YuJa lecture capture

Recording live lectures

YuJa is a video hosting platform similar to YouTube that allows instructors to create and share recorded content. Instructors can login in to their YuJa account and start recording using the podium computer at the beginning of the class session. The video will capture the slides displayed on the computer along with the instructor's voice when used with a microphone. YuJa can also capture other content including document cameras depending on the inputs selected. Select stop recording to automatically upload recorded videos to the Media folder in YuJa. Once the video has been rendered the instructor will be able to make the video available through Moodle. Instructors can also upload video and/or audio from a PC or mobile device to their YuJa Media folder and make it available in one or more courses. Videos uploaded to YuJa are secure and only accessible once you link them to a particular class or group of classes. If you use the Moodle plugin to share your course videos, it is very difficult for students to share or save these videos.

What kind of courses and classes benefit most from this technology?

Recording live lectures is particularly useful when teaching large classes, especially those classes that rely on instructor-led lectures accompanied by slides and/or documents. The microphone is mainly intended to capture the instructor's voice. Classes that involve group interaction do not lend themselves well to this technology because the audio interactions may not be picked up by the microphone and captured during the video recording. It's also important to note that classes displaying chalkboard or whiteboard content will require the use of a camera in order to capture the associated material when presented. 

General advice for lecture recording

If you are planning on pre-recording your lectures, whether you use YuJa, Zoom or PowerPoint's slide narration tool, there are a number of things you can do to ensure better audio and video quality. Consider the following recommendations when preparing your recorded lectures.

• Avoid large files and long recordings
• Prepare your lecture and slides with video in mind 
• Optimize audio and video quality

Related policy

When recording the voices or images of anyone in the classroom course instructors must receive signed release forms from the students and any other participants. Instructors should include a statement of use either on their course outline or in the Moodle site. Ideally instructors should include this information in the course outline and Moodle.

Please review the Lecture Capture guidelines.

Lecture Capture course outline insert

Guest lecturer recording consent and release form

For more information on using YuJa, please see the YuJa IITS Services page.

Lecture capture technology allows professors to record a lecture and share it digitally with students. These lectures can be recorded live in the classroom or outside of class. Depending on the way in which you record your lectures, they can be used in different ways. Lectures recorded in class are typically used as a review tool for students and can also be use by instructors as learning resource in future courses. Recordings made out-of-class are typically produced to support online, flipped or blended learning. YuJa can be used to promote engagement and student learning by creating:

• audio/video recordings of live lectures used for review after class or shared in advance to prepare for an upcoming class (e.g. flipped classroom) 
• desktop recordings (screencast content, cursor movement, typing, writing with a stylus on a tablet).
• live video lectures or other types of videos recorded outside the classroom such as realtime experiments and research fieldwork which can then be used for blended and/or online learning.

How lecture capture can be used to enhance teaching and learning for students.

Virtually any course could benefit from having a video library. Depending on your course, the kinds of videos you upload will vary, but here are a few examples of the kinds of videos that can be uploaded to YuJa for your course:

• Zoom recordings
• performances
• demonstrations (lab, industrial, health & physical, etc.)
• role plays, interviews
• guided tours

Suggested strategies for making the most of YuJa

• Record a visiting professor and then share with others who could not attend
• Record in preparation for a class that will be missed by the professor
• Record a demonstration (how to use a software, how to perform a task, …)
• Record a scientific experiment
• Develop content for a blended or online course
• Share multidisciplinary content - share a lecture capture from a colleague from another department or institution with your students.
• Record a lecture for viewing before class and use class time for active problem solving thus making the in-class or live Zoom session time more dynamic (i.e. flipped classroom)
• Have students listen to a recording out-of class and answer questions on a wiki, thus making the out of class time more productive
• Develop an archive of materials over time which students can use as a referenc
• Recordings on prerequisite concepts allowing students to prepare and review when needed
• Offering different approaches to course content for students to make it more accessible

The benefits of lecture capture

The recordings can be used:

• to make lectures more accessible to learners with language barriers or learning disabilities
• to review topics that were not clear when presented the first time in class – students can fast-forward to a specific part that they did not understand and listen to it as often as they need to
• to review before an assessment whenever, wherever and as often as they want
• as an alternative for a missed class
• by the instructor the following semester in flipped or blended learning (however, only portions of these videos should be used)

These videos from IITS walk you through the procedure for settting-up and integrating YuJa into your Moodle course.

• Add YuJa to a Moodle course
• Capture voice and screen
• Organize your media folders