Course Recordings
Project review - summary statement
The objective of the course recordings project was to gain a broader perspective of the privacy, labour and student success issues implied by recording lectures in face-to-face classes. The goal of the project was to make recommendations for a policy on campus about how best to offer course recordings at Concordia.
The Course Recordings project team decided to wrap up the project early since the work that was done in the initial phase, prior to COVID-19, quickly outdated itself. With the unexpected arrival of the pandemic, the information collected was no longer relevant to the fast-changing online teaching and learning environment.
The team is now working with associate deans in all faculties to build a teaching and learning strategy, which will include course recordings. The summary of initial findings will be applicable when the strategy is finalized.
Background info
Recordings of courses, or part of them, which are then made available outside of lecture hours is not a new issue in higher education. From the onset of distance education, recorded lectures – whether live or in a staged studio setting – have meant greater access to education for many students. The use of course recordings has been especially important for students who have diverse learning needs. They allow students to learn at a pace that is more comfortable for them and to review course materials when they most need access to the expertise a professor offers. In a time when increased funding is given to student success, this issue has not been explored in any serious way at Concordia.
The one concrete technological improvement students mentioned is to have lectures recorded and accessible online.
- Public consultation report
…making this a wide-speared phenomenon will lead to a lot of unwanted recordings of faculty members floating around the internet in unwanted places.
- A faculty member commenting on the project
