Policy on Lecture Capture

Transcription

1 Policy on Lecture Capture 1. Introduction 1.1 This document sets out the College s policy on the recording of lectures, with a view to articulating our commitment to enshrine the usage of lecture capture technology across the institution in line with the College s Education Strategy. 1.2 This policy applies only to recordings made or distributed through the available and appropriate technology, referred to as lecture capture hereafter. 1.3 Lecture capture is widely available at Higher Education Institutions across the UK, many of which have opted for campus-wide usage based on student feedback. The recording of group-based teaching and learning activities such as lectures can provide a useful resource for students, and can be used to: Provide a study aid for revision; Help accommodate different approaches to learning; Assist students who do not have English as their first language; and Assist students who have particular educational needs. 1.4 Lecture capture is particularly important in the context of our commitment to equality and diversity. In order to cope with the planned changes to the Disabled Student s Allowance, King s will need to ensure that inclusive learning and teaching, such as lecture capture, is the norm across the institution. It should be considered a reasonable adjustment from which all our students will benefit. 2. Background 2.1 Lecture capture is already routine in some areas of the College, such as the Dental Institute and the School of Biomedical Education. The student body is keen for this to be extended so that as much lecture activity as possible is captured. 2.2 The College has a long-standing arrangement with Echo 360, who produce lecture capture systems. The College has installed lecture capture in lecture theatres and classrooms using Classroom Capture software and the Podium PC. Larger spaces use dedicated Classroom Recorders. By September 2015, all teaching spaces with capacity for 50 or more students will have this software. Some smaller teaching spaces will also be equipped. 2.3 Most rooms use software on the podium PC to capture what is displayed on the Podium PC screen and the spoken audio. In larger spaces, such as lecture theatres, a dedicated hardware recorder is used. This captures both spoken audio and video as well as the podium PC screen, connected laptop, visualiser and DVD player. A list of rooms and their facilities is available here: Additionally, Personal Capture software is available for staff PCs and Macs for desktop and laptop devices to enable recordings in offices, at home, on field trips etc. Existing content from cameras and mobile phones can be uploaded and associated with modules. 1

2 2.5 Lecture Theatres and classrooms where this software is installed will be equipped with a recording light to indicate when a lecture is being recorded and when paused. 2.6 Lecture recording can be controlled by the lecturer by using a simple push button incorporated within the recording light, to pause the recording and for resuming the recording. Training and support for the use of this function will be available. 2.7 The College recognises and acknowledges that: Not all teaching approaches are suitable for capture, for example where there is use of whiteboards or chalk boards, or if a high degree of audience interactivity is used; A requirement for staff to change their preferred teaching style for the purpose of recording might be detrimental to the student experience, and is not encouraged; Ethical issues, or the use of sensitive material, might render the recording of some lectures as being inappropriate; Support will be required to investigate and implement ways of capturing all teaching approaches; Staff with a disability may not wish to be recorded they will have the right to opt out without challenge. 2.8 In all cases where staff have opted out of lecture capture, we encourage them to explore other means of making the content accessible to students as outlined in 3.7. This is particularly important for disabled students. 2.9 There is no intention of capturing seminar-type discussions or tutorials using this software We encourage the utilisation of a flipped lecture approach, where there is pre-loaded content on KEATS for students to view prior to the lecture. Where this approach is taken, it will not be necessary to capture the lecture Lecture capture is provided to supplement the student experience, and will not replace student contact hours. It should not be seen as an alternative to attending a lecture. Analysis of data from Echo 360 in the 2013/14 academic year indicates that students tend to use lecture capture for revision purposes, with the peak viewing period in April and May. This suggests that students do not view lecture capture as an alternative to lecturer attendance. 3 Policy 3.1 Where recording facilities are available, lecture capture technology should be used to record lectures and other appropriate teaching and learning activities and to make these recordings available to students registered on the unit associated with that teaching activity. It is expected that if appropriate teaching is taking place in a space that is equipped with the lecture capture system, the system will be used. 3.2 The workflow for scheduling of recordings requires that recordings should be scheduled to form a 'bulk upload' of all recordings in a period, for example a semester. This will use the existing scheduling process as operated by the AV team, whereby each Department or Faculty provides them with a spreadsheet listing the activities to be recorded. All standard lectures not including flipped lectures or lectures where there is extensive use of 2

