-: Good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Marnie Imhoff,
and co-presenting with me today is Linsey Donner.
We both work with the university of Nebraska medical center,
and we teach in the medical laboratory science program.
We do have a lot to accomplish today
in a short amount of time.
So we're going to dive right in.
So our objectives for this session are listed on this slide.
And what we're going to be doing
is walking you through how we created
an online laboratory demonstration video set,
and also microbiology culture unknowns
to enhance student learning
in an online microbiology course.
And although these concepts are microbiology specific,
we feel that these ideas can be adapted
for any subject area.
So the laboratory demonstration videos
and online microbiology laboratory unknowns
were developed for use within our course MLS 310,
Introduction to Pathogenic Microorganisms
in Infectious Disease.
This is a fully online asynchronous four semester
hour course, and it's offered through UNMC,
and it is also listed in the NU online marketplace.
It is a human pathogenic microbiology course,
and it's available for any college student to take.
So it's not specific
to our medical laboratory science program here at UNMC.
We developed the course, including the lab, videos,
and the unknown videos with funding
from NU Kelly fund grants.
Since the course is fully online,
we needed to develop a way to show the students
the different techniques used
in a medical microbiology setting.
We also wanted to be able to provide a visual
of the concepts we talked about in the lectures,
basically providing students a simulated lab experience.
And we accomplished these things
by recording demonstration videos
of the procedures that are used in the setup
in identification of bacteria
and yeast in a microbiology setting.
These videos also helped students understand
and make connections to those theoretical concepts
that we discussed during lectures.
An advantage of using these videos
is that they allow students to view procedures
close up and clearly hear and see instructions.
The videos compliment the written procedures
for the tests that are provided in the course.
Additionally, these videos allow students to pause,
and they can re-watch the videos
as many times as they wanted to.
And by having these recorded videos,
we can actually utilize them in multiple courses,
including our in-person microbiology courses
that we have in our medical laboratory science program.
For in-person classes,
the videos actually can save valuable lab time
by allowing students to watch
the demonstrations before class.
So they free up lab time to actually do laboratory work.
Additionally, the videos can be used for multiple years
and this saves time and expense.
Another benefit that we found is,
by using those recorded demonstration videos,
instead of doing live demonstrations,
students don't have to fight for a really good spot
in the lab to see what's going on.
And also, they don't have to try to fight
for that spot to be able to hear
what the instructor is saying.
So they're not blocked by other students,
and they can clearly hear
and see everything that's going on.
Depending on the laboratory
or the classroom setting that the student's in,
students can actually refer back to those videos
while they're actually performing that test real time.
For example, we use iPads in our laboratory,
and this allows students to pull up
the procedures while they're doing that testing.
So they can see things real time,
how to interpret that test properly, things like that.
Furthermore, if you have assignments after the lab
or they have lab reports due,
students can go back and look at those demonstration videos
to help them complete those assignments as necessary.
So when we set out to record these demonstration videos,
we put a lot of thought into it.
We started by making a list
of procedures and processes that we wanted to record.
Now, obviously we were probably way more ambitious
than we should have been.
So we really had to prioritize that list
based on our budget, and also our timeframe constraints.
We found it necessary
and very helpful actually to storyboard each video.
So we fully wrote out those scripts.
We created a list
of all the necessary supplies and equipment that we needed.
We even made notes of what actions we were going to need,
and where in that script we needed to perform that action.
We also built in lead time
for ordering all the necessary supplies.
If we didn't have something on hand, anyway.
We also needed to think
about camera, microphones, and lighting.
We actually utilized the institute
of agriculture and natural resources media.
That's a department at UNL,
and they actually recorded the videos.
So they supplied all of that equipment for us.
We didn't have to think about that.
And they actually did all
of the editing of the videos for us.
So that was extremely helpful.
However, we know not everybody can do that.
So your school, department,
or college may have recording equipment
or video editing software that you can use.
And there's also the option
of using your cell phone or another type of camera
such as a GoPro to record your videos.
