Lecture Capture? How about Lecture Creation.

2009-11-02T06:31:00.000-08:00

There's still some chalkboard space left to use.

I would like to state upfront that I am by no means supporting any particular lecture capture software package, however I have experience with Panopto's CourseCast and Sonic Foundary's MediaSite. The ideas I am presenting could be accomplished with any lecture capture package whether it is CourseCast, MediaSite, Echo 360, Tegrity or Camtasia Relay. At this time I am also not considering issues of intellectual property or specific issues concerning the use of publisher materials within a lecture. I am well aware that these are relevant concerns in our litigious society, but I will leave that for another discussion. My intention is to consider, from a theoretically perspective, how lecture capture technologies could re-purpose the in-class time currently spent on traditional lecture.

When one first mentions lecture capture most think of a technology that captures everything that an instructor does in a classroom and makes it available for student review after that class has taken place [1] [2]. The statement that usually follows is the concern from faculty that students will not attend class if lectures are captured and made available offline [1][2][3][4]. While this is a valid concern, it brings up a question about the application of the lecture capture technology. Why is the main application of this technology to archive lectures for later review? If a recording is threatening in class attendance, then it might be time to rethink what is taking place during that time.

When I was an undergrad in the late 1990s and a graduate student in the early 2000s the majority of the lecture time was the faculty member speaking at the student. PowerPoint had not been popularized when I was an undergrad, so lectures consisted of writing notes from what the instructor had written on the chalkboard or transparency projector. The lectures were often no more than summaries of the readings, or in the case for my film studies courses, providing a historically context to that weeks film. Many of my lectures had large enrollments with the largest having 400 students. In-class discussions were not an option for those large lectures, but instead was intended to take place during once a week recitations. However, often these recitation were nothing more than a review of what was covered during the two lectures that week.

During my graduate years in Information Science PowerPoint was prevalent, but was just used to display information that I would assume was presented on an overhead projector or written on the board prior to PowerPoint. The first half of our 3 hour classes were lecture and then the other half was sometimes group work, but often more lecturing. Is it really necessary to spend so much time on in class lecturing?

What if informational lectures were viewed outside the classroom and time together was used for discussion, group work or projects designed around the lecture recordings? Is it necessary for universities to have a lecture of 100 students let alone 400? How has the delivery of in class information to students changed in the last 100 years? Or have we just stopped purchasing chalkboards and chalk, and installed projectors and computers as replacement?

A lecture capture system such has Panopto's CourseCast allows for a student to create notes while viewing a recording. These notes are synced with a recording so the context of that note with the lecture is not lost. It also provides a feature for a shareable channel or notes area. Any student can use this channel to post a question about a lecture and it is synced with the recording. A professor could review any questions that may have been posted by students and then discuss that question in greater detail during face to face meetings. In class time could be used for more student to student interaction or group work building off of what had been presented outside of class. Why does a professor need to spend so much time stating facts or demonstrating how a programming language is written? Students could watch lectures on their own time and the professor could mentor or guide students as they apply that information in class.

The means of communication and availability of information should make the traditional lecture obsolete in the next 5 years. Too often the use of technology is to capture a moment in time to be archived as a record of an event having taken place. Lecture capture systems should be used to supplement a student's learning. It does not need to be used only to create a recording of classroom events, but rather should be used to enhance the students' learning experience inside and outside the classroom. This is by no means a simple task of recording PowerPoint lectures and posting those recordings online. Courses will need to be redesigned with activities and assessments to compliment the new method of lecture delivery, but I believe the work involved to change a course should be realized in the learning experience for the student and faculty.

References:
[1] Educause (2008, December). 7 things you should know about... Lecture Capture. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7044.pdf

[2] McClure, Ann (2008, April). Lecture Capture: A Fresh Look. University Business. Retrieved from http://www.universitybusiness.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1043

[3] Moser, Lindsay (2009, October 23). Lecture Capture Software Enhances Classroom Experience. Message posted to http://utownblog.wordpress.com

[4] Scauffhauser, Dian (2009, June 10). Lecture Capture is Getting Campuses Talking. Campus Technology. Retrieved from http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2009/06/10/Lecture-Capture-Is-Getting-Campuses-Talking.aspx

Welcome and Introduction

2009-10-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

For the longest time I hesitated in creating a blog. I believe this to be due to some form of social phobia. There is something about creating a work of writing or video for potentially millions of known and unknown people that is very unnerving to me. However my sense of history and self-reflexivity has finally won out.

I have always had an interest in technology. My mother was a librarian-turned-technology coordinator for the school district I attended, so I was surrounded by computers since I can remember. The ability to remember is one of the motivations for starting this blog. I can clearly remember playing Dogfight on our Apple II with my brother. I recall the Texas Instrument that we had and its external hard drive which had an additional 32K of memory. I remember that the Texas Instrument could store data to audio cassettes. The day that we order our Macintosh LC II over the phone and having no idea of when it would arrive (within 2-4 weeks) is clear in my mind. Then there is the memory of getting the Power Mac 5260 and spending hours creating fake movie titles and credits using Adobe Premiere 4.0. I remember when I first used Mosaic, waiting an hour for email to download and the sound of a successful modem connection. When I came to college in 1997, I had a Power Mac 6500 (before having a Mac was considered "hip") and was mocked incessantly for it.

And then...my brain stopped storing memories of technology.

I refuse to accept that getting older is the reason for my inability to create experiential memories. I prefer the reasoning brought forth in Dr. Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan's book, iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind. Technology is the reason I can not remember technology. So I will use technology to allow my future self to recall what my present self is doing.

This blog will look at my investigation of current technologies and the potential applications and impacts these technologies may have in higher education. This space will also serve as my long term memory, so that in 10-15 years I can review where technology has progressed during those years.

Tech-U-Web

Lecture Capture? How about Lecture Creation.

Welcome and Introduction