An Experimental Investigation of Videotaped Lectures in Online Courses

Lecture videos are often praised as a great medium of instruction in online education. There is a lack of research, however, that tests whether videos are superior to other teaching tools in online classes. This article examines whether videos are better than lecture notes and still slides in an online introductory political science course. The results show that lecture videos might not be the best tool of instruction for introductory students. Students in the non-video course gave higher evaluations of the instructor and the course and scored higher on exams.