Andrew Cook
He sent me this summary in text, which I include because we were pushed
for time.
I also begin the interview with Q4: The Summary: his key observations
originally recorded at the end of the interview.
Introduction basic facts
1. Dr. Andrew Cook, Senior Lecturer, UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science
2. April Edition of Hands-on Cardiac Morphology
3. Post-graduate - physicians (paediatricians, anaesthetists, Surgeons, paediatric cardiologists,
biomedical scientists) specialising in structural heart disease. A varied audience usually.
4. Eight - but up to 15 and hoping to find space to increase to 25-30 soon.
4. Example: This course is just an example of the the work we do using video. We also run courses
within and outside UCL using a similar format covering a wide range of areas from prenatal
detection, to paediatric surgery, to device design and placement - minimally invasive intervention in
adults.
5. Hopefully an increase awareness of the structure of the normal heart and how it changes with
congenital malformations. The system for doing this, has been established for many years - it's now
up to us to put this across in an interesting and understandable manner.
Q: 1 Summary
Use of video for learning
What I’d really like to emphasise is the availability of equipment. I think of
setting up a limited studio and a studio environment and perhaps on different
sites within UCL .
So a bookable studio environment, so that we can get the audio right.
This has been the main problem. I think with our producing material for
websites and further training videos has been doing the voice-over.
We can't afford to do voice-over at the time of the video because of various
factors including the noise in the lab where we record.
So audio and studios this is probably the first thing.
The second thing I think is to have an automated system where we can
upload or recorded videos to a server.
Also they are automatically transcoded into a format that is available to be
inserted into Moodle or similar formats will be very useful.Then we would
have access and we know we had a backup of material all the time.
The third thing I think that is to do with equipment.
Ideally we replace our equipment every few years and the cost of that we
need to find the funds to do.
I suppose the ideal situation which we have quiet and regular need for
equipment: the camera every week and the equipment every week.
We also take the equipment elsewhere. We record elsewhere.
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But if we had access to a box of equipment that was set up and we could hire
from UCL .Then that would serve. It would certainly save us having to look
into replacements and know you know the latest technology in terms of
cameras and in terms of audio equipment. We could be using more of UCL's
experience.
How video is used in teaching
Q2: The pedagogical context 2.27
We are using it in a medical context.
We are using video instead of still images and effectively because it's easier
to tell a narrative.
It is easier to build up the story using the video.
You can start off with the shots of a heart for instance and you can close in on
particular aspect of the heart. As you doing it you can explain the features
that you're showing.
So for me there's more of a flow to the lectures to the talk if you're using video
and rather than still images.
We could consider that video. In the old days we use still images, snapshots
of a heart. All the videos do with cardiac anatomy and that the problem is that
you spend a lot of time orientating people on each slide.
What video can do that other resources can’t
Q2: The pedagogical context 3.13
You could potentially use other things.
We often combine video with using our object-based learning so we get the
delegates the participants to look at hearts and an object-based way
afterwards. That reinforces the video.
We could use other methods.
I find it very difficult now actually to move back to still images.
We can use a combination: we use pre-recorded video clips of the heart
specimens.
Then on the courses that we run, where we can have access to the heart
material during the course. We then also interspersed that with live video
segments with live demonstrations.
Advice for colleagues: techniques
Q3:How video is used 4.17
We have been doing this for many many years: 10 years here at certain that
the Institute of Child Health and the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences more
recently.
It only takes five minutes or so to set up the whole rig. We tend to put the
camera very close to the table.
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We use the cup close-up lens so that allows us to get very close into some of
the very small heart specimens that we use.
We tend is a very close-up and close-up view.
We have simple lights and and the lighting using small lamps and black
background.
We generally need to adjust the camera in a manual way. We need to adjust
the exposure manually. We set the white balance.
We have an old camera connect directly to a laptop to record. So to do the
project live video and to record the video segments .
We connected via FireWire directly into Mac Book Pro and then we either use
a simple program Keynote to project that directly onto the screen or we
record directly onto the hard drive.
Advice for colleagues: Keynote workflow
Q3:How video is used 5.54
We prefer Keynote to PowerPoint certainly until recently.
We use exclusively Keynote mainly because it allows better use of video.
You can slow down the video. You can pause the video quite easily on
Keynote.
You can actually speed it up.
If you're running over-time, you can catch up a little bit by the different
functions on Keynote
In addition to that it allows you to put labels on top of the video.
I think PowerPoint recently has changed and the new versions may allow
some of those functions as well but certainly keynote has been our
preference.