Other considerations you might want to think
about is reserving the space
and the equipment that you're going to need.
You want to avoid having distraction and noise,
so you want an area that's quiet as possible.
You want to avoid the distraction of having people
in the background
as to not divert students' attention
when they're watching the videos.
It's kinda interesting to actually talk to students,
see what they focus on
when they watch these videos, sometimes.
We tried to record during quieter parts
of the day and also the semester to avoid noise
and people as much as possible.
Additionally, block out enough time to record.
We found it took a lot longer to record videos
than we initially thought it was going to take us.
Our advice, budget much more time than you think.
We also advise not recording everything in one day.
There were times when we didn't even get through half
of what we wanted to in that day,
because it just took longer than we actually thought.
Also plan for that unexpected.
For example, we were using live
bacterial cultures and things didn't always grow,
or they didn't work the way that we wanted them to,
or they didn't appear very well on camera.
So you may have to enhance colors.
You may have to adjust what you're working with
or supplement things, so that they show up better
on camera or they work the way that you want them to.
We also learned to have multiple stages of a test
or process set up so that we didn't have to wait
for incubation times or wait for reactions to occur.
This really helped us save time
during that recording process.
We learned a lot as we went through each recording session.
If you're not hiring a professional company,
and even if you do, consider having more
than one person to help during that recording process.
Someone to do the filming,
someone to read the script,
someone to actually perform those demonstration steps.
Trying to do that all by yourself,
it gets very cumbersome and you get overwhelmed
if you try to do it by yourself.
Also practice to work out any kinks or problems
or any unexpected things that might come up before you film.
For example, we found that we had to change how
we positioned our arms and our hands
and how we held things
so that we could get the best view
from the camera to allow for a first person view.
So, because that was our goal,
we wanted to be able to provide a first person view
of those procedures to the students.
As I said, we worked with IANR Media
from UNL to record our videos.
They were actually extremely helpful
in providing tips and tricks,
such as how to do the lighting,
how to position our hands,
the best angle of those materials.
But we did also record some videos using our cell phones
and they were very decent quality.
So you don't have to hire a professional company.
Our challenge with using our personal devices though,
was that it had to be recorded all in one take,
because we didn't actually have any video editing software.
Whereas IANR gave us much more flexibility
because they could edit segments of video together.
So we could stop filming.
We could adjust our hands,
we could adjust the supplies,
we could bring in different steps that were already done.
So it really allowed us a little bit more flexibility.
Also, it is harder to record from a first person perspective
when you're using a mobile device,
unless you have someone helping you.
If you do choose to record your own videos,
we recommend using a tripod.
It helps keep that camera steady for one thing.
But it also allows for a neutral first person view.
When editing the video,
we also highly recommend making a copy of the raw footage
before you start editing the software
or the video,
because you want to be able to go back
in case something happens.
You want to go back to that raw footage if you need to.
If you can purchase video editing software, do so
because we don't recommend recording
the entire process in one take.
Really chunk those videos,
go one step at a time
so that you can pause, reposition,
bring in those different already set up
steps of your video, if you can.
Because later on you can edit those errors out.
You can edit out unnecessary footage,
you can stitch together the footage as you need.
And I cannot say this enough,
budget enough time to record videos.
And finally, we chose not to show ourselves on camera.
A couple of reasons.
First of all, we wanted to simulate as much as
possible that first person view.
But also we wanted to increase the longevity
of how long we could use those videos.
Students pick up on changing hairstyles, clothing,
they even pick up on if somebody is no
longer in that department
or maybe they're no longer teaching a class.
Plus, not showing yourselves makes the student really
focus on what you want them to focus on, and not you.
So we wanted to show you a portion of one of our videos.
We're not going to show you the whole thing
because of the time.
But we just kind of wanted to show you what one looks like,
and we're going to skip the branding
and all the-
-: [Behind The Camera] This video demonstrates how to perform
and interpret a catalase test, using 3% hydrogen peroxide.
Place a clean microscope slide in front of you.
