The University of Guelph Learning Enhancement Fund Food Animal Production Video Series
The University of Guelph Department of Population teaches a variety of both undergraduate and graduate level courses pertaining to animal health. At the undergraduate level, the Animal Health course, POPM*4230 is currently offered in-class, but will be transitioning to an online platform. Students in the past have had the opportunity to learn both in-class and on-farm about different production systems for the various food producing animal commodities. With increasing concern about biosecurity, the ability of students to visit farms and partake in experiential learning is becoming limited. This can make learning about production systems challenging, and difficult to appreciate the challenges faced by these production systems.
To improve the understanding of disease management and prevention, a tool to showcase common production systems is necessary to strengthen understanding. Further, having a suite of tools supports more flexible and accessible learning options for students throughout their university career. The objective of this project was to develop a unique video series to support conventional course materials and provide students with a virtual learning experience about the livestock production cycle in various food animal species. ACER has developed several live action and animated videos to enhance student learning. They then collaborated with a local video production group to produce a series of videos featuring drone footage and producer interviews with a grant from the University of Guelph’s Learning Enhancement Fund.
To accomplish this objective, a series of videos was developed for each primary production species (Dairy, Beef, Swine, Poultry). Each video series formed a module, with exemplar/suggested assessments, reflects and formats that can be utilized in a variety of related contexts. Narration on each video provided highlights of important areas and provided further context for students. On-camera interviews were conducted with commercial producers, veterinarians and/or University of Guelph researchers in each primary production species. These interviews served to provide additional insight into the differing perspectives and roles on the farm. Species-specific researchers from the Department of Population Medicine were consulted to develop video storyboards, inform and/or deliver interviews.
A slide deck will also compliment the video series to highlight specific concepts for each video, and how faculty can use them to support teaching in-class and online. An evaluation of the videos’ usefulness and impact will be performed. The videos will also be available for viewing on YouTube to allow for wider distribution and utilization. The videos will also be made available to all faculty with the Department of Population Medicine for use in other courses, and as resources for students.
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Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph