Lecture Recording in MU: Student Perspectives
Several stakeholders in Maynooth University have been working on Lecture Recording Guidelines over the last few months. Here, the MU SU VP of Education along with MU students give their thoughts on lecture recording along with what they think this policy could achieve.
If there is one thing that has become synonymous with the past year it has certainly been recording lectures. They have very quickly gone from a rarely-used novelty in the lecture hall to a student’s main way of learning. This year has been a unique year for lecture recordings, as there was no viable alternatives with university campuses mostly closed. However, the upcoming academic year will hopefully have much more on-campus time, and so the necessity of recorded lectures will be less apparent.
Despite this, many students have found recorded lectures incredibly useful this year. Whether it be for reasons relating to their flexibility, accessibility or revision – there have been numerous advantages for many people. Therefore, the question of how recorded lectures will work, if at all, has been raised about the upcoming academic year. In response to this, Maynooth University are devising lecture recording Guidance in order to provide clarity to teaching staff and the approach they should take going forward when it comes to recording their lectures.
Julian Nagi – VP Education & Deputy President MSU
Do you now see recorded lectures as an integral part of the college experience?
Absolutely! Where it is appropriate to do so, recording lectures adds a huge value to the students’ academic development. In particular, they benefit students living with disabilities, students with part time jobs and students who for personal reasons may not be able to make all lectures. As we focus on making third level education accessible to an increasingly diverse cohort of students, extensive use of lecture recording will have to become the norm in Ireland’s Higher Education Institutions.
What do you hope the MU Lecture Recording Guidance will achieve?
I hope the MU Lecture Recording Guidance will provide the clarity needed to do lecture recording right. Many of the challenges to lecture recording today relate to concerns around data protection, copyright, dealing with sensitive topics and best practice in dissemination. I am confident that the draft document we have today has the potential to address those challenges and result in enhanced learning outcomes for all students of Maynooth University.
Dr Susan Gottlöber – MU Department of Philosophy
Do you now see recorded lectures as an integral part of the college experience?
From the lecturer’s perspective, I would not emphasise it so strongly as approaches and preferences among colleagues will differ widely and freedom of teaching methods should be respected as well as trusting colleagues that they will be able to judge best how to teach best. There may be a variety of reasons why lecturers may decide to not record their lectures and it is not an indication of lesser quality or less of a dedication to students if a lecturer decides to not record.
From my own perspective and experiencing the benefits of recorded lectures over the last year, coupled with the strong demand expressed by students that pre-recorded lectures remain, they will become an integral part of my teaching from now on. This is on the condition that these will enhance but not replace (there will be exceptions of course) the face-to-face learning experience.
What do you hope the MU Lecture Recording Policy will achieve?
Most importantly, the difference between guidelines and a policy need to be recognised: the presented guidelines are not in any way to be understood as a recommendation to record, they entail no ‘ought’ as we would say in philosophy—which was a worry expressed by a number of colleagues. Rather, they are, firstly, intended to both inform about the benefits and drawbacks of recording or pre-recording lectures. Laying out these grounds as comprehensive as possible is intended to help colleagues to make informed choices who may consider using recordings.
Secondly, if a colleague decides to record their lectures, the guidelines give advice on best practice on what to watch out for (we have learned from the last year what and what not to do!) and the legal situation with regard to intellectual property. Therefore, it is really important that the document is not understood to be prescriptive—which in my opinion would lead to less acceptance but as an enabling document to support colleagues to make informed choices in order to achieve the best possible outcomes in learning and teaching. There is a strong emphasis on communication in order to manage expectations: whatever colleagues decide, make sure students are aware!
Nicole Carr – MSU Postgrad Rep
Do you now see recorded lectures as an integral part of the college experience?
Yes, in my opinion it is integral to ensure that college is as accessible as possible and recorded lectures are absolutely central to accessibility of education for all. As someone who did not have any of my lectures recorded throughout the pandemic and online learning experience, I can say that it was so challenging to keep up with and I can’t imagine how much more challenging it was for students who had various other affecting factors such as students with disabilities or variating uncomfortable living environments.
What do you hope the MU Lecture Recording Policy will achieve?
I hope the policy will achieve a clear and fair procedure to allow for both students and staff to follow lecture recording correctly. I also hope that the policy will achieve a much-needed step forward in accessibility for MU.
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