


































UAFS ABR Journal Vol 4 No 1 2013.pdf


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Lach and Danner                                                                                                                                                           Advances in Business Research 
2013, Vol. 4, No. 1, 87-97 

Instructor-Created Video Supplements: A Closer Look 
 

Patrick Lach, Eastern Illinois University 
Evan Danner, Eastern Illinois University 
 

 

This study is the first to examine the demographics of students who utilize instructor -created video 
supplements. Using a core-level finance course, we find that students who utilize these recordings tend to 
be students with lower ACT Math scores and lower ACT Composite scores. A student's ACT Math score 
is a stronger predictor of recording utilization than the ACT Composite score. This suggests instructor-
created video supplements can be especially valuable in quantitative courses. We also show that students 
prefer to have such supplements used in quantitative courses, as evidenced by their responses on surveys 
given at the end of the semester. 
 

 

 Instructor-created video supplements, such as podcasts, have exploded in popularity since 2003. While 
they are still a relatively new teaching tool, literature has started to emerge regarding the impact of these 
supplements. Multiple studies have found that students have a positive reaction to these supplements 
(Bongey, Cizadlo, and Kalnbach, 2006; Gattis, 2008; Reimers and Singleton, 2008) while other studies 
have examined the impact of instructor-created video supplements on academic performance (Abt and 
Barry, 2007; McKinney, Dyck, and Luber, 2009; Niles and O'Neil, 2007) and attendance (Bongey, 
Cizadlo, and Kalnbach, 2006; Reimers and Singleton, 2008). However, there are still several aspects of 
these supplements that have not been addressed in the literature. This paper takes a closer look at 
instructor-created video supplements by filling three distinct voids in the literature.  
 First, to our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the characteristics of students who view 
instructor-created video supplements. This has significant implications regarding the way instructors use 
supplemental video presentations. For instance, understanding the characteristics of students who utilize 
instructor-created video supplements can alert instructors to situations where such tools would be 
especially beneficial. By the same token, understanding the characteristics of students who do not benefit 
from video supplements can make the instructor cognizant of instances where creating, editing, and 
posting video recordings may not be the most efficient use of the instructor’s time. Our study finds that 
students who view the supplemental video recordings tend to be students with lower ACT Math and ACT 
Composite scores. However, we find that a student's ACT Math score is a stronger predictor of video use 
than a student's ACT Composite score, even when controlling for other factors, such as grade point 
average and effort. This suggests that instructor-created video supplements can be a powerful learning aid 
for students with weak quantitative skills who may struggle in a quantitative course. Therefore, we 
believe that using instructor-created video supplements can have positive benefits in other core-level 
quantitative classes which have students of diverse quantitative backgrounds, such as introductory-level 
Statistics, or Calculus courses. 
 Secondly, this paper is the first to document the use of instructor-created video supplements in a face-
to-face core-level quantitative course. While Devaney (2009) uses video supplements in an online core-
level quantitative course, we believe that using them in a face-to-face course is a much more common 
application, since the majority of college classes are still taken in a traditional classroom setting. In 
addition, we also make the distinction between quantitative courses at the major level and quantitative 
courses at the core level. Most students in a major-level quantitative course are those with strong 
quantitative skills. Students in a core-level quantitative course are generally less homogenous in terms of 
quantitative abilities than those in a major-level course. Teaching a core-level quantitative course presents 
a unique challenge to an instructor because the instructor must teach in a way that keeps the students with 
strong quantitative skills engaged while making sure that students without strong quantitative skills are 
able to keep up with the material. Our findings not only have implications for those who teach core-level 



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Lach and Danner                                                                                                                                                           Advances in Business Research 
2013, Vol. 4, No. 1, 87-97 

