This topic may not be of general interest, but as a former teacher, I
find it raises my hackles. The gist is that college instructors resist
having their lectures videotaped because then the students won't come to
class. I stood many, many times in front of a classroom wondering what
the hell we were all doing there and shouldn't there be some more
contem****ary way to teach? So I have little sympathy for the faculty.
The Lectures Are Recorded, So Why Go to Class?
By JEFFREY R. YOUNG
When video recordings of Ravi Janardan's computer-science course at the
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities first went online, the students
loved it. Instead of dragging themselves out of bed for the 8 a.m.
lectures, many started skipping cl***** and watching the recordings
instead.
"Personally I was not too happy about it," says Mr. Janardan, who
complained to administrators. And he wasn't the only professor
concerned. "There were a lot of howls of protest about it. People were
not happy."
Professors and administrators eventually reached a compromise: The
lectures would not be made available to students on the campus until 10
days after each class session. That way students could still use the
videos for review at exam time, but they would feel the need to show up
in person to keep up with assignments. Students taking the course
through the university's distance-education program would be able to see
the recordings immediately.
Recording lectures is becoming more and more common, and many colleges
are buying new products that make it as easy as pu****ng a button.
But many professors worry that as soon as recordings are available,
classroom seats will collect dust.
"It's by far the No. 1 fear," says Mark Jones, senior vice president and
general manager of Echo360, a company that makes a course-capture
system. He says he hears the concern at campus after campus as he makes
his pitch to set up recording systems across entire departments or
professional schools.
But proponents of the recordings say those concerns are overblown.
Many professors who make their lectures available online have added
incentives to keep their classrooms filled.
And they say it actually improves learning and retention, especially in
rigorous technical courses. At the same time, it is forcing professors
to rethink how to use classroom time when basic information can easily
be relayed online.
Cameras Roll Automatically
Iowa State University's veterinary school has enthusiastically adopted
the latest classroom-recording technologies. The three classrooms in
which most of the program's courses are taught all have cameras in
place, along with Echo360's system that automates the recording process.
While recording a video image of the professor, the system also records
whatever the professor is projecting on the screen at the front of the
room.
"We routinely capture everything going on in all the classrooms," says
Larry C. Booth, an associate professor leading the effort. He says the
system cost about $10,000.
Each professor decides whether his or her students are allowed to see
the recordings. The system automatically starts rolling at the set start
time and stops at the end of the hour -- the professors don't even have
to remember to push a button. Students who are granted access to the
recordings get to them through the college's course-management system.
"There are some instructors that do not want it released," says Mr.
Booth, and their primary fear, he says, is that students will stop
coming to class. So far about one-third of the professors give their
students full access to the recordings, and others allow some students
to see recordings if they have valid reasons for missing a class
session.
Mr. Booth says he encourages professors to try the system and to make
their class sessions more interactive so that students won't want to
skip. "What I tell them is, 'Well, if all you're going to do is lecture,
then there's no need for students to come to class.'" They could watch
the video of the session instead, he says.
Several students have benefited from the recordings, especially a
student who had to miss class for health reasons but was able to keep up
thanks to the videos, says Mr. Booth. "If you get behind in this
curriculum, you're dead -- there's no way to recover," he says.
Unexpected Results
So far, some professors who have endorsed the recordings have not seen
the mass exodus from the classroom that they had feared.
Christopher Brittan-Powell, an assistant professor of psychology at
Coppin State University, says he was concerned about attendance when he
started recording his lectures three years ago, so he started taking
attendance and considering that in final grades.
"It's not a major part of their grade," he says, "but it's substantial
enough that it does add up." He says he's seen no major change in
attendance.
The professor says that recordings have led to fewer dropouts in his
courses and that grades are up as well. "A lot of them are
nontraditional-age students, and many of them are working full time," he
says. "They're just not able to squeeze courses into their schedules, so
they often miss cl*****."
One unexpected result of the recordings: Fewer students are showing up
during office hours with questions about the material. "I either direct
students to that part of the lecture online, or they can just go there
themselves to get their questions answered," he says.
Edward J. Berger, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace
engineering at the University of Virginia who records his courses, says
he cuts off the camera about 10 minutes before the end of each lecture
-- and that's often when he talks about what will be on the test.
Students know that they have to show up in person to get that
information.
"I haven't noticed any problems in attendance," he says. "It does allow
students to tune out a little bit, knowing that it's recorded and they
can watch it later," he adds.
Historical Precedent
Christopher M. O'Neal, a senior consultant at the University of
Michigan's Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, argues that
professors are unnecessarily concerned that recordings will reduce
attendance.
"People have been saying the same thing about PowerPoints for years
now," he says, noting that many professors were initially reluctant to
place copies of their lecture slides online. "People said, If the
students have the PowerPoint slides, why do they need to go to lecture?"
But studies have shown that offering slides does not reduce attendance,
he says. "Students are getting something out of the face to face."
Mr. O'Neal predicts that the heaviest users of lecture recordings will
be high-achieving students, who already look for extra resources, rather
than struggling students who might gain the most from watching lectures
a second time. "Is it creating a situation where the rich get richer and
the poor get poorer?" he asks.
David M. Brommer, an assistant professor of geography at the University
of Alabama, has been recording his lectures since last spring using
software from Tegrity, and he gives short quizzes to keep students
coming.
He says students do watch the lectures a second time, though they
usually just review short sections they found difficult. He says the 200
students in his course have tuned in more than 3,000 times and watched
more than 675 hours of the lecture recordings.
He says that makes for better classroom discussion. "A lot of the
students who use it show up to class and are asking more engaged
questions."
And the videos let him hold a mirror up to his own teaching. About once
per semester, he sits down to watch a few of the recordings to see what
worked and what didn't, which he says helps him hone his craft.
Professors do have one trump card if they see a sudden drop in
attendance, says Al Ducharme, assistant dean of distance and distributed
learning at the University of Central Florida.
Some professors at the university have told students, "if you stop
coming to class or the attendance drops by 70 percent, I'm just not
going to record anymore."
HOW PROFESSORS WHO RECORD LECTURES KEEP STUDENTS IN CLASS
* Make cl***** more interactive.
* Give regular in-class quizzes.
* Shut off the camera when talking about what will be on the test.
* Wait 10 days after each lecture to offer a replay.
* Stop offering recordings if class attendance drops.
--
Dover
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