from edX, Coursera, Futurelearn and Iversity. In addition, interviews were conducted with 15 experts from the fields of film production, e-learning, educational film, science and tertiary level didactics. The results and hypotheses of the project are as follows: More attention must be paid to aesthetic criteria if MOOCs are to succeed in the long term. This includes, among other things, better performance training for researchers in advance and the avoidance of the stereotypical use of so-called “talking heads” followed by PowerPoint slides. MOOCs should also make greater use of the opportunity to disseminate knowledge “on location”. Further new perspectives are offered by 360-degree formats, which allow learners to put themselves directly in a learning experience and thus make knowledge tangible in a completely new way.

Using MOOC videos, teaching formats, communication strategies and the use of media in tertiary education can be compared on a global scale for the first time. MOOCs therefore play a key role in the debate on the repositioning of tertiary education within the context of the digital transition.

Project duration: June 2015 to May 2017

Publications

• Reutemann, J (2015): Into the forest. Über die gegenseitige Unterwanderung von Wissenschaft und Film, in: Marcus Maeder: Kunst, Wissenschaft, Natur. Zur Ästhetik und Epistemologie der künstlerisch-wissenschaftlichen Naturbeobachtung, Bielefeld 2015, S. 113—168.
• Reutemann, J. (2016): «Too close to be true. VR images bring the visible speaker into your face (literally)» in: IMAGE EMBODIMENT – New Perspectives of the Sensory Turn, Publisher: Büchner-Verlag, Editors: Grabbe Lars, Rupert-Kruse Patrick, Schmitz Norbert M., pp.161–182.
• Reutemann, J.: «Video ergo scio - Bildung als Stilfrage». In: Weiterbildung. Zeitschrift für Grundlagen, Praxis und Trends. 03/2016.
• Blogartikel (german): «Simulierter Blickkontakt» – Wie digitales Lehren in Videos die Wissensvermittlung verändert auf 06. Juli 2016: http://www.digitallernen.ch.
• Reutemann, J. (2016), «Differences and Commonalities – A comparative report of video styles and course descriptions on edX, Coursera, Futurelearn and Iversity», in: European Stakeholders Summit on experiences and best practices in and around MOOCs, Editors: Khalil Mohammad, Ebner Martin, Michael Kopp, Lorenz Anja, Marco Kalz, 383-392.
• Reutemann, J.: To Tease Somebody – A Quantitative Comparison of Advertised Educational Course Intro Videos and Actual Lecture Videos, Notice: in Print for Conference Proceedings; presentation at the ICEM Conference 2017 in Naples, 22–23 of September 2017.
• Reutemann, J. (2016): Differences and Commonalities – A comparative report of video styles and course descriptions on edX, Coursera, Futurelearn and Iversity
• (in Arbeit) van der Meulen, N./Wiesel, J. (2017): Connectivity. Aesthetic Practice between social and digital Engagement, Bielefeld 2017.

Cooperation partners

Universität Basel
Prof. Dr. Maarten Hoenen, Vizerektor Lehre & Entwicklung
Dr. Gudrun Bachmann, Leitung Bildungstechnologien, Hochschuldidaktik
Dr. Thomas Lehmann, New Media Center, Produktionsleiter MOOCs

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Prof. Dr. Pierre Dillenbourg, Academic Director of the Center for Digital Education
Dr. Patrick Jermann, Center for Digital Education, Leitung EPFL- MOOCs
Gwénaël Bocquet, Center for Digital Education, Produktion der MOOCs

Universität Passau
Prof. Dr. Hans Krah, Lehrstuhl für Neuere Deutsche Literaturwissenschaft