3 chalkboards or film clips, for example should be scheduled. Authority for any opt-out of lecture capture will come from the relevant Vice Dean for Education. 3.3 Implementation of this policy will be the responsibility of Faculty Vice Deans for Education, who will report to College Education Committee. 3.4 Occasionally members of staff or students may have legitimate reasons for not wishing to be recorded, especially by video recording; and in such cases staff and students have the right to opt out of recording, subject to the criteria outlined in In the case of a student who wishes to opt-out of a recording, they should speak first to the person responsible for the activity to be recorded e.g. the module or programme leader, who will attempt to find a suitable solution. This may include guidance on sitting in a position where the student will not be recorded, asking questions via a proxy, or asking questions only after the recording has ceased. 3.6 In the case of a member of staff who wishes to opt-out of a recording, the relevant Vice Dean for Education may discuss the matter confidentially with that person, for example to explore the scope for using audio rather than video recording. In any event, those involved will be mindful of the need for sensitivity and privacy. In rooms where a dedicated hardware recorder is equipped, it is possible to opt out of video recording while still capturing slides and audio content. Staff opting out of video recording should be reported to the relevant Department or Faculty office with sufficient notice (two weeks) to allow for the amendment to the recording schedule. 3.7 Where staff have opted out of lecture capture, they are encouraged to explore other means of making lecture content available to students. This is especially important in the context of inclusivity for disabled students. Methods of making a lecture available may include the recording of a podcast based on the lecture notes (staff with a disability may wish to ask another member of staff to read the notes) or the provision of lecture notes in a format that allows screen-reading software to be used. Where a lecture has included a discussion portion, staff should also consider making a summary of that discussion available. 3.8 Recordings shall include an editing function, to which the owner of the material will have access. If students wish to have a recording edited, they must request a change from the person responsible for the activity being recorded. This request must specify which material they wish to have changed and why they want the change. A request must be made immediately after the recording otherwise it is unlikely to be considered. In cases of disagreement, the matter shall be resolved by the relevant Vice Dean for Education where the recorded activity is primarily based. 3.9 Where a module uses KEATS as its Virtual Learning Environment, recordings will be available only to King s students who are registered on the unit for which the recording was made. Distribution of recordings will take place automatically through KEATS, with recordings normally published within 12 hours unless a delay is requested at the time of scheduling Where a module uses the Virtual Campus or another Virtual Learning Environment, the link to the captured content can be manually cut and pasted into the relevant course web-pages. The content will be made available as soon as possible after recording. Access should be restricted to King s students. 3

4 3.11 Except where authorised by the College, recordings of College teaching and learning activities are not for public consumption by any means, including by virtue of external publication, whether on the web or otherwise. Such recordings must not be copied or passed on to anyone else, other than for transcription purposes. Once a personal copy of a recording has served its purpose, it should be permanently erased. Students or staff found to be in infringement of this principle may be subject to disciplinary proceedings Students must not share the contents of a captured lecture with any third party. Departments may ask students to sign a form at the start of each academic year agreeing not to share content. A sample form will be made available on the AV webpages The College owns the intellectual property in the content of lectures and other teaching sessions. Recordings are covered by the College s Code of Practice for Intellectual Property. The College shall not make commercial use of lecture recordings without the written permission of the member of academic staff being recorded Recordings will not be used for staff performance management purposes Recordings will normally be kept by the College for up to two years from the date of recording Students will be permitted, should they wish, to make audio (but not video) recordings of lectures that may or may not be recorded by other means. Students wishing to make such recordings should seek the permission of teaching staff prior to doing so. Recordings made by students will be subjected to the same constraints on distribution as are imposed on those recordings made by or on behalf of the College (see 3.10) and should be restricted to personal use only. 4 Copyright 4.1 The copyright exception of showing materials in class for the purposes of instruction does not apply when a teaching and learning activity is being recorded as this constitutes further copying. A licence or rights-owner permission may be needed if third-party materials are being used such as a diagram from a published book, a commercially licensed image from a website, or a video clip. 4.2 It is the responsibility of individual members of staff to ensure that the material used for teaching and learning activities is copyright cleared. Use of uncleared copyright material risks legal action or prosecution, and is a breach of College Regulations. 4.3 Staff should refer to the terms of the College s copyright licences to check if content can be made available in a lecture recording. 4.4 A situation may occur where a recording is challenged by rights holders or deemed unacceptable for other reasons, for example if it is judged to be defamatory in nature. The College may itself, or require others to, edit or remove inappropriate material. 5 Consent 5.1 Subject to the opt-out noted in 3.4, lecture capture is deemed to be in the legitimate interests of the educational objectives of King s College London, meeting the conditions of 4

5 Schedule 2(6) of the Data Protection Act King s will process personal data accordingly and in line with the requirements of the Data Protection Act. 5.2 Notwithstanding the provision in 5.1 above, no recordings of sensitive personal data will be permitted without the explicit (opt-in) consent of the staff or students being recorded. Sensitive personal data is defined under section 2 of the Data Protection Act to include generally any data relating to an individual concerning their racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs or other beliefs of a similar nature, trade union membership, physical or mental health or condition, sexual life, or information relating to criminal offences. 5.3 Staff who wish to record guest speakers must ensure that they have obtained agreement from the speaker(s) in advance. Speakers should be made aware that they will be recorded and should agree to the intended use(s) of their recording in writing. Sample consent forms will be available from Students will be notified of the potential to be recorded in programme handbooks and at the start of any module where lecture capture is in use. They will have the ability to opt-out of appearing in any recordings in the interest of privacy and safety. 6 Sources of support and guidance 6.1 Further information about lecture capture will be available from the Centre for Technology Enhanced Learning (ctel@kcl.ac.uk) and from the Lecture Capture team (lecturecapture@kcl.ac.uk). Training relating to the use of the lecture capture system will be provided by Audio-Visual Services. 6.2 Guidance on copyright is available from Library Services (copyright@kcl.ac.uk). 6.3 Guidance notes for staff and students on using lecture capture will be made available on the Audio-Visual Services intranet pages. 5