| Business education and communication literature shows that communication apprehension (CA) is a negative factor in oral presentation. Despite significant research on CA and resulting effects on students, limited academic research exists on digital video (DV) to reduce CA and improve oral presentation delivery skills (OPDS). DV was tested as a substitute for in-class oral presentation as a way of reducing CA and increasing OPDS. A quasi-experimental study was conducted on a sample of 119 students in a 2nd year information systems course at a state university to the test whether CA and OPDS remain unchanged. Students who delivered presentations via DV were compared to those who delivered live presentations. A survey instrument was used to measure CA and OPDS in a pretreatment/posttreatment methodology. Data were analyzed with chi-squared tests for normality, F-tests for equality of variances, and two tailed t-tests for the equality of means between the differences of the control and treatment group. Though the results showed that there was no statistical difference between the control and the treatment group at a 5% level, other benefits were realized. DV can be used as an alternate to in-class presentation to increase class time, offer flexibility, and benefit students through practice and review. Academic institutions may want to focus future research on these benefits. An efficient method for addressing CA in large enrollment classes creates positive social change for business students and their potential for future employment and success. |
