INSTITUTE FOR
TEACHING AND
LEARNING
TEACHING INSIGHTS - 11
WHAT DOES RESEARCH TELL US
ABOUT LECTURE RECORDING?
WHY DO STUDENTS USE LECTURE RECORDINGS?
Students are strongly in favour of having recordings available and believe they are useful (Pale et al., 2014; Bacro, et
al., 2011). Most students prefer the classroom as the primary learning space with online modes viewed primarily as a
supplement to, or occasional replacement for, the face-to-face experience. (Farrington et al., 2014). Students largely
use recorded lectures to catch up on missed lectures and as a revision tool for exams and assessments, and often find
recorded lectures to be a useful learning tool (Karnad, 2013).
Using recorded lectures to catch up may be because of a clash of classes, or because students are overloaded with
assignments, or because they are ill or working or have some personal reason for not being able to attend a particular
class (Marchand et al. 2014). Illness or competing priorities such as work or other lectures were more cited reasons for
students missing lectures than availability of recorded lectures (Massingham & Herrington (2006). Danielson et al. (2014)
found students were most likely to view the captured lectures in the courses that moved quickly, relied heavily on lectures,
were perceived as highly relevant to their future success, and contained information not available in other formats. More
students than staff perceived lecture capture to be a useful way to learn.
A survey of 1160 students by Soong et al. (2006) identified key themes for why students use recorded lectures. The top
reasons included: I can watch selected parts of the lectures which I don’t understand (34.51%); I find that video recorded
lectures help me in preparing for exams (21.46%); I can view the recorded lectures anywhere, anytime (18.14%); I access
video recorded lectures when I am sick (10.73%).
HOW DO STUDENTS USE LECTURE RECORDINGS?
Recorded lectures are used to enhance understanding of difficult concepts by able and by struggling students. Students
tend to view specific sections of recordings to reinforce their understanding of concepts, instead of viewing lecture
recordings in their entirety (Karnad, 2013). Research by Leadbeater et al. (2013) found that 75% of students used
recorded lectures, the majority in a targeted manner. In contrast, a small subset of students, (5%), were highly dependent
on recording. This ‘high user’ group is atypical, as it contains a high proportion of dyslexic and Non-English Speaking
Background (NESB) students (see below).
WHICH STUDENTS MAKE MOST USE OF LECTURE RECORDINGS?
Lecture capture is more likely to be of benefit to low achieving students (Owston, Lupshenyuk & Wideman, 2011).
Students with lower academic achievement tend to access recorded lectures more frequently and are more likely to
view the lecture in its entirety. NESB students or others who are struggling use recorded lectures to increase their
understanding of vocabulary and content (Leadbeater et al., 2013; Soong et al., 2006). Some of these students may
attend the lecture and then also listen to the lecture, sometimes more than once (Owston, Lupshenyuk & Wideman, 2011).
A study by Marchand et al. (2014) found students used recorded lectures in study groups.
WHEN DO STUDENTS ACCESS LECTURE RECORDINGS?
Students tend to access lecture recordings more actively at the start of the academic semester with reducing activity as
the semester progresses (Phillips et al., 2010). However, students start to increase access to lecture recordings again to
prepare for assessments and exams (Gosper et al. 2008).
WHAT IS THE EFFECT ON LECTURE ATTENDANCE?
In general, studies have found access to recorded lectures has little to no effect on student attendance at live lectures
(Holbrook & Dupont, 2009; Pursel & Fang, 2012; reported in Karnad, 2013). However, the complexity of student behaviour
using recorded lectures makes it difficult to draw simple conclusions about whether access to recorded lectures does
reduce attendance (Newton et al 2014). Von Konsky, Ivins and Gribble (2009) found that the availability of recordings
was not seen to impact lecture attendance, although students showed some tendency to listen to the recording for a
missed lecture. While studies by Drouin (2013) and Johnson et al. (2013) found lower attendance in classes with lecture
recordings available than ones without, in each case that difference disappeared when demographic differences between
the students in the classes were considered. Other studies have found that recorded lectures do seem to have a slight
negative effect on lecture attendance (Gorissen et al., 2012), which may be explained by natural declines in student
attendance over time. Marchand et al. (2014) reported that “consistent with the literature, most students reported no
decline or only a modest decline in attendance … however, half of the faculty members perceived that attendance had
declined by 20% or more”. Students only attend lectures if they perceive ‘value’ in them and having access to lecture
recordings is unlikely to have an effect on classes which are not generally valued by students (Massingham & Herrington,
2006).
