Video Lecture Capture Technology Helps Students Study without Affecting Attendance in Large Microbiology Lecture Courses

Abstract

Recording lectures using video lecture capture software and making them available for students to watch anytime, from anywhere, has become a common practice in many universities across many disciplines. The software has become increasingly easy to use and is commonly provided and maintained by higher education institutions. Several studies have reported that students use lecture capture to enhance their learning and study for assessments, as well as to catch up on material they miss when they cannot attend class due to extenuating circumstances. Furthermore, students with disabilities and students from non-English Speaking Backgrounds (NESB) may benefit from being able to watch the video lecture captures at their own pace. Yet, the effect of this technology on class attendance remains a controversial topic and largely unexplored in undergraduate microbiology education. Here, we show that when video lecture captures were available in our large enrollment general microbiology courses, attendance did not decrease. In fact, the majority of students reported that having the videos available did not encourage them to skip class, but rather they used them as a study tool. When we surveyed NESB students and nontraditional students about their attitudes toward this technology, they found it helpful for their learning and for keeping up with the material.

To capture the research landscape of lecture capture in university education

“…Similarly, according to Marchand et al (2014) , students believed that lecture capture would not affect their attendance but instructors noted increased absenteeism. Nevertheless, several works also reported non-significant relations between lecture capture and attendance ( Baker et al, 2018 ; Bollmeier et al, 2010 ; Davis et al, 2009 ; Franklin et al, 2011 ; Groen et al, 2016 ; Gysbers et al, 2011; McLean & Suchman, 2016 ; Nordmann et al, 2019 ; Shaw & Molnar, 2011 ; von Konsky et al, 2009 ; Wiese and Newton, 2013 ; Williams et al, 2016 ).…”

Investigating the use of a lecture capture system within pharmacy education: Lessons from an undergraduate pharmacy program at Qatar University

“…If a student fails to attend more than 25% of classes for a specific course within one semester, the student will receive a failing grade for that course, thus ensuring optimal student attendance. A multitude of studies have been conducted in this regard and many studies have concluded that lecture capture does not affect student attendance, whereby students use the recordings to supplement or enhance lecture material rather than replace live lectures (McLean & Suchman, 2016;Copley, 2007;Traphagan et al, 2010).…”

Lecture capture affects student learning behaviour

“…Previous studies on the effect of lecture capture on attendance have shown conflicting results. Although several studies found no or only small effects [24,34,35], others reported a substantial drop in lecture attendance when lecture capture was introduced [12,[36][37][38].…”