Gently touch the top of three-
-: So as you can see,
it really gives a nice first person view.
It's very clear and easy
for the student to see and hear what is going on.
It's an unobstructed view for them.
So it's a nice way for them to be able to pause,
go back and watch videos over and over if they want to.
So I'm now going to turn things over to Linsey Donner,
who will discuss how we use these demonstration
videos along with culture unknown videos
to build online laboratory unknown assessments.
-: Hello everyone.
So with the lab demonstration videos,
we kind of paired those along with the theory
that the students were learning in the online course.
So they, in addition to watching our lectures,
they watch the laboratory demonstration videos.
And so they knew how to work
through that culture manipulation
and interpretation process.
So then, the unknowns that we developed
simulate that culture interpretation process
of patient specimens in the clinical microbiology laboratory
and they were created to correspond
with those theory modules in the lab demonstration videos.
So in this course, the first half
of the semester focused solely on pathogenic organisms.
So how you would diagnose an infection,
including the identification, etiology clinical symptoms,
things along those lines,
and the labs in the first half consisted
of single organism identification cultures,
which directly guided the student
through that thought process.
So it was kind of in the beginning
us guiding them through the online unknowns and the cultures
as they're working through those canvas unknowns.
And then the second half focused
on mixed cultures based on body sites of infection.
So, like examples include,
from respiratory specimens, wound cultures, urine cultures.
And this gave the student the opportunity to work
through bacteria and yeast that were normal flora,
contaminants or pathogen.
So it provided a real world experience
of patient cultures and then infectious disease correlation.
We had multiple unknowns, which were included
in each module that went along with the theory.
And to plan the recording
of the unknowns and to take pictures.
We initially made a master list
of all the unknowns we wanted and the biochemical testing
and reagents that would be needed.
We also consulted our budget to make sure
that we had appropriate funds allocated
to the supplies and media services.
So the unknown cultures were
set up and recorded on the same days
as the lab demonstration videos, which Marnie discussed.
We use some of the same culture plates
as the lab demonstration videos.
And then we also selected an array of patient specimens
from the clinical microbiology laboratory to culture.
The videos for the unknowns were recorded
with no sound, and then the pictures were taken
without any labels or answers on them.
Some of the videos were recorded with IANR
and then we also took some on the iPhone,
and all of the pictures were taken on the iPhone.
After we had recorded all the necessary videos
and taken the pictures, we started to build the unknowns.
And as I mentioned before,
the unknowns are meant to walk the student
through that culture interpretation thought process,
and simulate that real life culture manipulation.
So each step within that culture process was created
into a question and that makes the students stop
and reflect what should be done at that point.
And then what the next step would be.
So first we develop the unknowns in word,
and then we saved that word document
and then any corresponding videos
or pictures that were needed for that unknown
on a shared folder, on a shared drive.
This way, it was easily accessible to both Marnie and I.
And after finalized, we use the word document
as a reference to build the unknowns in canvas.
So once the unknowns were finished in canvas,
we had a current medical laboratory science student
validate them by working through each unknown
like they were an enrolled student in the online course.
And she provided comments and suggestions for us.
And then we did make some adjustments.
We made the adjustments based on her feedback.
So when building the unknowns,
we made them into a graded quiz in canvas.
And we did prohibit backtracking
because we give the student the answer
to the previous question in the subsequent question.
So this way they weren't penalized multiple times
if they got off track on their unknown.
It was something Marnie and I had decided together.
But we also tell the students
that they should be documenting their results
on their own throughout that culture unknown.
Similar to how they would be doing culture documentation
in the real clinical microbiology laboratory.
So the unknowns are made
into short answer and multiple choice questions.
So we usually use the short answer questions
for like colony morphology interpretation,
final reporting and correlation questions.
So those things that require a little bit more
thought process on the student's behalf.
And then these are manually graded by Marnie or me.
And then the multiple choice questions are reserved
for like multiple interpretations-
or reserved- multiple choice questions are reserved
for like results interpretation.
So like positive, negative, or organism identification.