quantitative courses in business, such as Financial Accounting and Financial Management, but also non-
business courses such as Chemistry and Physics. 
 Lastly, this is the first paper to survey business students regarding the areas in which they would like 
to see video supplements used. This study examines the results of end-of-semester surveys given to 
students regarding their use of the supplemental videos. Over 72% of the students surveyed strongly 
agreed that the recordings were helpful and another 80% strongly agreed that they would recommend the 
recordings to a friend. Interestingly, while only 45% of students strongly agreed that they would like to 
see recordings in all of their other courses, 85% strongly agreed that they would like to see recordings in 
all of their math-based courses. Our results indicate that student demand for video supplements is highest 
in quantitative courses. Furthermore, students were asked to list courses where they would like to see 
video supplements used. Nearly all of the courses that students listed were core-level quantitative courses. 
 In this study, we are careful to distinguish between instructor-created video supplements and those 
video supplements that are provided by textbook publishers because we believe that both are very 
different. Students often complain about the lack of continuity between a textbook's homework questions, 
homework solutions, and video guides, since all three are usually created by different individuals. In 
addition, textbook video supplements are likely to teach a concept in a different manner than the course 
instructor, which can often augment student confusion. By using video supplements that are created by 
the course instructor, student confusion will be minimized due to the continuity between the in-class 
lectures given by the instructor and the video supplements. 
 The remainder of this paper is organized as follows: Section 2 presents a background and literature 
review of topics related to this study, Section 3 describes the data used in this study, Section 4 
summarizes the univariate and multivariate results, and Section 5 concludes the study. 
 

BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW 
 

Video Supplements in Qualitative Courses 
 

 Most of the literature regarding instructor-created video supplements, such as podcasts, examines their 
use in a campus-based qualitative course. Generally, podcasts are used to record class lectures so that 
students can listen to, and view the lectures at their leisure. One instance of using podcasts in a traditional 
campus-based course is covered in Abt and Barry (2007) where the authors analyze the difference in 
student learning with podcasts versus written transcripts. The authors find that there is little added benefit 
to teaching using podcasts versus written text, based on student scores on a multiple-choice exam. 
 Contrary to Abt and Barry (2007), McKinney et al. (2009) find that podcasts can be beneficial to 
student exam scores. Similar to Abt and Barry (2007), McKinney et al. used podcasts to record lectures 
for students in a campus-based qualitative course. They divided students into two groups: one group 
listened to recorded podcasts and the other group listened to a live lecture. The authors discovered that the 
students who listened to the podcast while taking notes scored higher than the students who were taught 
in person. 
 While the results of the study from McKinney, et al. (2009) offers evidence that podcasts can improve 
student learning, many instructors are hesitant to record lectures and post them online out of fear that 
classroom attendance will decline. Bongey, et al. (2006) analyze the impact of having podcasts available 
to students in a qualitative course. The authors find that student attendance did not decline when the 
podcasts were introduced. Furthermore, the students indicated that they preferred the classroom lectures 
to the podcasts lectures and that they used the podcasts as a supplement to the classroom lectures rather 
than a substitute. 
 

Video Supplements in Quantitative Courses  
 

 While many studies have been conducted regarding the effectiveness of instructor-created video 
supplements, most of the studies analyze their use in qualitative courses. A relatively smaller number of 



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Lach and Danner                                                                                                                                                           Advances in Business Research 
2013, Vol. 4, No. 1, 87-97 

studies have been performed regarding the effectiveness of instructor-created video supplements in 
quantitative courses. 
 One study which examines the effectiveness of instructor-created video supplements in a quantitative 
course is DeVaney (2009). This study examines the impact of introducing video tutorials in an online-
based graduate level statistics course. Based on student survey results, it appears that the video tutorials 
were effective in aiding student learning. However, this study does not examine the characteristics of 
students who used tutorials versus those who do not. Similar to Abt and Barry (2007), DeVaney (2009) 
finds that there is no difference in academic performance between students who used the tutorials versus 
those who did not. Niles and O'Neill (2007) used video tutorials for topics covered in multiple business 
courses, such as time value of money, and regression analysis. Unlike DeVaney (2009), Niles and O'Neil 
(2007) found that students scored higher on quizzes taken after the tutorials relative to the scores on 
quizzes taken before the tutorials.  
 While several studies examine the impact of integrating technology such as PowerPoint or portfolio 
simulations in the finance classroom (Abt, and Barry, 2009; Baker, Kent, Mukherjee, and Obannes, 2009; 
Cudd, Tanner, and Lipscomb, 2004; Dolvin, Morgan, and Pyles, 2004; King and Jennings, 2004), few 
studies have examined the role of instructor-created video supplements in the finance classroom. Gattis 
(2008) analyzes the role of using podcasts as a supplement to a derivatives course. This study gauged the 
effectiveness of these podcasts using student surveys. Similar to Bongey, et al. (2006) and DeVaney 
(2009), Gattis (2008) finds that students' reactions to the podcasts are very positive. Our study differs 
from Gattis (2008) in two important ways. First, our study examines the use of video supplements in a 
core-level finance course, whereas Gattis (2008) explores the use of video supplements in a major-level 
finance course. This is an important distinction because students in an introductory level finance course 
tend to have a more diverse set of quantitative abilities. Secondly, we examine the characteristics of 
students who utilize the supplemental videos while Gattis (2008) does not. 
 In addition to Gattis (2008), Reimers and Singleton (2008) also examine the impact of video 
supplements in the finance classroom. Reimers and Singleton (2008) recorded class lectures for two 
different graduate-level finance courses. Based on student survey results, the authors find that students 
had a positive reaction to the videos. Similar to Bongey, et al. (2006), Reimers and Singleton (2008) find 
that student attendance was unaffected by having the lectures available online. Our research differs from 
the Reimers and Singleton (2008) study in that we use video recordings of problems, and not lectures. In 
addition, Reimers and Singleton (2008) do not examine the characteristics of students who utilize 
instructor-created video supplements. 
 

