UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Law is one of the oldest and most highly regarded law schools in the nation. It might be tempting to think of it as a conservative “old school” because of its long history and location in the heart of the South. But Carolina Law is quite progressive when it comes to using technology to enrich its students.

The Lecture Capture Initiative

Before Doug Edmunds became the Assistant Dean for Information Technology at Carolina Law in January 2007, he worked with UNC’s School of Education to capture lectures and make them available to students online. When Edmunds came on board at the law school lecture capture was also an immediate goal. He was aware that it would help improve student performance without imposing on the teaching style of faculty.

Carolina Law was already capturing some lectures in a rudimentary way. The school had existing technology in several classrooms – data projectors, podiums, computers, touch panels, digital recorders, and microphones along the walls. An audio-visual technician would run from room to room, retrieve SD (memory) cards, upload the MP3 files, and then post to the web or email them to individual students who had requested them. It was a time-consuming and cumbersome process. To expand what was available and streamline the system, they needed a new plan.

Stealth Launch

Carolina Law quietly launched lecture capture with Echo360 in spring 2008 as a pilot program. It was a brilliant way to create early champions of the technology. The first users were a huge boon in overcoming faculty fear and resistance to change in the fall 2008 implementation.  “It's not about throwing technology at the wall and hoping that it sticks; it's to try to implement solutions that don't alter the pedagogy but that potentially can improve the teaching and learning situation,” says Edmunds regarding lecture capture.

Now, Echo360 is available in ten classrooms and 12 to 14 podcasts are created each day, both audio-only and slide-enhanced lectures. “You obviously want to gain efficiencies in your operations; Echo360 has helped us do just that,” says Edmunds.

Echo360’s lecture capture is a great win for students as well. In law school, first year students, as in other professional disciplines, must consume enormous amounts of information, often furiously taking notes on laptops or even legal pads.  The ability to go back and refer to a lecture and study difficult concepts is extremely valuable.  According to Edmunds, “Students are so appreciative of the fact that they can listen to a lecture while they are jogging or at the gym. They’re able to take the classroom experience and make it mobile.”

Lecture capture also enhances the classroom experience, allowing professors more time to practice the Socratic Method of teaching - imperative to teaching law students – rather than having to repeat material that students can now review on their own via the captures.  Student demand drives more professors to record their classes, and whether it’s large lectures or smaller, seminar-style classes, the technology works.

Results & Potential

Edmunds sees the school as being in the first phase of the Echo360 implementation. The sheer volume of what’s being captured now far outweighs what was being done a year ago. The school sees great potential as it moves forward. Post-capture editing will be incorporated eventually, and implementation of a capture appliance “mobile unit” for automated recording and publishing of guest speakers to iTunes U is in the works.

When asked about the most significant advantage of lecture capture, Edmunds believes it’s “the impact on students and their ability to learn the material.”  To Edmunds, lecture capture “is a good example of where technology is transparent; it’s not getting in the way of pedagogy and it's a real value add."