History of Art Department
- Lecture Capture through the Eyes of Students The Student Experience
The History of Art Department has used Replay for two years, and has been slowly increasing the number
of lecture series that have been recorded. Consequently, increasing numbers of students have had
experience with the system.
This year the department employed lecture capture for the ‘Antiquity after Antiquity’ and ‘Concepts and
Methods’ courses. Students are regularly surveyed to find out about the ways in which they use Replay, and
how they feel about it. There were 13 students in the ‘Antiquity after Antiquity’ course, of whom nine
responded to the survey. There were 42 students in ‘Concepts and Methods’ of whom 11 completed the
evaluation.
While the response rate is not especially high, the answers were consistent across both groups of students,
suggesting that most students had very similar experiences of, and feelings towards, the system.
“Recordings allow you to pause and take fully
informed notes of something you might have
missed”
Student, History of Art Department
Context
 Recordings are generally done in small
lecture theatres
 Lecturers make extensive use of
PowerPoint slides
 The department has recorded lectures for
many years, but prior to Replay had been
using a solid-state recorder
 Replay has been used for two years
 Students have access only to their own
year’s lectures via WebLearn
 They record only audio and slides, not
video
Requirements
 Replay should be unobtrusive and not
necessitate pedagogical change
 It should be superior to all the previous
methods used for recording lectures
 It should provide students with an effective,
but simple to use tool to aid revision
“Being able to listen again helps in
that I can take better notes”
“It is also reassuring to know they are
available in case of illness. However, I
would never see it as a substitute for a
live lecture.”
“While the speaker is talking I am
able to think about what is being said
rather than try to write it down”
Replaying History
The Good
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Most students use recorded lectures as a
revision aid. They view recordings after
lectures and shortly before exam times.
Student stress levels are reduced knowing
that if they do not understand something
they can revisit it as many times as
necessary.
When students were unable to attend the
lecture (due to illness or family reasons),
the recordings provided a safety net that
stopped them from falling behind.
Students found that being able to review
the lecture and take notes at a later date
frees them from the worry of writing
everything down during the live lecture;
thereby allowing them to focus on the
actual content.
The students see the recordings as
supplementary to, rather than as a
replacement for, live lectures.
Replay has increased student engagement
with the lecture, despite fears it may do the
opposite.
The Bad
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Some students complained that lecturers
occasionally wander away from the
microphone, making it difficult to hear what
was being said.
One student asked if lecture recordings could
be made available even more rapidly than they
already are.
Some students seemed concerned that
recordings may replace live lectures, and noted
the essential nature of live lectures.
Differences in Opinion
‘Antiquity after Antiquity’ students felt recordings
would be more useful for exam revision, while
‘Concepts and Methods’ students indicated an
interest in having recordings available very soon after
the lecture and being granted year-round access to
them.
Conclusions
Students in the History of Art Department were
overwhelmingly positive about their experiences with
Replay. They found it an extremely useful
supplement to their studies, and any problems stem
from human error. Some students do seem worried
that recordings may replace live lectures, but this is
not the intention of either departments or IT
Services. The department plans to continue using
Replay and to encourage greater and more efficient
student use of the system.
Oxford plans to roll out Replay as a full service in 2016
Want to find out more?
Contact the Replay team at: replay@it.ox.ac.uk
Check out the latest Replay news at: http://blogs.it.ox.ac.uk/lecture-capture