New lecture capture system benefits students from the start of term

The system, one of the largest in Europe, gives students access to video and audio recordings of many of their lectures and other teaching activities, providing a flexible learning experience. It uses the Mediasite platform, developed by Sonic Foundry.  

Students can now use the system to return to and review previous lectures that may have been on a particularly complex topic or to simply use it for revision purposes.  

Professor Neil Morris, Director of Digital Learning at the University of Leeds, said: “The new technology gives students the chance to learn and study at their own pace and will let them revisit course content at any point in the year.

“This campus-wide deployment of new digital tools has been rolled out to ensure that students can access and benefit from the new system from the beginning of term.” 

The University has invested more than £2m to set up the new system, which will record up to 50,000 hours of teaching activity every academic year. About 250 teaching spaces in the University have been equipped with the technology which was installed by Universal AV and AV2000. Once lectures have been captured, they will be made available within the University’s virtual learning environment (VLE). 

Dr Christopher Hassall, Lecturer in Animal Biology at the University of Leeds, said: “There is a lot of excitement about the new lecture capture system – the system is not just a simple and effective way of recording lectures, but opens up a whole new world of teaching techniques.  

“I have heard a number of staff talking enthusiastically about trying innovative approaches to teaching that simply would not have been possible without this big investment.  For example, the traditional model of teaching would be to give a lecture during class and send the students away to read around the topic.  With the new system we can share pre-recorded lectures with students before class and use contact time for discussions and other activities that help to develop learning from the recorded lectures.   

“It is certainly an interesting time to be teaching at Leeds, and I know that the students are going to be impressed.” 

Tom Dixon, Education Officer at Leeds University Union, said: “I’m incredibly excited by the new lecture capture technology and all that it will do to support students in their learning. I believe that the technology will help level the playing field for students with access issues and students who are learning in a second language. 

“This is really important to me as the Education Officer; it’s both mine and the Union’s focus to make sure that lecture capture is being used to benefit all members of the University community.” 

The new technology has been produced and overseen by Sonic Foundry, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFO) using its Mediasite webcasting platform. Mediasite Recorders capture the audio and visual content in teaching rooms for students to watch live or on-demand within the VLE. In addition, a desktop capture software tool, My Mediasite, gives faculty and students the ability to create and share presentations from desktops or mobile devices.  

Gary Weis, Sonic Foundry CEO, said: “This year Sonic Foundry has worked closely with the University of Leeds to introduce a smooth transition to its campus-wide lecture capture and video content management initiative.  

“Students learn at different paces and using Mediasite provides a flexible and personalised approach to learning to a generation of students that expects an abundance of technology in the classroom. It’s an honour to partner with an institution of the University of Leeds’ calibre and we are committed to further enhance Mediasite to provide even greater value for the professors and students.” 

Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ: SOFO) is the trusted leader for video capture, management and webcasting solutions in education, business and government. The patented Mediasite Enterprise Video Platform transforms communications, training, education and events for 2,800 customers in 58 countries. The company empowers organizations to reach everyone through the power of video; accelerating knowledge-sharing, preserving valuable content, building stronger teams and getting results.