February 15-18, 2009 Washington State Convention Center Seattle ...

AQUACULTURE ONLINE: HOW PRODUCTION OF ONLINE VIDEO BASED COURSES
BENEFIT PRODUCERS, STUDENTS & INSTITUTIONS
Nathan J. Cochran*, Charles Weibel and Tod Porter
Aquaculture Research Center
Kentucky State University
Frankfort, KY 40601 USA
nathan.cochran@kysu.edu
Online courses are becoming commonplace on university campuses, although, at this time, few online aquaculture courses are
available. At Kentucky State University’s Aquaculture Research Center, three aquaculture courses are now offered online:
Principles of Aquaculture, Basics of Fish Diseases and Fish Genetics. Two of the three courses are video based giving the
distance learning student more than text-oriented literature. With the use of video lectures that include PowerPoint illustrations
and recorded laboratory demonstrations, students receive a visual understanding of the principles needed to comprehend the
course content.
Class lectures and laboratory demonstrations are videotaped simultaneously in two formats: DVD and mini DV, and are edited
with Adobe Premier Pro software. PowerPoint slides are converted to JPEG images and placed within the video for better
resolution. After extracting the edited video, classes are converted into Flash format using Sorenson Squeeze software. The
courses are hosted on Blackboard, the online platform for KSU and many other universities. Distance-learning students can
access the course online through this platform, take exams, complete written assignments and communicate with the professor.
The introduction of podcasting allows students to download KSU’s aquaculture classes from iTunes University for viewing on
portable video players such as iPods. This method of viewing courses away from a computer monitor provides extra convenience
for students who do not have access to a PC at their leisure. This frees the student to watch classes when time is most
available, whether they are waiting in an airport, commuting to work or on lunch break.
Online courses give non-traditional students and persons from around the world the chance to take classes that would otherwise
be unavailable to them due to location or work schedules. Over the past three years, students from 31 states and 15 countries
have enrolled in KSU’s online aquaculture courses. With increased gas prices and laborious work schedules, many people,
including students and aquaculture producers, are prevented from attending a class on campus. Online aquaculture courses
allow the same educational experience without the student ever leaving home or work.