You only have until next Friday if you want to have your say on lecture capture! The survey has had an overwhelming response so far, but we want more!
I am sure the very mention of the words 'lecture capture' are featuring in drinking games or bingo sheets with how many times we are mentioning it, but we won’t stop.
The lecture capture survey has had an overwhelming response rate so far, but we still want to hear from more of you!
Fill out the survey
With the survey closing next Friday, there isn’t long left to submit your answers. Within the responses so far, there have been a wide variety of reasons advocating for lecture capture and how it would benefit their educational experience here at Royal Holloway.
These issues range from revision to unforeseen absences but don’t just hear it from me, here are some of the responses so far.
Revision
Amongst the reasons commonly cited for the use of lecture capture, revision heavily features. The ability to go back and look over a lecture is viewed as a critical tool for revision.
One student commented that one of their modules had lecture capture last year, this enabled them to "re-listen to lectures to check" that content hadn’t been missed. The inconsistency across the College is clear as this year, this student does not have any lecture captured classes meaning they "have to rely on friends’ notes."
Whilst other resources can be used during revision, many respondents including Ross MacAskill, said that textbooks don’t cover the content in an appropriate form for revision.
Complementing learning
In addition to revision, lecture capture can also be an essential skill to build on the material learnt in a lecture.
Mark Munro, a Geography student, commented that "if a lecturer speaks too fast, sometimes I find it hard to keep up [and] having the lectures recorded could be very useful to look back on." Indeed, there is the clear expectation that lecture recordings are expected for students, with many feeling "disappointed and surprised" at the University’s current approach.
Eloise Lunn, studying History, described how lecture recordings would help when a lecture "is going to be very content heavy" or when doing an essay, where it would be useful to go back over the lecture relating to the topic. Other students also highlighted this benefit, with those experiencing lecture capture in a few modules stating how there was a correlation between good grades and lecture capture.
Lecture capture must also be viewed as a supplement to learning, rather than replacing lectures. Amongst comments referring to this, a Maths student stated how with some topics, it simply isn’t useful to go back and look at lecture notes: it requires having the explanation recorded to go back over.
Inclusive learning
Sometimes, some students simply cannot make it to lectures. This isn’t out of choice, but due to circumstance.
Joanne Cherry, a single-parent ‘mature’ student stated the current difficulties in learning without lecture capture. She describes that the introduction of lecture capture would be "invaluable" in events such as school holidays where childcare is needed, days wherein illness inhibits attendance. Joanne, in her response to the survey, highlighted how ineffective the current system is as Disability and Dyslexia Service (DDS) allow for lectures to be recorded if the student attends, but not if they are unable to!
The issues around DDS and unforeseen absence is such a vital motivation for lecture capture. Another student noted that, when they are able to attend lectures, they are only able to record them on a device they had to pay for themselves – and this is only if the lecturer permits such recording. The student went on to say, "if I miss a lecture due to illness, I therefore do not have access to a lecture recording which is when I most need it."
Charlotte Pym, a History student, highlighted that some emergencies get in the way of attending lectures and the ability to watch the lecture when this occurs would be of great benefit.
Other comments said how lecture capture would "make my life infinitely easier to be able to catch up on my notes", highlighting the current issue of relying on notes from classmates. Indeed, the College are currently focusing on students that commute, of whom many would benefit immensely from lecture capture.
Megan McNeil, a Psychology student who commutes, explained that there can be "unfortunate circumstances like terrible traffic, no parking on campus or snow/icy roads" that make it difficult to attend the lecture. In the current policy, this means that students experiencing unforeseen absences are missing out on vital content for their learning.
Supporting students
For some students, lecture capture is simply a saviour.
Other responses in the survey referred to instances where there was incorrect module allocation too late in the term; this has meant students having to catch up on modules where the content is not recorded.
So what do we do from here?
This isn’t a battle of students versus staff. This isn’t a battle against lectures. And this isn’t an excuse from students.
Lecture capture functions differently for different students and the responses so far are overwhelming. It is clear that this is going to be on the agenda until something gets done.
Follow the link. Fill in the survey. Share the survey.
Jack O'Neill // Vice President Education