The Impact of Interactive, Video-Based Professional Development on the Use of Chat in Online Courses

• In Event: 65.076 - Research on the Impact of Virtual Learning

Abstract

This mixed-methods study examines the application of interactive, video-based professional development on instructors’ effective use of chat pods in online, video-enabled, synchronous classrooms. In this study, a group of instructors in a graduate-level hybrid teacher education program were given a pre-survey, and then provided with a series of interactive, video-based training videos on the philosophy, technology, and pedagogy of using chat technologies to engage students in backchannel and sidechannel discussions. Several weeks after the intervention, instructors were given a follow up survey to determine if the intervention had made an impact. Preliminary results indicate that this type of training format had a significant positive impact on the instructors’ attitudes toward and effective use of chat pod technology.

Authors

• Corinne Hyde, University of Southern California

• Kimberly A. Ferrario, University of Southern California