The Learning, Use and Critical Understanding of Software in Media Studies

Abstract

This chapter (as with the next, Chap. 4) reports on the findings from a two-year funded empirical study (2013–2014) exploring how tertiary students in media studies and engineering develop the understandings and skills needed to use software as forms of software literacy. Two case studies were developed. The case studied experiences of media studies students’ software literacy development is the focus of this chapter. Two cohorts of media studies undergraduate students were tracked, at different stages of study and using mixed methods, in their learning of discipline-specific software, Final Cut Pro, and the Adobe Creative Suite. The findings illustrate the ways student software literacy develop in a specific tertiary context. The findings will be revisited in Chap. 5 and discussed to include implications for the wider field of software teaching and learning.

Appendices

Appendices

Appendix 3.1: Software Literacy Survey for Media Studies Students

Dear students,

We are interested in your learning experiences and opinions of video editing software packages as part of your university coursework so that we can improve students’ learning experiences. Your participation is voluntary and will not impact on your course grade in any way. Your answers will be kept confidential. Your lecturer will not know the identity of students who participated in this survey.

There are 20 questions which should take you approximately 20 min to complete. Please answer ALL questions. By answering this survey, you give your informed consent to participate in this survey.

Thank you.

Elaine Khoo, Craig Hight, Rob Torrens, Bronwen Cowie

Research Team

• Section 1. Your background information

• 1. Please indicate your age group.

  Please choose only one of the following:

  • ⃞ Under 18

  • ⃞ 18–21

  • ⃞ 22–25

  • ⃞ 26–30

  • ⃞ 31–35

  • ⃞ 36–40

  • ⃞ 41–45

  • ⃞ 46–50

  • ⃞ Over 50

• 2. Please indicate your gender.

  Please choose only one of the following:

  • ⃞ Female

  • ⃞ Male

• 3. Are you a domestic or international student?

  Please choose only one of the following:

  • ⃞ Domestic student

  • ⃞ International student

• 4. What is your first language?

  Please choose only one of the following:

  • ⃞ English

  • ⃞ Māori

  • ⃞ Other: _______________________

• Section 2: Your software experience before attending this paper

We would like to know more about your experience with software before attending this paper.

• 5. Which of the following best describes you?

  Please choose only one of the following:

  • ⃞ I love new technologies and am among the first to experiment with and use them

  • ⃞ I like new technologies and use them before most people I know

  • ⃞ I usually use new technologies when most people I know do

  • ⃞ I am usually one of the last people I know to use new technologies

  • ⃞ I am skeptical of new technologies and use them only when I have to

• 6. What software have you used for video editing before attending this course?

  Please choose all that apply:

  • ⃞ Final Cut Pro

  • ⃞ Adobe Premiere

  • ⃞ Movie Maker

  • ⃞ iMovie

  • ⃞ Other (please tell us the name of the software): _________________________

• 7. Which software are you are using for video editing in this course that you would consider yourself to be the most skilled ?

  Please choose only one of the following:

  • ⃞ Final Cut Pro

  • ⃞ Adobe Premiere

  • ⃞ Movie Maker

  • ⃞ iMovie

  • ⃞ Other (please tell us the name of the software): _________________________

For the next part of this survey, please use the software you had selected in Question 7.

• 8. Thinking back, how good were you in using this software before enrolling in this paper.

  Please choose only one of the following:

  • ⃞ I would have needed some help to use this software

  • ⃞ I had the basic skills to use this software

  • ⃞ I could troubleshoot problems when using this software

  • ⃞ I could apply this software to a wide range of tasks

• Section 3. Your software learning from this paper

We are interested to know what helped you in your learning of software as part of your coursework.

• 9. Please choose which of the following strategies were useful to your learning of this software.

  Please choose all that apply:

  • ⃞ Ask the course lecturer/tutor/an expert

  • ⃞ Ask a friend/peer/senior student

  • ⃞ Refer to the course lab notes

  • ⃞ Read a paper-based manual/step-by-step instruction booklet

  • ⃞ Go online/refer to the Internet for step-by-step instructions

  • ⃞ Go online/refer to the Internet for video tutorials (e.g., YouTube) to watch how to use it

  • ⃞ Watch someone using it in a face-to-face (physical) setting (not through videos)

  • ⃞ Discover through trial-and-error/practise

  • ⃞ Join an Internet forum (e.g., a discussion forum to ask other users for help)

• 10. Please tell us what other additional learning strategies you had used (if any) to be able to use this software in this paper?

  _______________________________________________________________

• 11. What are the THREE most useful capabilities of this software in helping you to put together a video project?

  Please choose only three of the following:

  • ⃞ Allows me to import visual and aural elements to combine with my own footage

  • ⃞ Allows me to edit images and sound separately

  • ⃞ Allows me to add multiple layers to moving images in a systematic way

  • ⃞ Allows me to easily manipulate all of the elements in a moving image sequence

  • ⃞ Allows me to create and preview different combinations of image and sound

  • ⃞ Allows me to export images in a particular format

  • ⃞ Other: __________________________________________________

• 12. Please tell us how this software supports you to think differently about constructing a video:

  _______________________________________________________________

  _______________________________________________________________

• 13. Did you install this software on your own computer/laptop?

  Please choose only one of the following:

  • ⃞ Yes

  • ⃞ No

• 14. After learning and using this software in this course, how good would you rate yourself at using it?

