University of Sheffield Lecture Recording Policy Introduction

University of Sheffield Lecture Recording Policy Introduction The University recognizes the value of lecture recordings in support of students’ learning. Under the Equality Act (2010) the University has a legal obligation to provide reasonable adjustments to enable students with certain disabilities to fully access material provided in lectures. Having access to recordings is considered to be such a reasonable adjustment. However, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that all students, not only disabled students, value having access to recordings of lectures and the University is supportive of this. Students find lecture recordings particularly useful for revision purposes, for going over particularly difficult points that they may have missed, for writing more detailed notes following a lecture. These are the intended uses of lecture recordings. There is no intention that they should ever be a replacement for attendance at lectures. During the development of this policy, it was generally agreed that having staff provide recordings, using the University’s recording software, is the most desirable position as this ensures control over what is recorded and how it is used ; high quality recordings. The University is currently looking at how the resource for this can be expanded. In the meantime the following policy has been agreed. Policy 1. Lecturers are encouraged to make use of the University’s lecture recording software to provide recordings of their lectures to students. 2. Lecturers must ensure that disabled students are provided with appropriate support to access the lecture. For many disabled students a recording of the lecture is the most appropriate form. If recordings are not provided by the lecturer, a disabled student is entitled to make an audio recording of the lecture with their own recording device on the understanding that this is for personal study use only. Where a recording is not possible, the lecturer should provide an alternative means of support such as written notes from the lecture. Notes on implementation of the policy 1. Informing students When a lecturer is planning to record a lecture, they should inform students at the beginning of the lecture that it will be recorded. This should be done by displaying a written sign of some form at the front of the lecture theatre. 2. Disabled students Where the Disability and Dyslexia Support Service (DDSS) identify that a disabled student would benefit from having access to lecture recordings, this recommendation is made to the department (usually to the Disability Liaison Officer). This information should then be shared with the module co-ordinators of the modules that the student is taking. It is then the responsibility of the individual lecturers to provide the support that has been recommended: they should either provide a recording of the lecture or allow the student to make an audio recording, or, if neither of these is possible, provide some alternative means of support e.g. detailed notes from the lecture. Where such a recommendation has been 1 made for a student, the DDSS will ask the student to sign a form stating that if they make audio recordings, it is for personal use only. 3. What can and can’t be recorded Lectures containing confidential material such as specific references to individuals cannot be recorded. Lectures given by visiting lecturers cannot be recorded unless permission has been sought. Where lectures contain broadcast or published audio/video material such as commercially purchased DVDs or audio CDs/downloads or excerpts from on demand services such as BBC iPlayer, these parts of the lecture cannot be recorded. These materials are subject to copyright and therefore cannot be copied by recording them.* Although the lecture format generally comprises a lecturer talking and the students listening and as such is appropriate for recording, it is recognized that many lecturers choose to incorporate interactive elements into their lectures such as encouraging students to ask questions or group discussions. When lecturers record a lecture they should consider how they manage the recording of other voices apart from their own. For example, the recording can be stopped while students ask questions or discuss in small groups or such aspects can be edited out of a recording prior to its release to students. Students should be reminded that group discussions should not be recorded without the permission of all those involved. Seminars, tutorials and other small group learning activities should generally not be recorded. Due to the nature of seminars and other small group leaning activities in which all students are expected to participate, permission would need to be sought from all students and this is not considered to be practical or desirable. In terms of providing support to disabled students, alternative means such as a written summary of the key points is often a more valuable support in this context than a recording. *Please note that in the case of a disabled student making a recording for personal study use only, they are permitted to make a copy of a lecture including broadcast materials or published audio/video materials. This is in line with fair dealing under copyright law. 4. Understanding copyright issues Students Students are bound by UK copyright law. This applies to any copyright materials they may use in the course of their studies, both online and in printed form. Further details can be found in the copyright hub. Under these, students are permitted to use lecture recordings for personal study use only. They are not permitted to share or upload recordings to the Internet. Staff Under UK law an employer owns the copyright of anything that is produced by an employee as part of their work. The University therefore owns the copyright of any recordings made as part of a member of teaching staff’s role and is subject to the copyright restrictions placed on it. These prevent the content being sold or used by way of trade without the express permission of the copyright holder. Images and recordings may not be edited, amended or re-used without prior permission from the University. Personal details of those taking part are never made available to third parties. Performance rights are not covered by the above and are owned by the individual. 2 For this reason lecturers who make recordings are asked to give their consent to the recording and broadcast of their lectures. This is done by signing the University’s My contribution to The University of Sheffield’s digital presence form (available from link on the webpage). Lecturers are only required to sign the form once. Third party copyright. Once a piece of work is made into something tangible e.g. a recording or a book it must comply with copyright law. Although it may be legal to use some copyright protected materials in a lecture, once the lecture is recorded this would be an infringement of copyright law, as the recording is seen as making a copy. Guidance on this is currently provided by CiCS and the Library. Reference to this guidance is currently made on the form referred to above. Support and Guidance for making lecture recordings MyEcho, the University’s lecture capture software takes two different forms and is widely available across the campus. CiCS provide support for this service. They can also provide training to individuals or groups of staff. Classroom Capture – This includes an audio track from the microphone in the lecture theatre and content from the computer screen, eg. a power point presentation or a visualiser plugged into the computer. There are no cameras in the teaching spaces where this is installed so anything that is visual but not originating from the computer will not be recorded. Subject to some technical issues being solved this service will be rolled out starting in summer 2014 and should become available in most large teaching spaces during the course of academic year 2014-15. Teaching staff can initiate this process themselves using the University’s managed desktop or ask to have it scheduled to start automatically by CICS. It is also possible to request a static camera recording as part of a classroom capture in 11 lecture theatres. Personal Capture – CiCS can provide software that can be installed on either a PC or a Mac that offers the same basic features of the lecture theatre-based recording system, but allows the flexibility of recording presentations on a desktop computer or laptop, at a time and place that suits teaching staff. Further details on MyEcho are available on the CiCS website. LeTs September 2014 3 .

Load more