Lecture Capture in Online Learning: A Community of Inquiry Perspective

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a study into the value of lecture captures foronline distance learning courses. Although recording on-campus lectures for on-campus students is increasingly common, there has been little scrutiny of the roleof lecture capture in online courses. We address this gap by exploring onlinedistance learning students’ perceptions of two types of recorded media; video-to-camera lectures and lecture captures through the lens of the Community ofInquiry (COI) Framework. The study concluded that lecture captures do notcontribute to the creation of a COI as they do not substantially increase cognitive,social or teaching presence. However, students were enthusiastic about lecturecaptures due to the naturalistic lecturing style and the opportunity to learnvicariously. We suggest that these findings should prompt greater considerationof the role of vicarious learning in online education and the tendency to perceivecampus-based education as being more ‘authentic’.