  Please choose only one of the following:

  • ⃞ I would need some help to use this software

  • ⃞ I have the basic skills to use this software

  • ⃞ I can troubleshoot problems when using this software

  • ⃞ I can apply this software to a wide range of tasks

• 15. How has learning the software helped you in your learning to use other software as a media studies student?

  _______________________________________________________________

  _______________________________________________________________

• 16. What does this software NOT let you do that you would like to be able to do?

  _______________________________________________________________

  _______________________________________________________________

• 17. Have you encountered any unexpected issues when using this software?

  Please choose only one of the following:

  • ⃞ Yes (please describe the main issue): _______________________________

  • ⃞ No

• 18. Any suggestions on how to improve this software if you had the opportunity to?

  _______________________________________________________________

  _______________________________________________________________

• 19. Have you used any other software that you consider similar to this software?

  Please choose only one of the following:

  • ⃞ Yes (please tell us the name of the software): __________________________

  • ⃞ No

• 20. If you said ‘yes’ in question 19, in what ways are the two software packages similar:

  _______________________________________________________________

  _______________________________________________________________

Thank you for your time and help!

Appendix 3.2: Ensuring Quality of Data Collected

For the survey design:

• 1. Questions were crafted by referring to past literature (see for example, Dahlstrom, 2012; Hegarty et al., 2010; Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2013; Pagram & Cooper, 2011; Shih & Chuang, 2013) with the research question and intentions in mind,

• 2. All key terms were defined to clarify their meaning in the survey,

• 3. The survey underwent different cycles of item refinement where the items were debated and further refined through regular team member meetings and conversations (a form of member checking),

• 4. The survey was subjected to a pilot study with 26 volunteer students who were not part of the research to enhance the accuracy, clarity of questions, reduce misinterpretation and any cultural bias. Using a combination of closed-likert items, ranking type questions, and open-ended questions in the survey allowed for more detailed individual responses,

• 5. The survey was constructed using LimeSurvey (a free online tool) and made available online for a period of time to ensure students could access it at their convenience. Additionally, a paper-based version of the survey was also made available to students should they prefer to complete a hard copy, and,

• 6. The survey results were triangulated with other forms of data collection such as interviews and observations.

For the interview protocols:

• 1. Questions were constructed based on the research questions and by referring to sample questions asked in the literature and refined through several series of researcher meetings,

• 2. The interview questions were forwarded to the participants beforehand so they could prepare/consider them more carefully before the interview session,

• 3. Notes were taken during the interviews to document key ideas in the conversation and as a reference point (to form an audit trail),

• 4. Each interview was transcribed and unclear points were re-checked with the audio recordings,

• 5. Triangulation of the interview data with other forms of data collection was conducted to form a detailed case study of each disciplinary programme.

For the observation protocols:

• 1. Field notes were taken during the observations that can inform the research questions (for audit trialling), and,

• 2. Debriefs (post observation interviews) with the lecturers allowed the research team opportunities for further clarification and understanding of particular lecturers’ motives/actions during the observation (a form of member checking).

Appendix 3.3: Details of the Media Studies Courses Investigated and Types of Data Collected

Courses surveyed in the first year of the study	Data collected from the different participant groups
Media and digital practices (Year 2, Media Studies students) A second-year  introductory course on critical and creative perspectives shaping digital media practice Formal learning of creative software (e.g. After Effects, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator) as examples of digital media practice was through tutorials, lab-based learning followed by a group project to create a digital media project	The course had 34 students Data were collected from: – 25 student surveys – 6 student final assignments on Software Literacy – pre- and post-lecturer interviews – lab observations of student learning of creative software – class observations of theoretical concepts teaching and learning, and – a student focus group interview with 4 students
Video Production Level 1 (Year 1, taken by Media Studies students from different learning option papers) A first year introductory paper on the theory and practice of image production. Formal learning of software (e.g. Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere) is conducted in labs and through individual projects with peer and lecturer feedback	Data were collected from: – 24 student surveys – pre- and post-lecturer interviews – lab observations of student learning of software—Final Cut Pro – tutor focus group interview attended by 4 tutors, and – an individual student interview
Courses surveyed in the second year of the study	Data collected from the different participant groups
Video Production Level 2 (Year 2, Media Studies students, offered in Semester A) A second-year  course covering advanced practical and critical understanding of the video production process in order to become more reflective as creative practitioners. Formal learning of discipline specific software is through student group work to write, produce, direct and edit a short film	Data were collected from: – survey completed by 9 students – a tutor individual interview, and – a focus group interview attended by 9 students
Video Production Level 3 (Year 3, Media Studies students, offered in Semester A) A third year paper aimed at developing students’ critical thinking about their own creative practice through the production and post-production of digital video projects Formal learning of software is through workshops and use of discipline specific software such as After Effects, Garage Band, Sound Track Pro and Studio Pro for post-production purposes as students develop, refine and produce individual films	Data were collected from: – a survey completed by 6 students, and – a focus group interview with 6 volunteer students
Video Production Level 2 (offered in Semester B)	Data were collected from: – a survey of 20 students – lecturer interview, and – a focus group interview with 14 students
Video Production Level 3 (offered in Semester B)	Data were collected from: – a survey of 19 students – lecturer interview – tutor interview – class observation of student presentation of the project work, and – individual student interviews with 2 students