INSTITUTE FOR
TEACHING AND
LEARNING
TEACHING INSIGHTS - 11
WHAT DOES RESEARCH TELL US
ABOUT LECTURE RECORDING?
DO RECORDED LECTURES AFFECT STUDENT RESULTS?
Some studies claim that recorded lectures have little to no effect on student results (Franklin et al., 2011). Leadbeater et
al. (2013) found that despite high usage, lecture recordings did not appear to significantly effect academic performance.
Phillips et al. (2011) suggest that more frequent access to recorded lectures leads to more positive results and learning
behaviours while Traphagan et al. (2009) also found that reductions in student lecture attendance due to the
availability of lecture recordings had a negligible effect on student attainment (Karnad, 2013).
DO STUDENTS VALUE LECTURE RECORDINGS?
Research by Beale et al. (2014) found that students rated face-to-face teaching and that supplemented by lecture capture
equally, reporting that face-to-face lectures had the advantage of allowing them to interact with the instructor, whereas
online lectures could be paused, replayed, and viewed at any time. Boffey et al. (2010) found that students reported using
the digital lectures to supplement rather than replace the face-to-face lectures and valued this highly. When asked why
they attended lectures when there was a recording available, the largest number (nearly half in some classes) of students
in a study by Maynor et al. (2013) said that they came to classes because of quizzes, tests or other activities. Pale et al.
(2014) found students’ survey responses indicated they prefer lecture captures for learning and that their availability would
not necessarily have a negative impact on students’ live lecture attendance rates.
WHAT ARE STAFF ATTITUDES TO LECTURE RECORDINGS?
In their research into staff attitudes to lecture capture, Bond and Grussendorf (2013) found that the prevalent barrier to
adopting the system is a fear about drop in lecture attendance. They noted that staff were willing to record lectures under
special circumstances and for equity reasons, such as for students with disabilities. Their interviewees “also referred to the
potential for more interesting ways of making use of recorded content”.
Finally, Bond and Grussendorf suggest that lecture recording brings into question the nature of teaching and the role of
lectures: why we give them and why we regard it as important that students attend them.
WHAT IS SYDNEY’S LECTURE RECORDING GUIDELINES?
Find out about the University’s guidelines at http://sydney.edu.au/elearning/staff/
FAQ_lecturestreaming.shtml
REFERENCES ON LECTURE RECORDINGS
Bacro, T., Mulugeta, G. & Fitzharris, T. (2011) Evaluation of a lecture recording system Australasian Journal of Educational
Technology, 27(2), 175-191.
Beale, E. G., Tarwater, P. M., & Lee, V. H. (2014). A retrospective look at replacing face-to-face embryology instruction with
online lectures in a human anatomy course. Anatomical Sciences Education, 7(3), 234-241. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/
ase.1396
Boffey, R., Gerrans, P., & Kennedy, S. (2010). Using Digital Lectures to Assist Student Learning. eCULTURE, 3(1), n.p.
