Strategies for Leveraging Recorded Lectures

As UCI transitions to in-person teaching, instructors may want to consider repurposing the many instructional videos and materials produced for remote courses. These can serve as optional supplements for students or enable you to restructure your course to spend class time on more challenging topics and activities. The suggestions below offer a starting point for how you might leverage existing content and incorporate new videos. Additional resources and facilitated workshops on these topics will be provided closer to Fall 2021.

In addition, OIT Classroom Technologies is continuing to ensure remote readiness, ensuring that general assignment classrooms are equipped to facilitate a blended environment of in-person and remote instruction. Learn more about remote-ready classrooms for Fall 2021 →

  • Ideal for flipping the class (enabling students to tackle the more straight-forward material on their own and leverage class time for problem solving/discussion)
  • Can serve as a replacement when textbooks are lacking or as an optional supplement. Especially when combined with tools such as Perusal, these videos can serve as study guides and resources for students.
  • Most efficient for “constant” material that does not require regular updates
  • Works best when videos are split into 5-15 minute segments
  • Can be combined with short formative assessments to check understanding and reinforce key concepts (especially important when videos should be viewed before class)
  • Where appropriate, videos might be considered a shared resource for instructors similar to how textbooks are used, at least at the departmental level.
  • Necessary as an accommodation tool
  • Great for students to revisit material that is particularly challenging
  • Concerned about students coming to class? Consider the following:
    • Evaluate the goals of class versus viewing lecture
    • Clearly articulate to students the value of attending lecture versus just watching video
    • Determine what portions of class, if any, will be spent on active components that will NOT be available by recording (e.g., group worksheets, peer and instructor feedback)
    • Reflect on the reasons and goals for attending lecture and ask yourself the hard question: are there no additional benefits to synchronously attending your lecture versus watching a recording?
  • Concerned about inappropriate access and use of videos? Canvas and Yuja have controls that can help mitigate this.
  • Recognize that not all material is appropriate for recording and clearly articulate to students why material is and is not recorded.
  • Useful for short overview videos that frame the week/module ahead, emphasize key concepts, and give students cues about how best to direct their learning
  • Useful for augmenting/clarifying elements from other aspects of the course
  • Useful for providing alternate forms of “solutions” and other commentary
  • Useful for commenting on the general performance of an exam or assignment, especially the questions most people missed
  • Useful for connecting course concepts to real world events and new discoveries that otherwise would not be covered in more stable, reusable course videos
  • Does require time/scheduling as well as setting self-limits on “quality” (i.e., the emphasis should be on timely, relevant information rather than production quality)