Data 
 

 The data for this study was collected from students enrolled in core-level Business Financial 
Management course during the Fall 2010 (two sections), Spring 2011, and Summer 2011 semesters. 
Student-specific data, such as gender, major, ACT scores, and Elluminate usage, were collected during 
the Fall 2010 (two sections) and Spring 2011 semesters while survey information was collected at the end 
of the semester during the Spring 2011 and Summer 2011 semesters. 
 The instructor of the course created video solutions using Elluminate software for 40 of the most 
difficult homework problems assigned during the semester. Homework was assigned from the textbook 
used in class, which was the Sixth Edition of Essentials of Corporate Finance. Using this software 
allowed the instructor to first enter a problem on the screen (Figure 1, Panel A). Next, the instructor could 
annotate the problem while verbally explaining to the student the important facts in the problem (Figure 
1, Panel B). Lastly, after the problem was typed and annotated, the instructor could write out the solution 
and explain the solution as it was being written (Figure 1, Panel C). Essentially, these recordings allow an 
instructor to explain a problem the same way he or she would in a traditional classroom setting. These 
recordings were kept short, with the longest recording lasting only 12 minutes and 34 seconds. The 
average recording length was 4 minutes and 22 seconds while the median length was 3 minutes and 47 
seconds. 



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Lach and Danner                                                                                                                                                           Advances in Business Research 
2013, Vol. 4, No. 1, 87-97 

Figure 1: Example of a Problem Typed in Elluminate  
 

 Panel A is a print-screen showing how a problem can be typed in Elluminate. Panel B contains a print-
screen showing how a problem that has been typed in Elluminate can be annotated in order to get students 
in the habit of reading problems actively. Panel C is a print-screen showing how a problem can be solved 
in Elluminate after the problem has been typed and annotated. 
 

Panel A 

 
 

Panel B 

 
 

Panel C 

 
 

 Similar to Klassen and Biktimirov (2007), WebCT was used to collect student data. A link to each 
Elluminate recording was posted in WebCT, which allowed information regarding the frequency and 
duration of the recording views to be collected. In order to determine whether or not a student viewed an 
Elluminate recording, the amount of time the student spent viewing the recording was compared to the 



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Lach and Danner                                                                                                                                                           Advances in Business Research 
2013, Vol. 4, No. 1, 87-97 

actual length of the recording. If the student viewed the recording for at least half of the recording’s 
duration, the activity was recorded as a view. Students were shown one of the videos in class so that they 
could get an understanding of what the recordings contained and how to access the recordings. 
 Other data includes each student’s Composite ACT score, Math ACT score, and GPA which were 
obtained from the university, while each student’s major was obtained from the student at the beginning 
of the semester. Students with missing data are excluded from our analysis. In order to measure a 
student’s effort, his or her homework score for the semester was collected. During the semester, there 
were 12 homework assignments worth five points each. The homework was graded on completeness, not 
accuracy. As a result, the students’ homework scores are used as a measure of effort in the course.  
 