Bond, S., Grussendorf, S. (2013). Staff attitudes to lecture capture. Discussion Paper. The London School of Economics
and Political Science, London, UK. Retrieved from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/54870/http://ro.ecu.edu.au/eculture/vol3/
iss1/17
Danielson, J., Preast, V., Bender, H., & Hassall, L. (2014). Is the effectiveness of lecture capture related to teaching
approach or content type? Computers & Education, 72(0), 121-131. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/
S0360131513003011
Drouin, M. (2013). If You Record It, Some Won’t Come: Using Lecture Capture in Introductory Psychology Teaching of
Psychology. http://top.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/12/04/0098628313514172.abstract
Farrington, S., Tarr, J., Douglas, T., Bird, M., Pittaway, J., Hoffman, K & Beh, C. (2014) This place or any place: student
preferences for lecture ‘places’ in a blended learning environment in Bioscience, Teaching Matters 2014, December 2-3,
Launceston, Tasmania
INSTITUTE FOR
TEACHING AND
LEARNING
TEACHING INSIGHTS - 11
WHAT DOES RESEARCH TELL US
ABOUT LECTURE RECORDING?
Gosper, M. et al., (2008).Final Report: The Impact of Web-Based Lecture Technologies on Current and Future Practices in
Learning and Teaching, Sydney: Australian Learning and Teaching Council.
Gorissen, P., Van Bruggen, J. & Jochems, W., 2012. Students and recorded lectures: survey on current use and demands
for higher education. Research in Learning Technology, 20, pp.143–153. Available at: http://newrepo.alt.ac.uk/717/.
[Accessed June 6, 2013] Johnston, A. N. B., Massa, H., & Burne, T. H. J. (2013). Digital lecture recording: A cautionary
tale. Nurse Education in Practice, 13(1), 40-47. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1471595312001357
Karnad, A. (2013) Student use of recorded lectures: a report reviewing recent research into the use of lecture capture
technology in higher education, and its impact on teaching …- eprints.lse.ac.uk
Leadbeater, W., Shutterworth,T.,, Couperthwaite , J. & Nightingale, K. (2013) Evaluating the use and impact of lecture
recording in undergraduates: Evidence for distinct approaches by different groups of students. Computers Education,
61, pp.185–192.
Marchand, J-P. Pearson , M. & Albon, S. (2014) Student and Faculty Member Perspectives on Lecture Capture in
Pharmacy Education. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 2014; 78 (4) Article 74.
Massingham, P. & Herrington, T., 2006. Does Attendance Matter? An Examination of Student Attitudes, Participation,
Performance and Attendance. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practise, 3(2), pp.83–103. Maynor, L. M.,
Barrickman, A. L., Stamatakis, M. K., & Elliott, D. P. (2013). Student and Faculty Perceptions of Lecture Recording in a
Doctor of Pharmacy Curriculum. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 77(8), 165. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/pmc/articles/PMC3806949/
Newton, G., Tucker, T., Dawson, J., & Currie, E. (2014). Use of Lecture Capture in Higher Education - Lessons from the
Trenches. TechTrends, 58(2), 32-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11528-014-0735-8
Owston, R., Lupshenyuk, D. & Wideman, H. (2011)Lecture capture in large undergraduate classes: Student perceptions
and academic performance, The Internet and Higher Education Volume 14, Issue 4, Pages 262–268http://www.
sciencedirect.com/science/journal/10967516/14/4 et al.(2013)
Pale, P., Petrovic, J., & Jeren, B. (2014). Assessing the learning potential and students’ perception of rich lecture captures.
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 30(2), 187-195.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12039
Petrovic , J. & Pale, P. (2014) Assessing the learning potential and students’ perception of rich lecture captures, Journal of
Computer Assisted Learning Volume 30, Issue 2, pages 187–195, April 2014. DOI: 10.1111/jcal.12039
Soong, S.K.A., Chan, L.K. & Cheers, C., (2006) Impact of video recorded lectures among students Proceedings of the 23rd
annual ascilite conference: Who’s learning? Whose technology? Ascilite 2006. Sydney, The University of Sydney.
Sydney, pp. 789–793.
von Konsky, B., Ivins, j. & Gribble, S. (2009) Lecture attendance and web based lecture technologies: A comparison of
student perceptions and usage patterns. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 25(4), 175-191.
This Teaching Insight was prepared by the ITL drawing in particular on the London School of Economics literature review
by Karnad (2013), and a literature review prepared by Mary-Helen Ward from Sydney eLearning.