One of the activities that I was involved in at the University of Winchester was looking at the possibility of lecture capture in the classroom, accompanied by many questions of cost, intellectual property, and student attendance. A couple of interesting stories in this week’s Times Higher Education deal with this issue:
In a survey of 80 students conducted prior to the start of the course, 27 per cent said that, if a video was available, they would no longer regard attendance at lectures as being integral to their learning.
But analysis of attendance figures revealed that lectures on a programming module, edited highlights of which were put online, had higher average attendance – 86 per cent – compared with a databases course, where highlights were not put online. The average attendance for the databases module, which was taken by the same cohort over the same semesters, was 81 per cent. Read full story.
In a related story, but tied in more with the idea of the ‘flipped classroom’, there’s a debate about whether live lectures should be replaced with pre-recorded videos:
What video cannot replicate, however, is the enforced regularity of attending a lecture at a fixed time, every week, which can provide a useful structure for learning. I have experimented with the production and integration of bespoke videos into my own teaching, and much of this material has proven popular and effective. But access logs indicate that many students watch the videos only in last-minute binges before a coursework deadline, instead of during the week in which they were directed to watch them. An experienced colleague believes this is because they know it is there; the danger is they may never engage effectively once other activities become more pressing. Read full story.
As I understand it, MMU is hoping to have lecture capture in 18-24 months, and I will be teaching in 1 hour lecture slots – and for one module at least we’ll be podcasting our lectures for those who want another listen, or missed through illness, etc.