Video recording at any time
Q4:Future media requirements 6.36
In terms of recording video we really need a system that we can access any
time.
So we need easy access to a camera set up, lighting setup.
Audio issues
Q3: How video is used 6.47
The big problem that we've had in the past has been with audio.
So having a studio like environment where you can sit and record voice-overs
It’s generally done in my office and it tends to be done at weekends when
their is no one around.
If we had a quiet space or borrow isolated place that would help enormously
That would help with the we recorded segments and producing training
videos and videos for websites.
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Server Backup
Q4:Future media requirements 7.30
Backup has always been a problem.
We record directly onto the hard disk of the computer. That initially how we
record the videos .
That has some impact actually on the computer itself, so we found the hard
drives and computer can can wear out quite quickly, particularly if you use a
laptop .
My current laptop have replaced the hard drive about four times for instance.
We now try and record actually on memory sticks. Direct to memory sticks
and USB sticks. High-speed memory sticks and then we transfer that to a
hard drive that's kind of backup then we back up the hard drive. That's the
simple way.
It would be nice to have a central location, a central server to upload the final
videos.
We tend to edit all of our material and transcode the material videos
ourselves. Usually because there is a lack of time.
So at the minute we not involving the UCL Services in that respect. Perhaps if
they are uploaded centrally that might be enough.
Moodle little used
Q4:Future media requirements 8.56
We don't use Moodle currently. We have used it occasional and video so for
MSc course, for instance. It's something that we looked into and we may
develop, but what we need really is more of our video clips transcoded and
able to be used on the UCL system.
Website delivery internationally
Q4:Future media requirements 9.23
We deliver it in the setting of the class.
Then we have a website collectmorphology.com which we have uploaded
term various videos to.
That needs refreshing. That needs renewing and it would be nice to integrate
into UCL. It’s registered access. It’s registered access so that we have to
check credentials.
More Keynote editing experience
Q4:Future media requirements 9.45
I edit all the stuff myself.
We try and do it the simplest possible way. I will top and tail the video
segments that we record. We will rerecord if we feel there's a lot of editing
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required. Really two or three takes of one sample for instance one heart.
Simply top and tail.
In fact a lot of the editing we can do in Keynote.
You can actually reduce the amount, adjust the length of the video in
Keynote.
We keep everything to a minimum.
In Keynote then you embed the video into the slide. You can then adjust the
third the length of the video and a few other parameters . But that the sound
you can switch on, turned off on a particular slide .
So for us we record the video without the voice-over, so record the voice-over
at a separate time.
The reason for that is where I'm telling my technician to zoom in and zoom
out.
I am thinking in my head what I’ll be saying in class, during the actual live
session.
That seems to work better in terms of timing.
If you actually say out loud what you going to say within the class ,the video
segment tends to so long. That's the way we found that works best.
The simplest way of us editing material is to record directly to hard disk. We
take away the hard disk.
I then run that through compressor to reduced the file size for each video and
then I insert those directly into Keynote and I can then top and tail.
That's why we record. We try not to to edit within the video if it needs it the
end.
Student response
Q2: The pedagogical context 12.03
The feedback we get from students is that they certainly like the video. They
find the whole thing much easier to follow, than if we used, say still images or
a series of still images.
They like the use of video. It is just that it takes a while for them to get used to
seeing the image and orientating themselves. But by the end I think it benefits
them. They certainly get a greater 3-D perception with the moving image than
they do with a still image.
Video more as a practical tool than theory
Q2: The pedagogical context 12.41
I sooner use a video not so much in the theoretical context, but more as a
practical aid to learning.
We started off using it for live demonstration of the cardiac specimen
throughout our courses out with in-house.
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Then we needed some way of taking that elsewhere to give lectures in other
settings. That’s how we started recording the video and why we started
recording the video .
I prefer it over still images because in the end I think it enables you to tell
much more of a story much more of a narrative.
Assessment
Q2: The pedagogical context 13.23
At the end of this particular course what we do is we turn the tables if you like
on the participants.
We use it as a form of assessment.
The way we do is that we get them to examine cases.
In the end there are random cases that we select for them.
We show the cases using the video camera, using live video projection.
They described to us what it shows.
They have got to have understood the anatomy well before they can do that.
So it's a way they feeding back to us and we are assessing what they've
learnt during the course .
For this course, we don't mark. It is not a formal assessment. So really it's
peer pressure. They will all want to do well. They want to get their particular
cases right.
So, yes peer review basically is the method of assessment ,for this particular
course.
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