FMC Student Perspective: Ryan Ferry

When reflecting upon some of my favorite classes they would often be the classes where videos were posted by the professor to explain a difficult or interesting topic in greater detail then what was covered during class lecture. As a college student I have an inherit interest in learning as much as possible and a video can be captivating and impactful if the professor truly cares about the subject they are presenting and takes the time to take ownership of the teaching. OSU students average somewhere between 3-6 classes per term and are quick to drone out any presentation that is simply just the slides provided by the text provider. The formatting of the slides are identical across every topic and students will struggle to remember which PowerPoint was from which class as they all blend together.

A specific example of this would be during the 2020-2021 school year when all material was forced to be online a few of my classes would require that students would read chapters from a Pearson/McGraw Hill textbook before every class. Then would release required media where the teachers would present the Pearson/McGraw Hill provided slides which would be a worse rendition of what I had just read prior to watching the video. This form of media is very frustrating for students and provides no additional value for the class. I eventually transitioned to only reading the textbook and paying little to no attention to the provided media, and if anything, my grades improved. This example is especially annoying when I reflect upon some of the best media that I have consumed while learning at OSU. I remember watching a personalized video created by a professor discussing the psychology of waiting lines and how engaged I was in watching the video. This media was engaging as the professor included pictures that they had personally taken and it was clear to see that the slides were custom-made and contained the occasional joke which demonstrated the professor’s personality.