Student and staff perceptions of Lectopia

Some Australian universities have had a long tradition of capturing analogue recordings of lectures and providing these for distance students or storing them in libraries for students who may have missed a lecture. However, the recent emergence of web-based lecture recording technologies, such as Lectopia, has heralded a growing use of digital lecture recordings by all students. This is pushing the boundaries of established practice and challenging the role of the face-to-face lecture as a prime teaching strategy. Four Australian universities - Macquarie University, Murdoch University, Flinders University and the University of Newcastle - have been collaborating on a project funded by the Carrick Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. This project investigates the impact of web-based lecture recording technologies on current and future practice in learning and teaching in higher education. This presentation reports on preliminary results of this research, arising from surveys of students and staff, and in-depth interviews. This and other studies have found that Lectopia is very popular with students. Lectopia provides flexible and convenient access to lectures for students who cannot attend lectures for work, family and lifestyle reasons. Many students use Lectopia in positive ways to support their learning, and they see it as assisting their ability to achieve better results. Academic perceptions of the value of Lectopia are mixed. It is seen as a tool to provide flexibility for students unable to attend lectures, and to support external students. However, many academics report falling attendance, and are concerned at the loss of contact with students and a diminished learning experience. Many students reported that listening to a lecture recording is just as valuable as attending face-to-face and this is challenging to the self-perception of many academics about their role as lecturers. On the other hand, other academics have reported no apparent changes in attendance, and have used the Lectopia technology to enrich the learning experience of their students, largely by changing the unit structure and activities. This session will present some of the results of this research and explore the implications for future university teaching.