Lecture capture in pharmacy education at UBC: Updating our understanding

Lecture capture is a contemporary learning technology used to improve the quality of professional programs such as pharmacy. Building on our 2014 study, the objective of this study was to reexamine the value of lecture capture for student and faculty users and make decisions about its continuance and optimization.

Survey methodology was used to gather student and faculty perspectives on the lecture recordings. Collected data focused on usage, learning impacts, and attendance. Lecture capture software provided analytics on student viewing patterns. The constant comparative method was used to analyze student and faculty comments for underlying themes and data discrepancies.

Following an evolutionary development path, lecture capture has become a mainstream learning resource for students and faculty. Student usage has increased dramatically and strategically. In addition to enhancing in-class experiences, study effectiveness, and overall learning, students continue to claim minimal impacts on attendance. Faculty perspectives remain modest. While faculty recognize the learning benefits for students and are prepared to continue using lecture recordings, issues related to absenteeism are increasingly troublesome. Faculty are also using lecture recordings for faculty development purposes.

Faculty have renewed their commitment to the lecture capture program going forward. Importantly, the study has helped refocus the evolution of the program away from binary questions such as whether or not to use lecture recordings and the impacts of lecture capture on attendance and towards specific guidance for students and faculty on the best use of the resource and deeper questions about student learning.