It is a truth universally acknowledged that being a student at Oxford University is a tough experience. For students who are physically impaired, the old buildings, beautiful as they are, can render studying here even more challenging. Thus when a lift became out of order, making access to a core English lecture impossible for one such student, Lecture Capture provided the solution.
Each week, at 2pm, a member of the team arrived to record the 50-minute lecture, then uploaded and edited the recording through the Panopto software which is being trialled. Only the student concerned was granted secure access to the recordings, via WebLearn.
The student was very pleased with the results, experiencing no technical difficulties in viewing the recordings and finding the software straightforward to use. Just like the Physics and History of Art students, this student did not express a desire for the flipped classroom, nor for content in the live sessions to differ should the recordings have been available in advance. That is not to say that the whole experience ran perfectly smoothly. Lack of coordination between some departments resulted in several very perplexed and alarmed lecturers, leading to the lecture starting late. Given that there were over 200 other students in the room, this was not ideal. This highlights the need to ensure effective communication between all teams involved.
So Panopto: to be or not be? In the case of disability, Lecture Capture has the potential to be invaluable.
