Lecture capture

There is now some significant emerging data around the use of lecture capture (particularly from the US, Australia, and more recently the UK). From this research we can ascertain that video capture systems are being used in the following ways:

1. To record lectures as a tool to allow students to revisit lectures.
2. As a tool for capturing reflective portfolio narratives or presentations.
3. To record guest lectures or one off sessions.
4. As a conference recording tool.
5. As a screen capture system.

At Leeds Beckett our system can be used for all of those tasks identified above, so, although we may refer to it as a lecture capture system, it can, in fact, do so much more than that. With specific regard to the recording of a lecture, an area of concern is often around its potential impact on attendance. Toppin (2011) cited a number of works where the use of lecture capture has not been shown to have any significant impact on attendance, rather that students use it alongside the physical lecture attendance to clarify their notes and as an aide-memoir. Toppin also notes that, “The average professor speaks at 120 words per minute, but students write around 20 words per minute. This discrepancy obviously places students at a major disadvantage”.

Davis et al (2009) had identified that, “In much of the academic writing reviewed, student responses to projects where lectures have been captured and made available digitally is generally positive, and the perception is that teaching and learning have been improved,” and this aligns with our current anecdotal evidence gathered through the Students’ Union work.

“5 out of my 6 modules have recorded lectures. I am only in first year, but I managed to get high 2:1s, I put this down to being able to refer back to my lectures.” - Leeds Beckett Accounting Student

In addition to this, lecture recordings can be particularly useful for students who require reasonable adjustments for a disability.

“I was fortunate enough to have my lectures recorded. I suffered from ill health and dyspraxia, so I find it extremely difficult to write and listen simultaneously, which made lectures my worst nightmare.” - Leeds Beckett Politics Student

Whilst all students generally benefit from lecture capture, we know that having access to recordings of taught sessions is particularly useful for disabled students, students whose first language is not English, and for those who are returning to study after a period of time.

Our university’s lecture capture system is known as Replay. Recordings can be viewed online via the university's Replay account. Log in with your usual university name and password, and you will be able to access all recordings that have been made shared with you or made publicly available.

Replay uses recording software called Panopto, which is installed on every classroom or lecture theatre PC. You can also install it on your office PC or Mac via our Software Centre, or download it from the Replay website to install on your own personal computer.

Leeds Beckett has an opt-in service; lecture recordings do not take place automatically, they require an intervention by you to make them happen. They can be pre-scheduled by request, via the IT Services Self-service portal at selfservice.leedsbeckett.ac.uk or by contacting the IT Service Desk on 22222. Alternatively, you can record a session yourself in any classroom using the Panopto recorder application which is available on the desktop. The default set up is the recording of the desktop screen, slides and voice. Most teaching spaces now have document cameras installed, and this can also be recorded. The system can also record video if required, with the addition of a webcam, or a camcorder used with an HDMI capture device (available from the Media Loans desks in the libraries).

The easiest way to share recordings with students is via MyBeckett; any module can be configured to link with Panopto – viewing permissions are pulled from Blackboard, ring-fencing content so that only students registered on the module can view, and only tutors for the module can create or edit.

As the creator of a recording, you are in complete control of the viewing permissions. You can choose when to make it available, and with whom - you can keep it private to yourself, share with individual or groups of staff members or students, cohorts of students using the MyBeckett integration), or external users.

Panopto can also be used to record student assessments or presentations, or short videos for students to view prior to attending a seminar or tutorial – the ‘flipped classroom’ approach.

You can also pause the recording during the teaching session, or edit it after it has uploaded.  You can add captions, and even add short quizzes.

In addition to Panopto, there are some other online tools that can stream a teaching session live and record it, such as Blackboard Collaborate and Microsoft Teams.

These tools also allow for an online synchronous lecture tool that allows staff to conduct a webinar or online session which can also be recorded and shared at a later date.

This can allow students to engage in the session from a variety of locations as long as they have internet access. There is also an opportunity for them to post questions or even speak during the session if they have a microphone, and you have this feature enabled.

If you would like to know more about how to potentially use these tools in your learning and teaching please contact the Centre for Learning & Teaching clt@leedsbeckett.ac.uk. More information about the systems can be found on the Teaching and Learning resource site.

This guide clarifies the legal aspects of recording lectures at UK further and higher education institutions.

If you would like more information on how lecture capture can support students who require reasonable adjustment please contact Disability Advice.

Further information about Panopto can be found on the Panopto website. 

• Andrews, C.J.; Brown, R.C.; Harrison, C.K.W.; Read, D.; Roach, P.L. (2013). Lecture capture: Early lessons learned and experiences shared. New Directions: 6, 56-60
• Brady, M.; Wong, R.; Newton, G. Characterization of Catch-Up Behavior: Accession of Lecture Capture Videos Following Student Absenteeism. Educ. Sci. 2013, 3, 344-358
• Davis, S.; Connolly, A.; Linfield, E. Engineering Education, Volume 4, Issue 2 (2009), pp. 4-13 Lecture capture: making the most of face-to-face learning
• Toppin, I.N. Video lecture capture (VLC) system: A comparison of student versus faculty perceptions. Educ. Inf. Technol. 2011, 16, 383–393
• Walker, R.; Voce J.; Nicholls, J.; Swift, E.; Ahmed, J.; Horrigan, S.; Vincent P. (2014). 2014 Survey of Technology Enhanced Learning for higher education in the UK. Universities and Colleges Information Systems Association, Oxford, UK.
• Unless otherwise stated this Digital Pedagogy Guide by Leeds Beckett University is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International Licence.