Do you need pictures with that? How to create audio visual information packages to enhance FYE student communication

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1 Do you need pictures with that? How to create audio visual information packages to enhance FYE student communication Abstract Carol Cameron Programme Manager FYE Programme Faculty of Arts University of Auckland Margaret Henley Academic Director FYE Programme The First Year Experience Programme at the University of Auckland (FYE) met with great success in its first two years of operation using primarily written information delivered to incoming students via , the online learning tool Cecil, and Facebook. In 2012, we are addressing the need to reach out to the students in a more visually dynamic way. By producing short, concise, zappy information videos, FYE mentors can present key practical information to students while simultaneously introducing themselves as a friendly face on campus. A total of twelve carefully targeted videos will roll out each week of semester one, introducing students to key support areas across the University. The videos are lodged on YouTube, and the link is embedded in regular weekly communications from their mentors. This workshop provides a simple nuts and bolts blueprint on how you could to do a video project for your own programme. We found that the task was easier than we expected. Background A key element of the First Year Experience Programme at the University of Auckland is linking students to existing support services across the University. FYE research on student persistence (Tinto 1998, Krause 2006, Kuh 2007, James, Krause, & Jennings 2010) and our own internal research proved that these services are underutilised. Two reasons for this are ignorance of the service provided and fear of appearing weak or substandard for seeking out the service. In its first two years of operation, FYE has made considerable strides in addressing these issues, mostly via the written word. Through a series of timely and targeted s, online-learning announcements, and via Facebook, students were encouraged to attend learning sessions, workshops, language skills clinics, etc. to make the most of their learning environment (Cameron, George, Henley, 2012). This has proved very effective. Initial results have shown that key indicators including grade point average and Did Not Sit rates have responded favourably to FYE interventions. In the first two years, the programme focused on proving the worth of the

2 investment by directly addressing the crucial issues of retention and academic success. We also ensured that robust, sustainable systems were set in place which could meet these aims. As seen in the graphs below, these goals were achieved within the first year of operation and consolidated in the second year. Table 1: Comparison in DNS (Did Not Sit) rates between FYE and Non FYE Table 2: Increase in academic performance of FYE cohort 2010 & 2011 Enhancing the brand With the operational foundation firmly established, it was now time to add extras to the programme, and video project was born. The short video format is a common way for this generation of tertiary students to access key information. They are very adept at using YouTube for entertainment and information, and will happily download instructional videos from the net to help them solve a problem, such as how to use a

3 product. Feedback from the mentors indicated that incoming students respond better to more animated messages and instruction, rather than getting the bulk of their correspondence in writing. It was a natural development to enhance the mentors communication with their students in this exciting and dynamic way. In addition to the standard This Week at Uni message, students now receive a live link to a How To video as well. Up-skilling mentors FYE also serves as a leadership and career development programme for mentors, and the video project is a great way for them to gain key skills. Mentors get to write, direct, film and star in the videos, thereby enhancing a host of communication and technical skills which will look great on their CVs. Work on the video project also serves to bind mentors more closely to the programme and give them an active role in how they communicate with their peers. Each video is fronted by a different mentor wearing an FYE Tee shirt, and they all conclude with the same catch phrase: If you d like to know more about (particular service), just ask your FYE mentor. We re here to help! The videos are also an effective means to promote awareness of the way in which academic and administrative staff work together to assist students with their learning. FYE s Targeted Learning Sessions, which started in 2011, are the model for this linkage. We found that the programme is uniquely placed to bring students to existing support structures, rather than the traditional model of waiting for students to find them by themselves. The video project helps facilitate this by taking students visually to the help they need, so they can see, for instance, what a visit to Student Learning would look like. This make going in person less intimidating. Figure 1: Framegrab from Now that you ve been accepted video Below is a list of the videos that we have completed (with YouTube link) or are currently in production. Now that you ve been accepted What happens in lectures?

4 What can I do at the Student Information Commons? Your Library come on in What will I find at the Arts Students Centre? Why go to tutorials? Where to find the audio visual expertise The media aspect of the FYE programme has grown out of its close association with the Department of Film, TV & Media Studies (FTVMS). The prototype for FYE was established in FTVMS using senior students to provide mentor support for the two large stage one courses. Many of the original FTVMS mentors went on to join the FYE pilot programme, some of whom were video production students. The talents of this group made a video project for FYE a very natural evolution. But you don t necessarily need media students to make this work for your programme. We found that students from all sorts of backgrounds were able to contribute. Arts students have many talents when it comes to effective communication, so finding competent script writers and actors was easy. We also discovered that today s students are very savvy about working with media files, and can easily set up YouTube accounts and download footage. High tech camera equipment is nice to have, but not necessary. Many students have make your own video experience using flip phones, for instance. The casual, low-tech impact of these devices can actually work well for this sort of project, making the communication seem more personal, immediate and less glossy. Conclusion Many universities already have audio visual grabs on their websites to address aspects of university study or advertise student services. However, these are often generic and rather impersonal. The value of our approach is in targeting the videos to our Arts students and promoting our mentors as guides to the larger campus environment. It not only makes the information more relevant, it also makes them feel part of a smaller, more personal community, and so lost in the huge bureaucracy. The videos introduce incoming students to mentors before they even arrive on campus, so they know at least one friendly face. Allowing the student voice to guide the content is vital, as our mentors were very recently first year students themselves, and they speak the same language as our incoming students. It also creates an inclusive tone between the programme and its mentors, in a medium that feels comfortable to all. To enhance the partnership between academic and professional student services, these videos have proved to be invaluable promotional tools. As Kift (2004) recognises, it is a constant challenge to encourage buyin from academics into an FYE programme. The informal sharing of this audio visual resource provides a subtle educative resource for the FYE programme across the teaching and administrative divide. They also provide an ongoing record of the strategies through which this programme is successfully addressing the academic KPIs of the faculty and the University.

5 Session outline 3 minutes: Overview of UoA s FYE programme in the Faculty of Arts 7 minutes: Outline of video production scheme, how it is funded, how the videos are produced, how they are delivered to the students 5 minutes Screening of 4 FYE short videos 15 minutes: Discussion of video content, use and impact. General questions about the production fish hooks and value of these FYE information videos. Questions/issues for audience: How could these videos enhance your FYE or Orientation programme? Is it possible to produce these videos yourself? How can you organise your mentors to make these videos? How can video production be funded? Can you undertake such a project if you are unfamiliar with or nervous using new technologies? Does this approach have relevancy for this generation of new students? How can a video project be used as professional development of mentors? Bibliography Cameron, C., George, L., Henley, M. (2012) All Hands on Deck: A team approach to preparing year one arts students for their first major assignment. Publication pending, International Journal of the First Year in Higher Education, Brisbane: QUT James, R., Krause K-L., & Jennings, C. (2010). The first year experience in Australian universities: Findings from Melbourne. Australia: Centre for Studies in Higher Education, The University of Melbourne. Kift, S. (2004, July). Organising first year engagement around learning: Formal and informal curriculum intervention. Paper presented at the 8th Pacific Rim First Year in Higher Education Conference, Dealing with diversity. Melbourne, Australia. Retrieved from Krause Kerri-Lee, (2006), Transition to and through the first year: Strategies to enhance the student experience University of Melbourne Kuh, G. D. (2007). How to Help Students Achieve, Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol 53, Issue 41, pb12-b13. Retrieved from Achieve.pdf Tinto, V. (1998). Colleges as Communities: Taking Research on Student Persistence Seriously, The Review of Higher Education 21.2, p Retrieved from