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Comment: Added info for live streaming

You may also want to review the Lecturecast - Known issues page to see if your query is explained there: TO BE DELETED Lecturecast - Known Issues

Overview


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titleWhat is Lecturecast?

Lecturecast allows for the scheduling and recording of lectures in Lecturecast enabled UCL teaching spaces to support student learning.
The service also provides software for desktop recordings to be made and uploaded into users' personal libraries or directly into Echo360 course sections.
Recordings can then be made available to students via Moodle courses. Such modular events can also be scheduled with live streaming enabled.
The Lecturecast system provides a learning platform that goes beyond the simple recording of lectures, allowing staff to engage with students, and students to engage further with content.

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titleWhat kind of event can be recorded?

The Lecturecast service is intended for the recording of the following teaching events:

Modular events
These are events that are part of an undergraduate or postgraduate taught program that have been assigned to a specific portico taught module e.g. ECON1001. These can be scheduled via the Lecturecast scheduler tool and will automatically appear in the correct section within Lecturecast.

Non-Modular events
These are events that are part of an undergraduate of postgraduate taught program but are not associated with a particular module code e.g a shared/common introductory lecture taught across multiple modules. These events can be scheduled for recording, as long as they have been booked in a Lecturecast equipped space via room bookings, using the Lecturecast scheduler tool. They will not by default be associated with any particular section in Lecturecast but will be stored in the personal library of the person who made the booking. From this location they may be published into any existing Lecturecast sections (i.e. modular section) on which the person making the booking is an instructor. Live streaming is not available for non-modular events.

NOTE: Special events are supported by Digital Educational Media and cannot be scheduled via the Lecturecast system.
These are events that are NOT part of undergraduate or postgraduate taught programs, e.g. an inaugural lectures, conferences, outreach events, public events, CPD, etc.

If you need to record a special event, contact Digital Educational Media at video@ucl.ac.uk who provide filming and editing services.

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titleWhat is a suitable event to be recorded?

While Lecturecast can be used to record any type of scheduled Modular or Non-Modular event. , Lecturecast is best suited to the capture of didatic didactic lecture style presentations given from the front of class.

All our Lecturecast installations with a camera present are set-up for that camera to be directed to either the podium or the area at the front of the teaching space. The audio equipment in the room is also designed only to record sound from the the podium area or that of the speaker directly from lapel microphones. It is not designed to capture any audience participation, unless the teaching space as been designed to accomodate accommodate roving hand microphones.

Lecturecast has not been installed or designed to support discussion-based activities and if you require such activities recorded to contact the Digital Education team for advice via via digi-ed@ucl.ac.uk.

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titleWhy should I record my lectures?

Lecture recordings provide lecturers with the ability to review the structure and delivery of their lectures for professional development. Lecture recordings also provide lecturers with the ability to change the balance of activities during contact times, e.g. deliver informational elements via a recording and follow up with discussion sessions.

Lecture recordings provide students with the ability to revisit complex material, unusual or subject specific terminology (especially useful for overseas students) and view lectures missed due to illness or unforeseen circumstances.

Some of the benefits to lecturers are:-

  • Giving students the ability to review lecture content should reduce the number of basic questions that lecturers have to answer repeatedly.
  • Lecturecast affords the opportunity to
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    titleHow does Lecturecast benefit lecturers?
    Should I live stream teaching events?

    The live streaming function should be selected when scheduling modular events for which remote students need synchronous video transmission of a teaching event. UCL is a campus-based institution with the primary mode of teaching and learning designed to be face to face, and thus live streaming is not enabled by default.

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    titleHow does Lecturecast benefit lecturers?

    Some of the benefits to lecturers are:

    • Giving students the ability to review lecture content should reduce the number of basic questions that lecturers have to answer repeatedly.
    • Lecturecast affords the opportunity to 'flip' lecture content - delivering the informational content via pre-recorded material and making more productive use of contact time.
    • The system logs viewing statistics, giving lecturers and course designers a good idea of how much a recording has been viewed and by whom.

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    titleDo I have to Lecturecast my lectures?

    At the current time UCL does not have an opt-out policy for Lecturecast. Use of the system is purely opt-in at the moment, so its use is up to the individual/department to decide.

    There are plans to move towards opt-out in coming years, but any such change will be agreed by Educational Committee first, with procedures and tools to facilitate this. Ground work is needed before this, specifically to clarify legal and policy aspects, and a Working Group has been set up under the Office of Vice Provost for Education to review and implement required policies to support an opt out Lecturecast solution.

