Podcasting at QM – the Student Perspective
“I find it difficult to absorb the entire lecture whilst sat taking notes.
The recorded lectures have been invaluable to my current high grades.”
- Student response, Q-Review Survey
We recently ran a survey on podcasting lectures at QM, seeking the views of staff and students on this technology. We received 614 responses from students who took the time to include some really good comments. We share some of these below.
The term ‘podcasting’ was used loosely to describe a means of recording content and distributing to an intended audience. A more precise definition of the term podcasting is described on Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting
Fear of student absenteeism is one of the primary concerns cited by teaching staff (refer to “QM Podcasting Survey Results” post). However research indicates that lecture capture has little, if any, impact on attendance. 82.2% of student survey respondents indicated that their attendance would remain the same and here are some reasons they gave why they would still attend:
“I get more out of the actual lecture interactivity and only use the recordings when I need to query something.”
“It is much more motivating and inspiring to see the actual EXPERT talking in real life about their subject!”
“It is the discussion between lecturers and students that have the more rewarding intellectual content – you can’t get this from a recording.”
“I like to be present during lectures initially and then know that I have the full recording to go over again later”
“recordings should be a back up like a cd. it is like music, it is better live but after the concert replaying a cd helps refresh the memories”
“I find that I understand something better after going over it twice or three times, so I would use both the recoding and the lecture itself”
“Rather than rushing to note ‘everything’ the lecturer says, I could be more pro-active in my engagement with the presentation”
“Recordings are helpful when you’re absent – recordings aren’t the cause for absence”.
“…if I haven’t gone to the lecture, chances are I won’t bother to watch the recording either”
“I (sic) struggle taking notes, and remembering what has been said. I attend all lectures and practicals but I spend so much time cleaning up my notes in preparation for exam revision that I fall behind on reading and other homework. Recorded lectures would aid in confident studying.”
“Only a fool would sit there and rely on technology.”
“Sometimes a lecturer talks so fast that while you are noting down one point you miss the next. When I think i have missed something I like to listen again. Repetition also helps cement it into my mind. The problem is that most lectures are not made available to us so we cannot rely on the service. This is a huge shame and a waste of a valuable resource. It really lets the school down that they cannot seem to organise it adequately.”
In the survey, students were asked: “Do you think that the recording of lectures are helpful to your studies?”
95% said yes, and again, they were very forthcoming with comments. One student summarised the benefits as “(a) Can go back and listen to them more than once if you dont understand a point, (b) can listen to them in your own time. (C) can make more thorough notes from them by pausing and playing them. (d) can catch up on any missed lectures. (e) helps to refresh memory during exam time”. Another student commented “I find it difficult to absorb the entire lecture whilst sat taking notes. The recorded lectures have been invaluable to my current high grades.”
There were near 500 additional comments on this question, please see: All student responses to Question 6
Students were also asked if being able to review lecture recordings would mean that they stopped taking notes in class, to which 87.1% said No they wouldn’t stop taking notes. One student points out “the more notes I take the more I would learn” while another states that “Taking notes also helps me to concentrate.”
Overall, lecture capture provides an opportunity to improve the service we offer students, both in terms of flexibility of access for revision and study, for accessibility and for effective learning.
If you are interested in making recordings for your students, or if you would like to learn more about the different options available – whether recording a live event or pre-recorded content – then please get in touch with us at qreview-admin@qmul.ac.uk
You may also be interested in:
- QM Podcasting Survey Results
- Q-Review Lecture Capture Service
- Case Study – Law lecturer shares her Q-Review experience