Lecture and Event Capture at Newcastle University
Carol Summerside and Ashley Wright
What is ReCap?
ReCap is an automated event recording and delivery system enabling the audio and visual material from events such as lectures to be made available online.
The recording can be made available in a range of formats – streaming files, downloads and podcasts.
It is intended to capture live events as they happened – warts and all.
ReCap is not…..
a TV production facility
a replacement for live lectures
a replacement for live lecturers
What is captured?
The system is capable of recording from the following input sources: Audio Visualiser (Document Camera) Screen Capture
Not “talking head” Scalability, storage and resource issues Academic staff preference
History
March 2007 Lectopia wins tender and is licensed by Newcastle University and CETL4HealthNE.
6 locations identified within Newcastle University. Set up Project and Education Steering Groups. Semester 2 07/08 – 6 venues enabled and
recordings start in January 2008. Target set for 20 locations enabled by October 2008.
Where we are - Current operational status
Active Project and Educational Steering Groups. 28 installs across the region – (8 CETL + 20 Ncl Uni). ReCap branding and Web site established
(http://www.ncl.ac.uk/recap). Technical support network – internal and external. Error reporting fully automated into helpdesk system. Authentication - recordings protected with granularity. Main objective – demonstrate impact on student
experience and confirm Institutional commitment.
Practical Implementation
Made it opt-in for staff. Booking –
Online Booking form – amended to include: Integration with Corporate Helpdesk Software Integration with microphone booking process Pilot of devolved scheduling to local admin units rather than
centralised support Audio trigger
Radio lapel microphones Audio quality Academic freedom of movement
Link to processed recording emailed to speaker – ‘Bb 10 Tips’
Feedback and Evaluation
Evaluation is being conducted by the ReCap Education Steering Group.
Phase 1 (Semester 2 07/08) – usage statistics were obtained, feedback from students and staff gathered.
Phase 2 (Semesters 1 and 2 08/09) – will use same methods of data collection but will focus more on the educational impact of the system.
Benefits to Students
Enhances learning by accommodating different learning styles.
Students can review lectures, particularly points they may initially have had trouble grasping.
Because audio and visuals are synchronized, students can fast forward and rewind lectures. (This is particularly useful for students for whom English is a second language or students with dyslexia.)
Allows students to catch up on missed lectures. Provides revision materials for exams.
Benefits to Staff
Lecturers can: Make sure all students have access to material delivered in
lectures. Disseminate lectures post-class to reinforce important
points. Improve classroom productivity by giving students lectures
to review pre-class, allowing more time for discussion. Make more effective use of time because students can
review lecture content for clarity online, before — or rather than — meeting with an academic.
Use it to provide additional teaching material Help to improve student satisfaction.
Uses at Newcastle University
Lectures (live and pre/post). Change of teaching style - Jelly babies demo Supplementary information. Group feedback. Processing of existing support materials. IT training tutorials. Conferences. Public lectures. Promotional material.
Usage statistics 2008
So far
Significant growth in usage – expected to continue. Awareness raising with staff. Law School from 2009.
Date Locations Recordings Hits Presenters
Jan – May
(5 months)
6 173 5090 45
Sept – Dec
(4 months)
20 489 25086 100+
Staff Feedback
“I was really impressed with the quality of it. The colours of the drawings that I did using the visualiser came across better than they looked when projected on a screen. ”
“I did also do a solo recording which seems to have been received very well, which was to explain a concept further and provide some revision material for them.”
“the attendance was constant across the whole course and so I didn’t see any tail off. The students who would come, will come and all the people that told me this at the start and I didn’t believe them, I do believe them now.”
Student Feedback
94% of students stated that the availability of recorded lectures had not changed their lecture attendance.
Student Quote: “I don't think it has changed my attendance at
all as I, and most others agree, think you learn a lot more by attending lectures.”
Student Feedback
Why did you use the recordings? To revisit difficult concept(s) – 157 (73%) To make additional notes – 109 (50.7%) Because I didn’t understand/follow the lecture
the first time – 103 (47.9%) To catch-up on a missed lecture – 99 (46%) Other reason – 15 (7%)
Student Quotes
“ReCap is a very good system, particularly when particular topics are dealt with quickly by the lecture, resulting in notes being missed, etc.”
“It is very useful, especially when going through lectures which involve difficult concepts.”
“Without a doubt the best resource made available to me in my time at university.”
“I suffer from impaired hearing and find it useful to
go back to lectures that were particularly busy or noisy
where notes where difficult to keep up with”
Five year vision
Ubiquitous – location and staff use Increased ease of use Devolved control and editing – recording and upload
part of all lecturers toolkit Integration with corporate systems (Blackboard,
Timetable, Helpdesk software) Desktop Recording access Capture appliances for distant/minor locations Searchability of recordings (captioning/transcription)
The Team Here Today……
Mark AgarTechnical Project Manager, ISS
Carol SummersideDevelopment Officer,
k
Ashley Wright Development Officer, QuILT
For further information, please contact us on:E-mail: [email protected]: www.ncl.ac.uk/recap