Mudslide: A Spatially Anchored Census of Student Confusion for Online Lecture Videos

TL;DR

Mudslide is a system that adapts the 'muddy card' feedback technique for online lecture videos, enabling spatially anchored student confusion feedback to improve understanding and teaching effectiveness.

Contribution

This paper introduces Mudslide, a novel system that spatially anchors student confusion feedback to specific lecture slides in online videos, enhancing feedback clarity.

Findings

Spatially contextualized feedback benefits students and teachers.

Students find it easier to identify confusing points when linked to slides.

Teachers can better address specific areas of confusion.

Abstract

Educators have developed an effective technique to get feedback after in-person lectures, called "muddy card." Students are given time to reflect and write the "muddiest" (least clear) point on an index card, to hand in as they leave class. This practice of assigning end-of-lecture reflection tasks to generate explicit student feedback is well suited for adaptation to the challenge of supporting feedback in online video lectures. We describe the design and evaluation of Mudslide, a prototype system that translates the practice of muddy cards into the realm of online lecture videos. Based on an in-lab study of students and teachers, we find that spatially contextualizing students' muddy point feedback with respect to particular lecture slides is advantageous to both students and teachers. We also reflect on further opportunities for enhancing this feedback method based on teachers' and students' experiences with our prototype.