We all know there are ideologues out there willing to twist words, images, and video to suit whatever ugly purpose they promote. And a professor’s recorded lecture, manipulatively edited, can have a greater impact than printed words, simply because it can appear more real.
Lecture capture is worthy enough that we don’t want it taken hostage by anyone hoping to use the technology to wage political battles.
I don’t want to see it taken hostage by ideologues like Andrew Breitbart, proprietor of the conservative website BigGovernment.com, who recently improperly edited some web video to make it appear that a University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) lecturer was advocating violence as a labor union tactic.
Read more about lecture capture in higher education…
Recorded lectures take on new risk as blogger ‘goes after teachers’
Professor’s ‘yawn’ rant offers a lesson in viral video
Bloggers who improperly edit academic on-demand content like recorded lectures with an agenda like Breitbart’s need to have as many libel suits thrown at them as possible.
Besides pledging to go after a specific profession – education – which shows the extent to which he is a loose cannon, Breitbart is abusing and potentially retarding the adoption of an educational tool that has demonstrated value.
Fear of free speech can become contagious – and slow down adoption of this nascent teaching tool — as much as lies can become viral. UMKC should be lauded for properly reviewing the Introduction to Labor Studies class, identifying Breitbart’s tactics of using statements out of context, and clearing its professors of supposed bias.
I admit my bias: lecture capture is a transformative educational tool. It is the first classroom technology since the projector and world wide web and interactive whiteboard and PC – all of which have been around for at least or more than 20 years – that promises to tangibly affect how instructors teach and how learners learn in both brick-and-mortar and online environments.
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