RESULTS 
 

Univariate Results - Student Perceptions 
 

 At the end of the Spring 2011 and Summer 2011 semesters, students were given an optional survey on 
the last full day of class regarding their perceived usefulness of the Elluminate recordings. Each student 
who completed the survey was asked to answer the first two questions in Panel A of Table 1. As shown in 
Panel A, approximately 49% of students indicated that they had a major in finance or accounting, while 
approximately 82% of students indicated that they viewed at least one of the Elluminate links during the 
semester. The 82% (40 total students) who indicated that they viewed at least one link were asked to 
respond to the six statements in Panel B. As shown in Panel B, 90% of students agreed or strongly agreed 
with the statement "I would recommend using the Elluminate links to other students." On a scale of one 
(strongly disagree) to five (strongly agree), the average student response for this question was 4.65. This 
suggests that the majority of students who viewed the links had a positive experience using them. This is 
also evident in the students' response to Statement 2 of Panel B. 92.5% of students indicated that they 
agreed or strongly agreed with the Statement 2 in Panel B, which was "I found the Elluminate links 
helpful." 
 The students' responses revealed that they believe using Elluminate would be helpful in other class 
settings, but is best suited for quantitative-based classes. Only 65% indicated that they agreed or strongly 
agreed with the statement "I would like to see other professors use video recordings similar to the 
Elluminate links for all of my other classes." Furthermore, 67.5% of the students agreed or strongly 
agreed with the statement "I would like to see other professors use video recordings similar to the 
Elluminate links for all introductory courses." On the other hand, 92.5% of students indicated they agreed 
or strongly agreed with the statement "I would like to see other professors use video recordings similar to 
the Elluminate links for all math-based courses." These results suggest that students value these 
recordings more in quantitative courses than they do in qualitative courses. 
 Students were also asked to respond to the statement "using the Elluminate links improved my grade 
in this course." 70% of students agreed or strongly agreed with this statement. However, 27.5% of 
students provided a neutral response to this statement. Thus, it only appears that there is moderate 
evidence that the Elluminate links improved students’ perceived performance. One possible reason for the 
relatively weaker positive response rate to this statement is the students' frequency of using the links 
during the semester. For instance, if a student only viewed one or two links during the semester, then the 
student will only have increased their knowledge in one or two concepts. Since there are so many 
different concepts covered a core-level Business Financial Management course, only covering one or two 
of those concepts in more detail with Elluminate would only marginally increase the student's grade over 
the course of the entire semester. Therefore, it is possible that the relatively low positive response rate to 
the statement regarding a student's grade may be attributable to the low number of links a student viewed, 
and not necessarily a reflection of the ineffectiveness of the links themselves. 
 Students who viewed at least one Elluminate recording during the semester were also asked to "please 
list other courses you would like to see video recordings similar to Elluminate used to supplement the 
course." The responses are shown in Panel C of Table 1. The most frequent answer to this statement was 
Accounting. It should be noted that Managerial Accounting and Financial Accounting were both grouped 



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Lach and Danner                                                                                                                                                           Advances in Business Research 
2013, Vol. 4, No. 1, 87-97 

together as Accounting. The second most frequent response was Math / Calculus. Nearly two-thirds of the 
responses to this statement were Accounting, Math, or Calculus, while 7 students responded to the 
statement with Statistics. The other student responses to the statement were Economics, Derivatives, and 
Operations Management. Not every student who viewed the Elluminate recordings provided a response to 
this statement, and some students provided multiple responses. Therefore, the responses to this statement 
do not add up to 40, which is the number of students who viewed at least one Elluminate link.  
 Students who did not view at least one Elluminate recording during the semester were asked “If you 
did not view any of the links, why did you choose not to view the links?” Of the nine students who 
indicated that they did not view any links during the semester, four students responded “I used the 
solutions manual.” The solutions to the homework problems were posted in WebCT to allow students to 
check their answers and also to allow students to see how to work each problem, but without the benefit 
of a verbal step-by-step explanation. Two other students indicated that “I didn’t need them.” It is very 
likely that these students did not need the Elluminate links because they were able to understand the 
explanation given in the solutions manual. Based on the first two responses, it appears that the majority of 
students who did not use the Elluminate links had stronger quantitative skills since they were able to solve 
the homework problems without the verbal and visual step-by-step explanation provided by the 
Elluminate recordings. 
 There were three other answers to the question “If you did not view any of the links, why did you 
choose not to view the links?” One student indicated “I went to SI.” SI is an abbreviation for 
Supplemental Instruction, which is a program where a graduate student holds review sessions twice per 
week and students can come and ask questions regarding the topics that they are learning in their courses. 
Another student responded “Friends help with questions;” while one self-aware student declared “I am 
lazy.” 
 

