Introduction

Helping to improve the quality of the experiments carried out within the campus has
always been one of our greatest responsibilities, and one that we take great pride in. As
Administrators of the Faculty of Science, we propose that demonstration videos related to our
experiments be made for circulation around the student body. The video for conducting
experiments will be recorded and provided to all students who are attending practical classes.
This proposal is made on the behalf of the passionate Science students who are having trouble
understanding the experiments covered within their course structures. Complaints have been
received and made by the students who are outrage by the incomplete elaborations provided by
lecturers; occasional accidents have also taken place from time to time whenever some
precaution steps are skipped. After several similar incidents have occurred, the Faculty had
arranged for a meeting this past few weeks and this proposal suddenly came up in hopes of
improving the situation at hand.
Background
It has come to our attention that students are not particularly good in practical classes, as
evident by their inaccurate results caused by unnecessary errors and repeating trails due to simple
mistakes. It is therefore for the interest of both the school and its students that we provide in
depth explanations and demonstrations about the experiments carried out in Science courses.
Our objectives are simple and are listed clearly below.
a
b
c

To cover the small details normally overlooked by lecturers during experiment briefing.
To ensure that students have a thorough understanding of the experiment to be carried
out.
To provide guidelines for students when tackling questions related to the experiment.

Without a doubt, as only lab officers and part-time video editors, there are problems to be
expected and overcome. Here is a list of all the expected problems and their respective suggested
solutions.
a

Insufficient manpower due to us being a small and independent team- obtain the
assistance of other lab assistants in preparing the materials and apparatus for certain
experiments
Insufficient budget where some equipment are expensive and difficult to get- obtain the
sponsorship of other colleges while we share the demonstration videos with their student
body in return
Some key apparatus are spoilt and have not been replaced-split some portion of our
budget to replace these equipment such as microscope and hot plate.

Nowadays, our education system places too much emphasis on the theoretical portion of
learning, and not enough on the practical skills. While we cannot deny that facts and

understanding are vital in the field of Science, practical application of that knowledge should not
be ignored, or deemed second place on the scale of relevance in todays working habitat. Here
are some reasons we think that our demo videos are important in providing a fuller educational
service:
a
b

Students get to fully relate the things they learn in lectures and apply the working
principles during experiments to obtain the desired results with minimal errors.
The confidence level of students is boosted whenever they can achieve accurate
results through hands-on experiment, which is important in earning the trust of
higher-ups when they work in laboratories of company firms.
Students will take the practical classes more seriously; surely no one will pay
attention if the lecturers only explain the theory but do not show them the proper
techniques, which can lead to absurd outcomes.

With the practical abilities of our students enhanced, you can also expect benefits on the
management side of our school:
a

Fewer materials are wasted as the students know how to effectively manage with the
amount of chemical they are provided with; this helps the school to save on
experimental costs.
Delicate equipment such as micropipette and glassware are less likely to spoilt, as
students will know how to operate these complex apparatus and take good care of
them.

Plan
As we all know, carrying out an experiment is not an easy task, even the most
experienced of scientists may have errors in their results. So it is crucial that we give our best
effort to provide our students with the methodologies that incorporates the least errors, therefore
enabling them to learn the correct practical skills for future applications.
And since practical classes do not start each semester until Week 2, we will begin filming
our videos during Week 1 about the experiment for the subsequent week beforehand. As such, a
timetable is drafted to have a rough idea on what we would be carrying out every day.
Sunday

Monday

Opening DiscussionWe discuss the experiment in terms of its

methodology, precautions and the
working principles behind them. Hence,
we would know what theories to
elaborate and the precaution steps to be
emphasised.
Execution PhaseThe lab officers will practice doing the

experiments several times while the video

editors film the entire process. Any
deviations from the theoretical results are
taken into consideration.
Tuesday
Revision Phase(optional)We correct any errors that are observed
yesterday by repeating the experiment
using slightly different methods.
Wednesday and Thursday
Editing PhaseWe review all the recorded materials to
piece together a demo video of about 10
minutes. An introductory footage is
included at the beginning to brief the
viewer; necessary captions are also added
to keep the student on track.
Friday
Feedback PhaseWe upload the demo video onto the
schools learning platform which is
WBLE and is accessible to all students
taking Science courses. We also collect
feedbacks from students via email and
include them in our closing discussion.
Saturday
Closing Discussion and PreparationWe will hold a meeting where we voice
out our opinions on how to improve the
quality of the experiment and video. We
will begin preparing the necessary
materials and apparatus for the next
experiment.
This plan is expected to be followed by our team every week for the rest of the trimester.
A general introduction to the lab equipment will also be filmed to cut down on the costs
of making longer videos, because some apparatus are used repeatedly throughout a specific
course. Topics such as safety regulations and maintaining the cleanliness of labs are also within
our considerations, as we will make videos about them, if given sufficient time and resources.
However, since our team is small and there are a lot of experiments to be carried out each
week, we will only be focusing on the Chemistry subjects as a start. If our feedback proves to be
positive over time, only then will we consider expanding our team to include more Science
subjects and providing a richer learning environment for the students.

