Should you use eduStream?

In evaluation interviews held in 2003, the lecturers who used eduStream stated that:

• eduStream met the needs of their remote students
• eduStream was efficient and easy to use
• students were positive about eduStream
• they would be happy to use eduStream again.

Most found that eduStream had some impact on how they taught, and they needed to make adjustments. These adjustments were straightforward and did not need to adversely affect teaching style.

“I think it’s almost as good as being in a lecture and from my point of view it takes minimal effort and the outcome for the students is very good” — Nursing academic, 2003.

The effect of eduStream on a presentation style is usually minor. Lecturers can still:

• Use their personal style in the theatre
• Interact with the class, and encourage questions or responses from the floor (which need to be repeated by the lecturer, so that they are recorded)
• Invite guest speakers

“I didn’t have anything different because of eduStream. It hasn’t limited the style of how I lecture, it hasn’t affected the structure of this subject.”
— Nursing academic and eduStream user, 2003.

Consider using eduStream for:

• Lectures which involve a presentational style
• Verbally presented theory-based material which the students would benefit from being able to review in their own time and pace
• Capturing material for later use, eg a recording a guest lecture which can be used again (with permission)
• Delivery to remote students, who would otherwise miss out on the material.

Avoid using eduStream for:

• Subjects where practical demonstrations are an important part of the presentation, unless an alternative can be provided
• Subjects where complex proofs or concepts are worked out visually, unless an alternative can be provided

Benefits of eduStream:

• You can communicate your personal enthusiasm for the subject to engage learners
• Your personal style, and most of the ways you work with the lecture material to bring it to life, are largely retained
• Remote students have higher satisfaction levels when audio is available to supplement other online materials ¹
• You have a permanent recording of the lecture that you can offer as a resource in future sessions
• eduStream is easy to use, and does not require any technical expertise.

Disadvantages of eduStream ²:

• Your body language and gestures cannot be captured
• Some practices may need to be modified, eg the document camera used instead of the overhead projector
• More effort may be needed to make the lecture engaging in ways that work for both those present in the lecture theatre and the remote students
• Some techniques — eg asking for a show of hands — may not be fully captured by the audio recording. In some cases this may be partially addressed by the lecturer summarising what is happening for the benefit of remote students.

1. A Spickard, N Alrajeh, D Cordray, J Gigante, ‘Learning About Screening Using an Online or Live Lecture: Does It Matter?’, Journal of General Internal Medicine, vol 17, July 2002.

2. M Wofford, A Spickard, J Wofford, ‘The Computer-based Lecture’, Journal of General Internal Medicine, vol 16 July 2001; C Liang, ‘Guidelines for Distance Education: A Case Study in Taiwan’, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, vol 17, 2001.

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