What did you identify your organism as?
And those are manually graded by canvas.
So within canvas, the unknown videos
and pictures are embedded into that quiz question.
So w- and then once the unknown is fully submitted,
the correct answer and question feedback that we have built
into canvas is available for the student to view.
And since this is an asynchronous online course,
we do allow feedback immediately
upon submission for this unknowns.
So Marnie and I wanted to show you
in canvas an example of an unknown.
So she's going to pull that up.
And this is a single organism culture unknown that we have
within our gram negative bacteria module.
So we're going to select preview.
So we can show you what it looks like for the students.
So here you can see that it gives them a warning
that the backtracking is prohibited.
So in question one,
it has a video embedded into the question.
And while watching the video,
the student can then record the colony
morphology of the culture growth,
but they can also pause or replay the video as needed.
So to submit they hit that next button.
And then question two, we give them the answer
to the previous question and then move on to that next step.
So you can see here,
we've made it into a multiple choice question.
And then question three
is of similar format where it's multiple choice.
And then question four,
also multiple choice.
And then when we get to question five,
we have a biochemical test for them to interpret.
So the video is played,
and then the student can watch this oxidase reaction
of the organism,
and then select the answer that's most appropriate,
and click the next button to submit.
So we're not finished with the quiz yet,
but just so you can see what it looks like
when an- student turns it in, we're going to submit it.
And here you can see
that the feedback provides the student's answer selection.
So how they answer the question,
it also provides the correct answer
and then any additional comments that we have given
as an explanation.
And they review this upon submission of each unknown,
and they can go back
and review it as many times as they want for-
to prepare for the exams or other types of assessments.
So at the end of this semester, we've asked students to
fill out a survey regarding the course learning activities
and the lab demonstration videos and unknowns.
And this slide lists some of their comments provided
about the unknowns and demonstration videos.
And as you can see,
the students have found the demonstration videos
and online unknowns beneficial to their learning process.
One student commented on how the lab demonstration
videos provided practical lab skills and good technique.
Another student stated that they were concerned
about taking a course with a lab online,
but it ended up being one of their favorite
and most challenging aspects of the course.
And they really liked how it required you
to know the material,
and it wasn't something that you could just Google.
Most students did comment
that they did learn a lot from the lab unknowns.
And one comment that we did find is- interesting was
that a student stated that they personally struggled
at times with the lab unknowns,
but they really appreciate them because it really sets them
up as if they were a microbiology tech,
and goes through those steps that they would need
in the clinical setting,
which is setting them up for success as a student.
So thank you for coming to our session today
to learn more about online unknowns
and demonstration videos and how we use them
in our human pathogenic microbiology course.
But as Marnie said before, you know,
this topic is microbiology specific,
but the overall concept would be applicable
to almost any subject area.
And the students really enjoy the unknowns,
and they learn a lot from them.
Do you guys have any questions for us today?
Let me look in the chat.
Oh, no, just a five minute warning. (laughs)
Does anybody have any questions?
Peggy: Hi It's Peggy Moore
with e-learning at UNMC.
Linsey: Peggy! (laughs)
Peggy: The presentation,
I appreciate all the work that you did.
I'm wondering about the pool of images
and videos that you have for your unknowns.
And do you use different images for your assessment items
for your tests?
And how big a pool do you need?
-: We have a very large pool.
We do have some pictures that we have taken previously
before we started this project.
But then we've added hundreds, if not thousands more images.
And we try to save- separate the images and videos
out based off of like what we use in our lectures.
So the ones that they've already seen
versus ones that we use in the formative assessments
as far as like unknowns and quizzes,
and then the summative assessments
like exams and practicals, we try to separate them all out.
So that way, they're not memorizing the image, let's say,
or the video.
Peggy: That was my question.
Linsey: Yes. Yeah. (laughs)
Peggy: Thank you.
Linsey: Uh huh.
If you guys ever have any questions,
or want to know how we did something too,
feel free to email or contact Marnie and I,
we would be happy to show you more
or discuss what we have done.