One way to ensure that students have viewed the demo videos before attending practical
sessions is to have them include specific precaution steps inside their pre-lab reports, which can
only be found if they actually watched the videos.

Budget

Scriptwritin

People and equipment

Writer

Rate
RM 4/ script

Unit
30

Total
RM 120

g
Shooting

Digital Video Camera

RM 2500/

RM 2500

Set
Demonstrators

unit
RM 20/person 2 person in 15

RM 600

Video Editing Software

Video Editor
Device: Utar WBLE

in hour
RM 10/ video
-

hours
30
-

RM 300
-

Total cost

RM 3520

Editing
Mode of
Delivery

A total of 30 education videos will be developed in a semester which includes 20 videos

on demonstrating the procedure of experiments and 10 videos on demonstrating the methodology
of certain instruments. To reduce the cost of producing these educational videos, the videos will
be produced by the staff of ITISC (IT Infrastructure and Support Centre) themselves and without
the help of a video production company.
Firstly, scripts that outline of the contents covered and the types of shots required would
be prepared before shooting and each script written will be assigned RM 4. For recording
purposes, a shooting equipment- digital video camera set is needed which costs about RM 2500.
The estimated time taken to complete the video shooting process is 15 hours, our 2 lab officers
who will act as demonstrators are each given RM20 per hour. The video will be edited by the
ITISC staffs as well, utilizing editing software which is free of charge. The video editor will be
given RM 10 for piecing together each video. Finally, the education videos are going to be
uploaded to Utar WBLE, which is a free online learning platform for all students. Based on the
table above, total budget needed to produce education videos in a semester is RM3520.

The following table shows the estimated quantities and costs associated with the
chemistry labs in a semester prior to and after implementation of the education video:
Item

Prior to education video

After education video

Quantities of chemicals
Cost of chemicals purchased
Quantities of waste
Cost of waste disposal
Quantities of broken

implementation
300 gallons
RM 9000
200 gallons
RM 2000
100

implementation
250 gallons
RM 7500
100 gallons
RM 1000
75

glassware
Cost of new glassware

RM 500

RM 300

replacement
Cost of instrument

RM 10000

RM 6000

maintenance
Cost saving after implementation of the education video as follows:
Chemicals purchase cost savings
Hazardous waste disposal cost savings
New glassware replacement cost savings
Instrument maintenance cost savings
Total cost savings

RM 1500
RM 1000
RM 200
RM 4000
RM 6700

The initial cost of implementation the education video (RM3520) can be covered and our
lab department will save an additional RM 3180 per semester which can be utilized for other
more beneficial projects.
Staffing

Our team mainly consists of 4 team members, which includes 2 senior lab officers and 2
professional video editors. First of all, Ms. Tan Win Ee and Wong Shao Jun are assigned to be
our demonstrators for this proposal; both of them have a 4-year experience of working in schoolbased labs, which means they have a knack for preparing accurate chemical solutions for
experimental purposes. They are also authors who had co-written and revised the official lab
manual for Physical and Organic Chemistry several times.
On the other hand, from the ITISC we have Mr. Yeap Yee Hung who will be serving as
our main cameraman and primary video editor for the experiments. Before working for Utar, he
had had the experience of working with an educational YouTube channel related with Science
subjects as their recording supervisor. Mr. Ong Wei Ching, who is currently the head of ITISC, is

lending a hand too in the making of these videos; he will be acting as our secondary video editor
and supervisor for the duration of our activity.
Authorization:
Practical classes are as important as lectures for they prepare the students to be a crucial
contributor in todays workforce. Without the proper and up-to-date skills and techniques, our
students might not have much to offer in the field of Science. With our informative
demonstration videos, the school will have less to worry about the replacement of broken
glassware and spoilt equipment, while the students experience of study at Utar will be enriched.
If you are interested, please send us a reply by the end of November, enclosed with a copy of our
proposal along with a retainer of RM3000 so that we may begin the filming and editing
processes. And last but least, thank you for the time spent reading through this proposal and for
giving us a chance to contribute for the better of this university.