MIST Graduate Capstone 2020

School of Computing and Design

California State University Monterey Bay

Title: Creating Quality Videos for School Projects

Student Name: Joan Miller

Advisor: Jeanne Farrington

Summary:

Ms. Shelley Wessels teaches a variety of classes at Silver Creek High School in San Jose, CA. She
would like her students to create videos for course assignments because she sees video production
as a valuable tool for building 21st century skills. She also feels that making videos will increase
student collaboration and engagement with the various subjects she teaches. However, Ms.
Wessels and her students haven’t had access to training in video production, so she looked to the
CSUMB MIST program for assistance.

Ms. Wessels’s students do not have the time to take a traditional, lengthy video-making course.
They are taking economics, government, law, and sociology courses and need to quickly learn how
to make videos to demonstrate their comprehension of course subject-matter. They need a learning
intervention tailored to their tight schedules that delivers only the content needed to fulfill Ms.
Wessels’ assignments. The solution is Creating Quality Videos for School Projects, a web-based
course that combines interactive videos, software demonstrations, and job aids that teach Ms.
Wessels and her students the basics of video production. This course will be used in a flipped-
classroom model allowing students to quickly learn how to make videos at home, saving valuable
in-class time for researching, writing and collaborating with their groups on their assigned topic.

A review of existing solutions from film course websites and YouTube videos was conducted.
Though video/film courses are abundant, none were designed to cover the basics of video
production in a single 1-to-1.5-hour lesson. In addition, all existing courses and YouTube videos
presume that students have access to some video making equipment. Ms. Wessels’s students
currently only have access to their smartphones and computers, and due to COVID-19 restrictions,
are unable to borrow any equipment, nor work together in-person. This project was built around
their schedules and their particular circumstances.

Ms. Wessels’s current students in her two economics courses were the beta testers for this course.
A pre- and post-course video challenge was assigned to measure any perceived difference in video
filming skills. Using a grading rubric, the videos were independently assessed by myself, a
documentary producer, and my sister who is a Hollywood film director. The tabulated results
show a marked improvement in the student’s filming and editing techniques. A post-course survey
was also conducted that collected student reactions to the course content, level of instruction, and
usability of the website. The course content and level of instruction received positive reviews
overall, and any usability notes were employed to adjust the website for clarity and ease of
navigation. Technological issues were also addressed. Ms. Wessels states that she is very pleased
with the course and plans to use it in her other classes moving forward, and for years to come.