The Impact of Weekly Videos on Student Engagement and Connectedness in Online Asynchronous Courses

In prior online courses, students conveyed a low sense of connectedness with instructors, peers, and courses. This descriptive, exploratory Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) study examines how weekly instructor-created informational videos influence student engagement and connectedness in asynchronous business administration courses at a Midwestern public university. Instructors created two-to-five-minute videos on course assignments, due dates, informational updates, campus activities, and other course-related information. Fifty-two students completed a Likert-scale survey measuring engagement and connectedness, as a classroom-based inquiry that is bounded by the characteristics of the courses. Student disengagement and feelings of isolation are major barriers to success in asynchronous courses. Understanding what improves connection directly supports student retention and learning outcomes. Prior studies show that instructor-created videos can enhance engagement, motivation, and retention while reducing isolation, especially when they include visible instructor presence and convey relational warmth and approachability, ultimately increasing social presence and fostering classroom connectedness. Participants voluntarily completed an anonymous end-of-semester online survey consisting of elements of connectedness and engagement that the authors defined based on their instructor knowledge and literature review, with IRB approving the study as exempt, and descriptive statistics used to analyze mean responses and standard deviations. Results indicate that weekly videos enhanced students’ sense of connectedness and course engagement, especially regarding course logistics and instructor connection. Findings support the value of instructor presence in asynchronous learning and suggest strategies to further develop community and motivation in online education. Future research should examine how various video types, formats, and accessibility features influence different dimensions of engagement and learning across disciplines, while this study reinforces that even brief personalized weekly videos strengthen instructor presence, reduce ambiguity, and enhance student connectedness in asynchronous courses.