Lab demonstrations that give every student a front row seat

Short video series

Highlights from a series of lab demonstration videos made by the Faculty of Engineering in collaboration with Video and Media.

Clients: Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

Dr Ryan Hoult fondly recalls his undergraduate days as a student at the University of Melbourne. However, when he began lecturing many years later, he was quite astounded to find that the practical engineering demonstration videos were the same—flares and all!

Whilst these videos served their purpose well, they did not make use of significant technological advances in recent years, and often failed to capture the attention of current students. Because the students weren’t engaged with this outdated content, they did not understand why they needed a practical understanding to master their largely theoretical degree.

Dr Hoult wanted to resolve this problem and offer students a new and updated perspective.

However, with the lab spaces themselves too small to hold a whole class, it would prove to be impractical and time-consuming to deliver live demonstrations to all students.

That’s when he approached Video and Media (VM) from the Learning Environments team to help him reimagine and revitalise the demonstrations as videos.

An engineer in a white coat gives a practical demonstration in a lab. There is graphic overlays on the image, a circle that says 17.88kN

A new generation of technology for a new generation of students

Firstly, two engineering student volunteers were engaged to assist with the experiment, bringing a vital student perspective to the production. They also gave Dr Hoult a natural audience for his on-screen explanations.

Captured from four camera angles, the videos used Hollywood stunt technology to offer multidimensional close-ups of the demonstrations, providing students with perspectives that are not possible live in the classroom.

In collaboration with academic staff, VM then incorporated three-dimensional models and theoretical elements to provide further context about the academic value of the lab demonstrations.

As a result, engineering students now have access to reinvigorated demonstration videos that improves their understanding of the practice behind the theory.

Set-up for a concrete crushing experiment, with concrete in a brace.

This project was produced by Video and Media. Supporting excellence in teaching and research at the University of Melbourne.

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