Flipped Learning Experiment in Video-Based Education

Abstract

Videos intended for educational use have increased significantly in recent years. This is partly due to the increasing use of videos for entertainment purposes, as well as an increase in broadband connections. Educational videos may include short video clips, screen capture videos or, for example, recordings from the classroom teaching situation. Videos can be utilized in revising, for compensating absences, making teaching more flexible or for developing presentation skills. The recording also enables the re-use of lectures. This allows completely new types of educational solutions, such as the implementation of flipped learning.

In flipped learning, activities traditionally carried out in class-room teaching, such as lectures, are moved from a group learning space to an individual learning space. Time can then be used for other beneficial educational activities, like collaborative learning in a group space. The idea behind the flipped learning is a student-centered approach to learning, where the focus and responsibility for learning shifts from the instructor to the student.

In connection with the master's program of mathematical information technology, videos have been used for studying for many years. All teaching is offered to students as face-to-face teaching and in the form of real-time videos and as on-demand videos. Students can freely choose to participate in each lecture in the way that suits them best. In recent years, it has been noticed that participation with the help of videos is increasingly emphasized while the role of classroom education has decreased. This means that in a video-based educational model, where the students are willing to participate independently of time and place, the flipped learning, where interactivity and collaborative working plays a key role, is challenging to implement.

In 2016, the Data Networks course was arranged according to flipped learning model by utilizing lecture videos from previous courses. The implementation of the course provided experiences and feedback about the functionality of the solution. It also presented some challenges related to the implementation of flipped learning in a video-based environment.

In this paper, the opportunities and challenges that video-based educational model sets for flipped learning implementation are discussed in more detail. The paper will also examine the implementation of the Data Networks course, and the experiences and feedback gathered in connection with it. The implementation is evaluated with the help of information provided by the media server log data. The implementation is also compared to previous implementations in which the course had traditional lectures.