On March 6, CTLE held a professional development event, “Engaging students with instructional videos: Blended Learning @UM”. About 40 UM academic staff attended the event.

In the opening session, Prof. Katrine Wong, director of CTLE, provided an overview of blended learning principles and practices. She discussed how instructional videos can be deployed strategically to enhance flexibility, comprehension and engagement in the blended learning model. (Download Slides) (Watch Video)

Mr. Fernando Wong from CTLE then gave attendees a demonstration on creating basic instructional videos using software such as Camtasia and introduced other useful tools. He highlighted tips for effective presentation, scripting content and editing video files. (Watch Video)

Dr. Chris Fulton, an E-Learning Technology Officer at CTLE, introduced YuJa, UM’s secure video management platform for blended learning courses. Practical advice on how instructors can get started with Yuja was provided, for example, the steps to link a Yuja video channel to an individual Moodle courseso that students can access course videos. Dr. Fulton also highlighted advanced features of YuJa that streamline or enhance video production. These features include the auto-generation of captions and the provision of detailed analytics on viewing behavior. (Download Slides) (Watch Video)

In the faculty sharing session, Mr. Miguel Costa from FST shared how he designed self-paced introductory videos in his course to prepare over 1,000 students for class activities, and Prof. Henry Kwok from FHS discussed using bite-sized videos in his blended-mode teaching to supplement course lectures and reduce consultation time. (Watch Video)

CTLE has created an instructor’s guide to making instructional video and related practical blog posts focusing on blended learning. If faculty members wish to learn more about blended learning or receive guidance on implementing blended learning strategies in your courses, please contact us and we will walk you through the process.