Lecture Capture Software Survey

Julian Prior, Learning Technologist at Southampton Solent University has reported the results of a Lecture Capture Survey of mostly UK universities. Panopto was the most popular product used, followed by Echo 360. and Camtasia Relay. Most universities have their lecture capture software hosted locally and integrated with the learning management system. One area which I suggest needs to be addressed is integration of the lecture capture software with webinar software. Lecture capture software assumes that "Lectures" are being used: that is a person is addressing a group of students in the same room. The lecture capture consists of a recording of the single speaker's voice, along with visual material presented. This does not allow for more interactive on-campus experiences, where the students provide input, nor for ones where the students are distributed across multiple locations. In theory there is no reason why the webinar software, such as Blackboard, could not be used for lecture capture. Such products have additional features to also record the remote student input. 

Australian National University, where I teach, has selected Echo360 for recording lectures in lecture theaters. This will replace a bespoke system called "Digital Lecture Delivery Service" (DLD), which has been in use since 2004. So in September I dropped in for a demonstration of the new system from Jo Williams at Echo360's Perth office (the product was originally developed at UWA in Perth and then commercialized).