Table 1: Survey Results  
 

 This table displays the results of student surveys given at the end of the Spring 2011 and Summer 
2011 semesters for a Business Financial Management course. These optional surveys were given on the 
last full day of class. The questions in Panel A were addressed to all students taking the survey. Students 
who indicated that they had viewed at least one Elluminate recording were asked to respond to the 
statements in Panel B, and they were asked to respond to Statement 2 in Panel C. If a student indicated 
that he or she had not viewed any of the Elluminate recordings, that student was asked to answer Question 
1 in Panel C. The values in Panels A and B reveal the percentage of students answering each question, 
while the values in Panel C reveal the frequency of student response. 
 

Panel A: Q uestions for All Students  

Q uestions: (Number of total students: 49) Yes No 
1. Are you an accounting or finance major? 48.98% 51.02% 

2. Did you view any of the Elluminate links this semester? 81.63% 18.37% 

 

Panel B: Q uestions for Students who used Elluminate  
  1 2 3 4 5 

 Q uestions: Strongly Disagree  
   

Strongly Agree Average (N = 40) 
1. I would recommend using the Elluminate links 
to other students. 2.50 0.00 7.50 10.00 80.00 4.65 

2. I found the Elluminate links helpful. 2.50 0.00 5.00 20.00 72.50 4.60 

3. I would like to see other professors use video 
recordings similar to the Elluminate links for all 
of my other classes. 0.00 2.50 32.50 20.00 45.00 4.08 

4. I would like to see other professors use video 
recordings similar to the  Elluminate links for all 

math-based courses. 2.50 2.50 2.50 7.50 85.00 4.70 

5. I would like to see other professors use  video 
recordings similar to the Elluminate links for all 
introductory courses. 0.00 7.50 25.00 35.00 32.50 3.93 

6. Using the Elluminate links improved my grade 
in this course. 2.50 0.00 27.50 37.50 32.50 3.98 



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2013, Vol. 4, No. 1, 87-97 

 
Panel C: O pen Response Survey Q uestions  
Q uestions / Statements: Response    Frequency 
1. If you did not view any of the links,  I used the solutions manual 4 

why did you choose not to view the links? I didn't  need them  2 
 I went to SI  1 
 Friends help with questions 1 
  I am lazy     1 

2. Please list  other courses you would like Accounting  12 

to see video recordings similar to Elluminate  Math / Calculus  11 
used to supplement the course. Statistics   7 
 Economics  2 
 Derivatives  1 

  Operations Management  1 

 

Univariate Results - Student Use of Supplements 
 

 Panel A of Table 2 presents summary statistics for the student data. As shown in Panel A, 
approximately 26% of the 102 students analyzed are female, and roughly 49% of the students have a 
major in finance or accounting. The average ACT Math (ACT Composite) score is 22.95 (22.25), while 
the average GPA is 2.92. The average number of Elluminate recordings viewed by a student is 7.73, while 
the median is 2.00. This suggests that there is a strong right-skew to the data. The maximum number of 
Elluminate recordings viewed by a single student is 106. While there are only 40 different recordings 
produced for the course, there is no limit to the number of times a student can view each link. Therefore, 
the student who viewed 106 total recordings likely viewed each recording multiple times. During the 
semester, there were eight quizzes, three in-class exams, and a final exam, which likely contributed to the 
high number of total views for this student. The student’s homework average score was 51.76 out of a 
possible 60 points. 
 Panel B of Table 2 divides students into two groups based on whether or not the student viewed at 
least one of the Elluminate recordings during the semester. While 32.4% of the students who viewed at 
least one link were female, only 14.7% of students who did not view any of the links were female. This 
difference is statistically significant at the 10% level. The proportion of accounting or finance majors was 
the exact same for both groups. 
 In addition, students who did not view at least one Elluminate link had an ACT Math score 2.77 points 
higher than those students who did view at least one link. By the same token, students who did not view 
at least one link had an ACT Composite score that was 1.43 points higher than those who viewed at least 
one link. There was no significant difference in GPA or effort between the two groups. Based on the 
results in Panel B, it appears that students who view these recordings are not necessarily weaker students 
(based on GPA), but rather, they tend to be students with a lower natural abilities (based on ACT Math 
and Composite scores).  
 While the results in Panel B show that both ACT Math and ACT Composite scores are significantly 
and inversely related, the difference in ACT Math scores is much higher than the difference in ACT 
Composite scores. In fact, the difference in ACT Math scores is nearly twice as high as the difference in 
ACT Composite scores. Furthermore, the difference in ACT Composite scores is significant at the five 
percent level, while the difference in ACT Math scores is significant at the one percent level. These 
differences are explored further in the next section. 
 