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    titleCan I Live Stream using Lecturecast?

    At the current time the UCL Lecturecast service does not support Live Streaming as part of the service offering. Only lecture capture and associated engagment tools are available as part of the service.

    For all live streaming needs please contact in the first instance the Digital Media team via stream@ucl.ac.ukYes, the live streaming function can be selected when scheduling modular events for which remote students need synchronous video transmission of a teaching event. UCL is a campus-based institution with the primary mode of teaching and learning designed to be face to face, and thus live streaming is not enabled by default. Live streaming using Lecturecast is not available for non-modular events.

    For special events requiring live streaming, please contact in the Educational Media team via video@ucl.ac.uk.

    Preparing: Before a lecture recording

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    titleHow can I check if my Lecturecast recording has been scheduled?

    There are two way to do this:

    1. Via the Lecturecast activity link in Moodle

    Click through the link to the associated Lecturecast section. Scheduled events should appear as shown below

    Scheduled events with 'enable live stream' selected will appear with a 'Live' icon next to event title until the event has finished.

    2. Via the Lecturecast Scheduler

    Check that the event appears under the 'Scheduled' tab  in the Lecturecast Scheduler.  The status column in the Scheduler should also display a 'scheduled' status.

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    titleHow do I make a booking for a Lecturecast recording?

    Log in to the Lecturecast Scheduler to create or edit a recording schedule. Schedules may only be amended or deleted by the staff member who created the original schedule. Find instructions on how to access the Lecturecast Scheduler and how to schedule a recording in the Lecturecast Scheduler training guides.

    Recordings for centrally timetabled teaching events will automatically appear in the associated Lecturecast class within a given module's section.

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    titleWhat is actually recorded?

    By default, Lecturecast captures all material sent to the room's projector from any connected device (e.g PowerPoint slides from an attached laptop, handwritten notes or objects held under a document cameras). Audio is captured via a clip-on radio microphone and video of the presentation area (i.e the lecturer or presenter) is captured via a fixed position camera.

    Any issues with audio-visual equipment in teaching spaces should be reported using the in-room telephone provided with a pre-programmed button for priority access to ISD IT Services. If no phone is installed then please call IT Services on 020 7679 5000 (internal 25000) or email itservices@ucl.ac.uk.

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    titleDo I have to appear in my recorded lectures?

    No. Video of the presenter may be omitted from the recording by un-ticking the 'Capture presenter' option available in the online scheduler (when 'Unscheduled events' view is used). Prior to recordings commencing, schedules can also be edited (only be their creator) to change the 'Capture presenter' option. Once a recording has been made the presenter component can only be removed by downloading the slides & audio version of the recording and re-uploading this into the class containing the original video. It's important to note that if the original video has been available to students, overwriting it will cause the loss of student bookmarks and/or Q&A synchronisation with the original media.

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    titleWhat do I need to consider if I want to record a guest speaker?

    In the case of external or guest speakers, they should be asked to sign the standard Lecturer consent form. The form is used to gather permission to record their lecture and permission to re-use their copyright material. The completed "Lecturer consent forms" should be retained by the UCL department which has organised the event as proof that we have the relevant permissions. A consent form is available from the main UCL library's Lecturecast copyright page.

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    titleHow do I get urgent help with in-room A/V equipment?

    Any issues with audio-visual equipment in teaching spaces should be reported using the in-room telephone provided with a pre-programmed button for priority access to ISD IT Services. If no phone is installed then please call IT Services on 020 7679 5000 (internal 25000) or email itservices@ucl.ac.uk.

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    titleWhat do I need to be aware of regarding copyright?

     Guidance on this can be found on the Library's copyright pages for lectures, podcasts etc. 

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    titleDo I need to change my browser settings to view a Lecurecast recording?

    Echo360 is a web-based application that uses a browser to view content and as such has certain browser requirements. Beyond ensuring you're using a supported browser, there are also some browser configuration settings you may need to check or change to successfully use Echo360 (especially if using Safari on iOS/MacOS).

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    titleProblem with capture preview for Lecturecast Personal Capture (PCAP) for Mac High Sierra users [Mac OS 10.13]

    Issue: The capture preview appears to jump around between frames.  The completed capture is however fine. 

    Advice: Mac PCAP users can still complete personal captures on High Sierra by starting the capture normally even though the preview does not display properly.

    Echo (Lecturecast service providers)  are working on a new capture application that will resolve the issue  and they hope to have a beta application available for users in early 2018.

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