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Lecture Capture

What is Lecture Capture?

Lecture capture is technology that allows instructors to record their lectures either in or out of the classroom. It enables students to review lectures, which can improve learning and grades. Instructors can also “flip the classroom” – take the lecture portion out of the classroom, thereby freeing up in-class time for more discussion, problem solving, and/or interactive activities. CSUN faculty have three tools to help with lecture capture. For more information, visit Lecture Capture Options

How it works

In classroom lecture capture enables the recording of all audio and video sources used in the room. Video from a computer (Windows or Mac), laptop, or document camera connected to the podium in the room will be recorded, along with any audio from these sources. Lecture capture will also record any audio picked up by either the wireless microphone or microphone built into the podium.

Benefits of Lecture Capture

Lecture capture allows students to review content, pause and rewind in order to deepen their understanding of difficult or detailed concepts. Students can also watch course material at their own pace or review lectures in preparation for exams. Also, lecture capture provides students who miss class with a convenient way to review the lecture. Instructors can also create content in-class and out-of-class for online course development.

What students think of Lecture Capture

These are testimonials captured in a survey from a Fall pilot of lecture capture:

  • “The fact that I can review the lectures is incredibly useful. I find it hard to focus in lecture sometime due to distractions in class or just being tired, but when I'm at home on my computer I can easily focus on the lecture and take much better notes.  Without the lecture recordings I would have had a lot of trouble keeping up with this class.”
  • “I would sign ANYTHING that would make this available to other courses. I can't describe in words how much lecture capture helped me. I wouldn't have done half as well had this amazing feature not been implemented.”
  • “After learning the material once in class, being able to review the material and have it restated with exactly what your teacher emphasized helps a lot! It makes the information easier to understand and it makes it stick in your head.”
  • “I can go back and view things I either missed in class or needed more clarification for. I wish more professors and schools used this.”
  • “I could see the lecture again and go back to the points professor made and I missed. I learned more from the lecture capture than the actual lecture.”
  • “I like I was able to refer back to the videos later in the week to refresh my mind on what I learned... It was a great study tool.  I wish the capture was available in all of the classes!”

How to get started

Make an appointment with us via e-mail (ftc@csun.edu) We can then schedule a meeting with you in your classroom or office and demonstrate the technology. We can schedule automatic captures of your lectures if you are teaching in one of the rooms outfitted with the technology.

Personal Lecture Capture and Lecture Creation

Outside of these classrooms, faculty can use software on their Macs or PCs to capture and create video lectures. Panopto, Canvas Studio, Camtasia, and Zoom are the recommended options; Camtasia can be downloaded from the CSUN Software Downloads page.