Shortlisted in the Times Higher Education Awards 2017
13 Sep 2017
Our lecture capture service gets nominated as Tech Innovation of the Year
The University has been shortlisted in the Technological Innovation of the Year category of the Times Higher Education Awards 2017.
The innovative work of our IT Media Technologies Team working in collaboration with our Disability Advice and Support Service (DASS) has changed the University’s lecture capture service – also known as podcasting – to better support DASS registered students. Since September 2016, where DASS believe lecture capture will support a student's studies, they can prescribe that 100% of their lectures will be recorded for their whole academic career with us – even if they have been opted-out of the recording process.
The University – like other HE institutions – has been using a lecture capture system for some time, but our innovative new use of the system has had overwhelming positive results for students. The development has been described by students as one of the most useful resources they are now given, making them feel more included in the University experience and less disadvantaged.
Approximately 2,000 students were provided with this additional study aid in 2016/17. Over 82% described the additional recordings as essential to their studies. 83% made frequent use of the material, and 94% felt they would go on to gain higher marks as a result.
Prof Richard Reece, Associate Vice President for Teaching, Learning and Students, says, "Lecture capture has the ability to be transformative in terms of the student learning experience. However, its greatest power is linked to a consistency of availability – an issue highlighted by HEFCE in our recent TEF outcome statement. Making recordings for virtually every teaching event available to disabled students, reinforces our commitment to these students but also impacts all students at the institution.”
The University has over 320 rooms and teaching spaces equipped for podcasting. In the most recent academic year we recorded over 55,000 hours of lectures – which were viewed almost 5 million times!
THE Awards are known as the “Oscars of Higher Education”, and we look forward to finding out if we have won at the awards ceremony on Thursday 30 November.