Introduction
Video has been used in education for decades, and there are expanding
audiovisual resources for higher education (Moussiades 2017; Brame 2016;
Duffy 2008; Betrancourt 2018). These resources have become essential
during the COVID-19 pandemic, as educators worldwide are forced to move
their courses online with little preparation. In particular, free online
videos - such as those on YouTube, or from online education platforms
such as iBiology or HHMI BioInteractive -
provide biology educators with a wealth of curated educational content
that is easy to share with their students remotely.
Unlike lecture capture, online videos from external resources can
provide unique perspectives on topics and concepts, and they can also
showcase broad representations of scientists and their research
(Schinske 2016). In addition, videos are amenable to a flipped approach,
which frees up valuable synchronous class time for discussion and
feedback between educators and students (Gross et al. 2015; Herreid &
Schiller 2013; Bishop & Verleger 2013; Sletten 2017). The use of online
videos in STEM higher education has been described previously (Dupuis
2013; Cox 2011; Barry 2015; Rajan & Veguilla 2018; Schinske 2016) and
at least one study reports an association between online videos and
higher exam scores, particularly for students with lower grade point
averages (Dupuis 2013). To our knowledge, the use of online videos for
teaching undergraduate ecology and evolution has not been reported, nor
has this use been evaluated at any level.
Many educators forced online by the COVID-19 pandemic are unable to
create their own videos for remote teaching. Now more than ever,
educators are likely searching for existing content (e.g., on YouTube)
to share with their students online. It is important that educators
identify quality video content that can support their student learning
goals and which students will find engaging. In this case study, we
report the use of nine free online educational videos for teaching
concepts and competencies in evolution and ecology in a large-enrollment
introductory biology course. The videos were integrated into the
curriculum via weekly homework assignments in a traditional (in-person)
course. We collected student feedback on each video and performed a
qualitative analysis to identify the strengths and opportunities of this
approach. We share the results of our case study, and provide guidance
for the use of online videos in teaching evolution and ecology remotely.