Table 2: Student Usage Information 
 

 Panel A of this table displays the summary statistics for all student characteristics while Panel B of 
this table displays student characteristics for students based on whether or not they viewed at least one 
Elluminate video during the semester. The p-values reported in Panel B are the p-values associated with 
the t-test to determine whether or not the means are different for students who viewed at least one 
Elluminate link and those students who did not. For both panels, FEMALE is a binary variable equal to 
one if the student is a female, zero otherwise. QUANT is a binary variable equal to one if the student has 



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a major in accounting or finance at the beginning of the semester, zero otherwise. ACT_MATH 
(ACT_COMP) represents a student’s ACT Math (ACT Composite) score. GPA represents a student’s 
grade point average at the beginning of the semester. TOTAL_VIEWS represents the number of total 
Elluminate links viewed by a student during the semester. EFFORT represents a student’s homework 
grade for the semester. All student usage information was gathered during the Fall 2010 (two sections) 
and Spring 2011 (one section) semesters for students enrolled in a Business Financial Management 
course. WebCT. Significance is noted by one (10%), two (5%), or three (1%) stars. 
 

Panel A: Summary Statistics  

Variable N Median Mean Maximum Minimum Std.Dev. Sum 
FEMALE 102 0.00 0.26 1.00 0.00 - 27 

QUANT 102 0.00 0.49 1.00 0.00 - 48 

ACT_MATH 102 23.00 22.95 33.00 14.00 3.85 - 

ACT_COMP 102 22.00 22.25 30.00 15.00 2.89 - 

GPA 102 2.89 2.92 3.90 1.27 0.49 - 

TOTAL_VIEWS 102 2.00 7.73 106.00 0.00 15.08 - 
EFFORT  102 55.00 51.76 60.00 7.50 10.28 - 

 

Panel B: T-Tests - Students who viewed at least one link and those who did not  

  
Means 

 
Differences in Means 

  

Viewed at least  
 

Did not view  
    

  

one video 

 

one video 

    Variable   (n = 68)   (n = 34)   Difference   p-value 

FEMALE 
 

0.324 
 

0.147 
 

0.176 
 

0.058* 
QUANT 

 
0.471 

 
0.471 

 
0.000 

 
1.000 

ACT_MATH 22.029 
 

24.794 
 

–2.765 
 

0.001*** 
ACT_COMP 21.779 

 

23.206 

 

–1.427 

 

0.043** 

GPA 
 

2.945 
 

2.856 
 

0.089 
 

0.392 
EFFORT    52.500   50.294   2.206   0.381 

 

Multivariate Results  
 

 While the univariate results of the previous section found that ACT Math and ACT Composite scores 
were negatively related to the probability a student will view an instructor-created video supplement, this 
section investigates factors which predict video supplement use in a multivariate setting. Table 3 shows 
the results of a logistic regression where the dependent variable in each model is a binary variable equal 
to one if a student viewed at least one video, and zero otherwise. Due to the high correlation between a 
student's ACT Math score and ACT Composite score, Model 1 controls for a student's ACT Math score 
while Model 2 controls for a student's ACT Composite score. In addition, similar to Damianov, et al. 
(2009), Terry (2002), and Wilson (2003), both Models 1 and 2 control for each student's major, gender, 
and grade point average. Models 1 and 2 also control for effort, which has been shown by Cheo (2003) to 
be a variable which can have an impact of student achievement.  
 While Panel B of Table 2 show that a significantly greater portion of students who viewed the videos 
were female, this variable is not significant in either of the two models in Table 3. Furthermore, a 
student's major, effort, and grade point average are not significant predictors of video usage in either 
model. However, similar to Panel B of Table 2, both ACT Math and ACT Composite scores are 
significantly and inversely related to whether or not a student views at least one video. 
 Similar to Panel B of Table 2, Table 3 shows that a student's ACT Math score is a stronger predictor of 
video usage than ACT Composite score. ACT Math score has a coefficient of - 0.216, which suggests that 
the probability that a student views at least one Elluminate recording decreases by a factor of 0.81 for 
each one-point increase in a student's ACT Math score. On the other hand, ACT Composite has a 
coefficient of - 0.179, which suggests that the odds that a student views at least one Elluminate recording 
decreases by a factor of 0.84 for each one point increase in a student's ACT Composite score. 
Furthermore, the coefficient for ACT Math is significant at the one percent level, while the coefficient for 
ACT Composite is only significant at the five percent level.  Lastly, the Pseudo R

2
 for Model 1 (12.7%) is 

higher than the Pseudo R
2
 for Model 2 (7.7%), which suggests that a student's ACT Math score does a 



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better job of predicting whether or not a student views at least one Elluminate recording relative the ACT 
Composite score. 
 

