Growing Access To Lecture Capture – the GALA Project Launches

“Lecture capture is life changing. I took a course where the subject matter was really new to me. It was really late in the semester before I felt like the key concepts clicked. Lecture capture meant I could go back and watch lectures again, and get a better appreciation for the content that built on these, before the exam.” (PG Computer Sciences student – SMCSE, SU Survey Findings)

A new learning enhancement project launches at City this Autumn

The Growing Access To Lecture CApture (GALA) project aims to provide an enhanced learning experience by growing the use of lecture capture across City to support student progression, to meet the needs of students with specific learning differences or those whose native language is not English and to address the uneven provision of lecture capture across the estate.

This project will take a holistic approach to growing access by:

• Increasing the number of lecture capture enabled rooms
• Making improvements to the procedures for using lecture capture
• Reviewing and refreshing our current lecture capture policy
• Raising staff and student awareness of the benefits and effective use of lecture capture

Governance

The project is led by Sandra Partington (Senior Educational Technologist, LEaD) and involves staff from IT and LEaD. It is sponsored and guided by Professor Debra Salmon and Professor Rachael-Anne Knight on behalf of the Education and Student Committee and the Learning Environment Committee and the Student Union is represented by Vice President for Education, Saqlain Riaz.

Background to the project

In the last 12 months, LEaD staff have carried out a consultation with academics, programme managers and course officers who use lecture capture at scale and with staff who support students. The consultation concluded that there was a demand for wider access to lecture capture, a need to remove barriers of administration and to clarify policy, as well as to develop a deeper knowledge of how and when this technology can be most effective for learning, with a responsibility to guide those who provide it or access it for learning. In January and February 2019, the City Students’ Union, in collaboration with LEaD, ran a Lecture Capture Survey which gained 441 responses and added a further dimension to the consultation and its outcomes, which are collected under the GALA project for coordination.

In February 2019, City’s Education and Student Committee approved this project which was proposed by the Learning Environment Committee (LEC) in partnership with the City Students’ Union to expand the use of Lecture Capture at City and in May 2019 investment was provided to increase the provision from 60 to approximately 200 learning spaces at City.

Planning and preparation has taken place in the professional services and governance has been set up, so it is now time to launch the project.

Evaluation of learning from video and multi-media

A study will run alongside the project and inform its progress and learn more about embedding this practice, to this end LEaD has initiated a study of staff and students experience of learning from video and multi-media.

Within this study, LEaD will evaluate the experiences of City’s schools, academic staff and students with a view to, providing sound pedagogic rational and requirements to informing future investment decisions, updating the design of staff development and the design of support for students. A recent survey of technology enhanced learning within the UK HE sector (UCISA, 2018) indicates that City is acting in line with the sector, where lecture capture and recording, mobile learning, and electronic management of assessment are the dominant demands on University services. It is also timely to evaluate and consider the added dimension of ensuring accessibility to counter the changes to the Disabled Students’ Allowance in the English University sector.

Whats planned for this Autumn?

1. In January 2020, 7 rooms will be equipped for lecture capture, at Franklin and Tait, they are smaller rooms that seat between 15 to 48 people.
2. New posts to support the project have been created in IT Services; a Lecture Capture Support Coordinator is currently being recruited
3. The “What’s Working for Learning” workshops series will commence in schools from November and tour City’s schools, presenting and exploring the results of the consultation work was undertaken by LEaD and the City Students’ Union (SU). The workshops will explore how to improve lecture capture through changes to process, policy and guidance.

Synergies with other projects at City

The project relies on the progress of the Designing Active Learning Initiative (DALI) as it updates the educational technology in City’s learning spaces. Now in its fourth year DALI has paved the way to enable us to grow access to lecture capture by providing key infrastructure such as microphones and cameras. The latest blog on DALI updates us on the summer 2019 works.

Why use lecture capture as an academic?

In this short video (3.19 minutes) Dr Margaret Carran, Senior Lecturer in Law and Deputy Associate Dean (Education) for City Law School, discusses the use of lecture capture and mentions the benefits for students and considerations for academic staff in this LEaD Case Study from 2017.

How can lecture capture benefit City students?

City’s SU VC Education Saqlain Riaz adds,

‘Much is being done to improve the experience of City students, of which Lecture capture – namely the provision of online resources – is a key element. The time has come for us to learn from the lived experiences of our students, many of whom speak English as a second or third language. Accessibility is also an issue, long-distance commuter students don’t have the luxury of strolling onto campus as they please, many have other commitments and have to provide for themselves and their families. Studies point to issues with course-induced stress from a lack of lecture capture for students with disabilities, mental health concerns, and student carers. All should be taken into account when looking at ways to help our fee-paying students in ways that are unique to City and its drive to improve scores on assessment metrics such as the NSS and TEF. Besides, at the end of the day, if we’re not here to develop and aid our students, then what are we really here for?”

Want to know more?

Sandra Partington, Senior Educational Technologist in LEaD can be contacted as the GALA project manager, sandra.partington.1@city.ac.uk