A Self-Learning Project with Undergraduate Accountancy Students Using Videos and Computer Technology.

Abstract This paper reports on an innovation in accounting teaching which uses a series of custom-made video cassettes (with a workbook, textbook and spreadsheet application) to successfully teach a section of the introductory subject on cost and management accounting to second-year undergraduate students in the degree of Bachelor of Business (Accountancy), Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT). The videos were produced in the television studios of RMIT. The subject of this paper is a study conducted with four of the videos, comprising a module on Budgeting, which were incorporated into a self-learning assignment using multimedia. The assignment was evaluated using several sources of feedback, a student questionnaire, a student's performance on the assignment, and reflections by the teaching staff. The general aim of incorporating educational technology into accounting education was to respond to changing ratios between funds and staff within tertiary institutions. A major educational concern was to encourage self-learning rather than the traditional teaching model. The results indicate that when the self- learning package is holistic (that is, it is prepared for both visual and verbal learners) the student's attainment of knowledge and skills is satisfying. Also, positive attitudes are associated with multimedia, and self-efficacy is enhanced when all students undertake the same presentation.