Education

Pros and Cons of Using Lecture Capture in Higher Education

Is recording lectures becoming a must-have thing in higher education, or does the practice pose too many pedagogical and technical challenges?

A massive thanks to technology for providing a convenient method of teaching: lecture capture. Recording lectures has now become an essential part of education. We witness many institutions embracing this movement to improve their students’ learning process.

One can accomplish a lot with lecture capture – but wait, what is lecture capture?

Lecture capture is a canopy term for any skill that enables coaches to record what happens in their schoolrooms and make the information available for everyone to view anytime.

While a few students have recorded their lectures to make notes, the recent lecture capture usage has enabled universities to disseminate and capture all students’ recordings. These can combine screen-capture of slides, audio, video recordings of the writing boards or the speaker. They can provide access to transcripts, text descriptions, captions, audio, and collaborative annotations. Therefore, lecture capture allows for a flexible learning environment.

Indeed, it is an innovative practice, but there are some challenges to lecture capture as well. Here, we will cover the benefits and cons of using lecture capture in higher education.

The Pros of Lecture Capture

1. Visual Communication

Half of the student-population prefers visual learning, not because it is easy, but because it is flexible and has many benefits. That said, each of your lectures must include engaging graphs, photos, charts, and similar aids to make students understand numerous concepts.

Instructors can create lecture material that is rich with visuals with the primary aim of making learning as easy as possible. Instead of emphasizing audio-focused learning, visuals allow students to apply context within the recorded lectures.

2. Increased Interest

The video lecture method can increase your students’ interest in the content you are teaching without you physically being present in the room. With a few software capture tools capable of live streaming, instructors can include quizzes that students can take while viewing the lectures. That is an excellent learning method because it encourages the students to apply what they’ve learned. Also, it allows instructors to evaluate student performance.

Furthermore, suppose a student doesn’t understand a concept or gets rattled by it. In that case, they can pause the video and upload a question for their instructor. It enables a quick interaction between the instructor and the student, offering a satisfying two-way conversation.

3. ADA Obedience

Online lectures provide an immeasurable advantage to students with disabilities. Providing audio and captions for lecture materials can help those with visual and hearing impairments. Some suitable tools for this purpose are ADA compliant, and they follow the instructions of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Traditional lectures are not the best fit for disabled students. Therefore, offering material that provides access to students with disabilities can allow every student to learn.

4. Improving Student-Instructor Relationships

With the help of remarkable lecture capture methods, instructors can get a chance to build strong relationships with their students because they aren’t interacting physically.

The use of personalized, quick videos offers a more humanized and engaging form of learning. With this method, students don’t just focus on completing the course, but they focus on conceptual knowledge.

For instance, any instructor may develop a briefing of a course or upload videos regarding any modifications throughout the semester. Even after studying and teaching online, students and instructors can still get to know each other on a better level. Also, this eliminates the factor of “shyness.” Students can discuss anything regarding their course with their instructors personally.

5. Availability

Video-lecture content enables students to access course materials anytime outside of the classroom. Thanks to this approach, students can learn content at home, come to class with prepared queries and discuss topics. Because lectures can be archived and saved, students can view the material even after class to process every bit of the information.

The Cons of Lecture Capture

1. Recording Problems and Infrastructure Issues

Many instructors find it problematic to record lectures and make videos. That can serve as an obstacle in lecture capture learning. Therefore, a useful option is that universities must clarify the purpose of recording and provide “opt-in” choices for giving lectures.

Coordination between IT, E-learning, and AV teams demand careful management. It is good to not over-subscribe and phase roll-out. However, to solve these problems, choose one lecture capture solution for the campus.

2. Technology is Limiting for Some

In real life, though, there are many ways perceptive users are demonstrating activities or recording classroom lectures beyond the standard lecture capture use. Different lecture capture includes designing bite-sized videos, recording student presentations, using the software for student feedback, creating recruitment collateral, and lots more. Each of these is dependent on actual university practice.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, people, this is where we draw the line.

Despite being effective, lecture capture is a debatable topic. Students love this form of learning because it is convenient and offers a versatile form of education. Students can review and check new content anytime, and it is an excellent way of teaching the disabled. Still, some intellectual and copyright concerns exist, but strict university policies can resolve these.

If you have any questions, please ask below!