Table 3: Logistic Regression Results – Student Usage 
 

 This table contains the results of logistic regressions used to explain the characteristics of students 
who viewed the Elluminate videos during the semester. For both models, the dependent variable is a 
binary variable equal to one if a student viewed at least one Elluminate video during the semester, zero 
otherwise. FEMALE is a binary variable equal to one if the student is a female, zero otherwise. QUANT 
is a binary variable equal to one if the student has a major in accounting or finance at the beginning of the 
semester, zero otherwise. ACT_MATH (ACT_COMP) represents a student’s ACT Math (ACT 
Composite) score. GPA represents a student’s grade point average at the beginning of the semester. 
EFFORT represents a student’s homework grade for the semester. All student usage information was 
gathered during the Fall 2010 (two sections) and Spring 2011 (one section) semesters for students 
enrolled in a Business Financial Management course. Significance is noted by one (10%), two (5%), or 
three (1%) stars. 
 

    Model 

Variable   1  2 
INTERCEPT  3.412  3.018 
  (0.108)  (0.218) 

FEMALE  0.667  0.920 
  (0.265)  (0.109) 
QUANT  0.004  –0.075 
  (0.993)  (0.873) 

EFFORT  0.004  –0.003 
  (0.864)  (0.894) 
ACT_MATH  –0.216***   
  (0.002)   

ACT_COMP    
–

0.179** 
    (0.034) 
GPA  0.683  0.582 

  (0.184)  (0.242) 

Observations   102  102 
Pseudo R2   0.127  0.077 

 

Conclusion 
 

 While several studies have examined the impact of using instructor-created video supplements in the 
classroom, most of these studies focus on students’ attitudes towards podcasts of recorded class lectures. 
In addition, these studies examine podcasts used in qualitative courses. This study is the first to examine 
video supplements in a core-level quantitative course. In addition, to our knowledge, this is the first study 
to explore the characteristics of students who use instructor-created video supplements. Based on the data 
examined in this study, it appears that the video supplements were used significantly more by students 
with weaker quantitative skills, as measured by their ACT Math score. Thus, it appears that using video 
recordings to explain mathematical problems step-by-step can serve as a tool to allow students with 
weaker quantitative skills to catch up to their peers who have stronger quantitative skills. This study also 
has important implications for other quantitative-based disciplines, especially those that are part of the 
general education curriculum, such as statistics, calculus, and accounting, where instructors must balance 
the needs of students with strong and weak quantitative skills. 
 Lastly, this is the first study to examine where students would like to see video supplements utilized. 
Based on student survey results, our study finds that 45% of the students surveyed indicated that they 
strongly agree that they would like to see video recordings similar to the ones used in this study for all of 
their classes, while an astonishing 85% of students indicated that they strongly agreed that they would 
like to see the recordings in all of their math-based courses. Furthermore, when students were asked to list 
other courses where they would like to see video recordings similar to the ones used in this study, nearly 



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2013, Vol. 4, No. 1, 87-97 

all of the responses were quantitative courses. Therefore, it appears that the demand for video recordings 
is highest in quantitative-based courses, even though it seems to be more common in qualitative courses. 
 There are several limitations to this study. First, the instructor-created videos were explanations to 
homework questions and did not introduce any new concepts. Stronger students who were able to 
complete with homework without any problems would have little need to view the videos online. 
Secondly, the survey regarding the courses where students would like to see video supplements was given 
at the end of a quantitative course, which may have biased the survey results in favor of quantitative 
(math-based) courses relative to qualitative courses. Lastly, this survey was conducted at one university, 
in one course, under one instructor, which limits the generalizability of results. 
 

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Patrick Lach is an assistant professor of finance at Eastern Illinois University. He received his Ph.D. in 
finance from Mississippi State University. His current research interests include personal finance, 
business education, initial public offerings, corporate governance, and real estate investment trusts. He 
has published in Applied Financial Economics. 
 

Evan Danner is an assistant property manager at Cassidy Turley. He received his MBA from Eastern 
Illinois University. His research interests include business education, investments, and real estate 
investment trusts 


