Introduction

What is Media Hopper Replay and how can I use it?

Media Hopper Replay provides students with video recordings of lectures that they can watch again anytime and anywhere. Students can review material and catch up on points they may have missed to deepen learning and understanding, support exam preparation, or prepare for lessons. Lecture recording is a supplemental resource and extends the rich collection of online materials already provided by library resources and virtual learning environments (VLE) courses. Lecture recording is an enhancement resource and not a replacement for attendance at lectures and not every lecture will be recorded.

Academic colleagues can use Media Hopper Replay to record teaching sessions and publish the recordings for students to access safely and securely via either of the University’s Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs).

Media Hopper Replay is available widely on an opt-out basis in around 300 teaching spaces.

What is lecture recording?

Lecture recording enables the automatic recordings of lectures or presentations without having to set up a camera, microphone or other recording equipment. Media Hopper Replay is available within core teaching spaces across the University to enhance the student experience.

Many academic colleagues choose to record their lectures to help students revise ahead of exams and other assessments. The recordings are also useful for students who have additional learning needs such as dyslexia, or who speak English as a second language, as they can replay lectures and listen again at their own pace. Lecture recording is an enhancement resource and not a replacement for attendance at lectures.

It is possible to manually stop and start recordings in rooms that have been equipped with the service. Recordings can be scheduled by using the Replay Scheduler. Recordings are published to students from either of the University’s VLEs.

Why have we done?

The primary aim was to enhance student satisfaction with learning resources and meet the requirements of accessible and inclusive learning practices. The University had been using lecture recording at a modest scale for nearly a decade and it had been exceptionally popular with our students. Lecture recording has always been understood at Edinburgh as a supplemental resource to aid revision, one that adds richness to the digital collections that students can refer to in support of learning and teaching, and extends the range of materials already provided by online library resources and courses delivered through virtual learning environments.

Lecture recording enables academic colleagues to experiment with their teaching practice and ‘flip’ their classrooms, using contact time for more interactive sessions with students. Additionally many of our academic colleagues now rely on lecture recording as class sizes grow beyond the capacity of our physical estate.

Widely available, centrally provided lecture capture was also one of the significant recommendations from the review of the University Accessible and Inclusive Learning Policy (May 2016).

Lecture recording offers a range of benefits:

• readily accessible learning material, available safely and securely via Learn or Moodle, the University’s VLEs;
• less reliance on written lecture notes;
• additional learning resource for students for whom English is not a first language or who have specific learning needs;
• back up support for when attendance at lectures is not possible (please note: lecture recording is NOT a replacement for attendance at lectures where interaction with the lecturer and other students enriches the learning experience);
• access to state-of-the-art digital technology to support learning and teaching;
• full control of what to record, ability to pause and re-start during a lecture;
• opportunities for innovation in teaching using technology to enhance the learning experience, flipping the classroom.

Where is it available?        

Media Hopper Replay is not available in every teaching space throughout the University.  Careful consideration has been given to the availability of the service across the campus to ensure maximum benefit for students.  The service can also be live streamed. 

The purpose of the service is to enable the recording of lectures in core teaching spaces, however, lectures can be live streamed from home or anywhere where there is a connection to the internet. The technology also enables the recording of guest lectures or student presentations. Academic colleagues are in control of the service at all times.

Find out which rooms are equipped 

How do I use Media Hopper Replay?

Training and guidance to help academic and support colleagues prepare to use lecture recording, by refreshing their presentation materials and considering use of open educational resources (OERs) and copyrighted media, is available. Comprehensive training and resources on how to use the new service are available.

Find out how to record and publish lectures 

Further information       

For further information, please refer to our FAQ.

If you have any direct concerns regarding this programme and how it may affect you then please use the contact details below to speak with a member of the team.