Recorded lectures help ‘disaster-proof’ instruction at JMU


JMU used Camtasia Relay to create recorded lectures, allowing students to keep on task in case of weather or illness-related disasters.

“Snowmageddon,” the monster snowstorm that pummeled the East coast of the United States in 2010, caused many universities to close their doors for several days, including James Madison University (JMU) in Harrisonburg, Va.—but it didn’t interrupt instruction at the school.

Fortunately, JMU had plans in place to deal with disasters, both weather- and illness-related. Two of JMU’s academic centers had developed a resource website for faculty who faced high class absences from a flu epidemic.

“For the flu and weather-proofing site, we created a ‘faculty-friendly’ framework that mirrors the way instructors think about their courses: syllabus, attendance, participation, lecture, group work, assessment, et cetera,” said Karen Santos, executive director of the university’s Center for Faculty Innovation.

Santos said university officials worked with faculty members to make the parameters as user-friendly as possible.

“For each component, we posed questions from a faculty perspective and developed a range of solutions to provide guidance to course instructors,” said Santos. “Technology solutions were embedded as relevant to instructional goals. For each solution, we provided information, directions, and links in a ‘one-stop shopping’ format.”

JMU also teamed with TechSmith and used its Camtasia Relay software, which provides screen recording and sharing capabilities to make video lectures available to students online. In the end, “Snowmageddon” shut down the university for three days, but Camtasia Relay helped keep students on task—and kept learning uninterrupted.

(Next page: Three benefits to the university’s efforts)

Here are three reasons why JMU invested in lecture capture technology and chose to provide video lectures for its students:

1. It helps students keep pace with coursework.

“We recommended that faculty record lectures in anticipation of a flu outbreak,” said Sarah Cheverton, director of the Center for Instructional Technology at JMU. “Because Camtasia Relay had already proven to be a valuable resource for distance and blended courses, it just seemed like the logical choice for faculty facing the possible need to provide asynchronous lectures online.”

2. It’s easy for faculty to grasp.

“I suppose you could say I provided technology support for the flu and weather-proofing effort, but there was very little required,” said Grover Saunders, web media design engineer for JMU’s Center for Instructional Technology. “I created Camtasia Relay accounts for faculty who wanted to record lectures and set up some pages in our CIT website for our staff to organize the support material.”

Saunders said JMU’s faculty found the program accessible and easy to use.

“There was very little follow-up support required,” he said.

Cheverton added: “We’ve received positive feedback from those who use it, primarily because it’s so easy to use.”

3. “Flipped learning” works to everyone’s advantage.

“Instead of making up classes on a Saturday, I recorded a lecture for my students to watch online at their convenience,” said Kevin Caran, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. “Their job is to watch and take notes on the video prior to coming to the next class, so that they are ready for the subsequent material.”

Caran said he was curious about how students viewed his “flipped learning” methods, so he decided to ask them himself.

“I did an informal eMail poll of my students to ask them for their feedback on watching the online lectures,” he said. “The majority were very positive.”

For more information about JMU’s efforts to disaster-proof instruction, click here.

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