Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of speaking to many instructors about adopting lecture capture technology. And it doesn’t matter where they teach – from the US to Australia and back – instructors are universally nervous about change in the classroom. Add that they are now recording themselves while changing their teaching… well, who can blame even the most seasoned instructor for being a bit gun shy?
Lecture capture is like this cuddly puppy. It doesn’t hurt when you get started.
 
The first concern is always about attendance: Will I be lecturing to an empty classroom? Pursel & Fang (2011) reviewed 47 articles and found:  “….self-reported data and actual attendance counts indicated no influence or no negative influence of lecture capture technologies on attendance in a majority of studies.”
That’s why I love this blog from the University of Ottawa by Jerie Shaw.  Jerie notes that the secret to success with lecture capture is to stop worrying about attendance, and start worrying about making class time worth your students’ time.  Jerie includes uber simple tips like memorizing your students’ names as well as teaching tips like moving away from the traditional lecture and offering participation points.
We’re all afraid of embarrassing ourselves.  It’s OK. I think of University of Michigan’s Dr. Perry Samson when he said, “Don’t be afraid to make a fool of yourself in front of your class.  The more you can get out there and fall on your face…students will appreciate that because they will see you trying.”

 


Dr. Perry Samson Says Be Fearless in the Classroom.

So go ahead and try something new.  It doesn’t hurt.