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I've had this discussion so many times and so many ways that I'm starting to really get tired of it. It's the usual discourse: "OMG! What are you thinking! They'll never see people again. They'll stop learning. I didn't have all this crap when I learned and now I'm a professor. They'll steal my class and replace me! "
Come on people! Your job is to TEACH !!! Okay, not all of you. many of the loudest voices are those that don't teach at all, but rather research, write books, and take the "I'm better than that" approach. I've only come across a few people that I'd consider really good teachers that didn't agree with lecture capture as one of the tools that can be used to improve comprehension and retention of material.
As I've ranted before: No technology is a silver bullet. You still have to be a great instructor. You have to engage your learners. This means that even with lecture capture, you still have to be involved in your courses. You may have to use other technology (chat, GWave, blogs, Skype, etc.) to communicate, but you still have to have two way communication. The "Sage on the Stage" problem is even worse with lecture capture, so simply turning on the camera and thinking that's going to take care of it for you is foolish.
Get your heads out of the sand. Learning IS changing. Contrary to popular belief, this isn't the first time it's changed. Remember when you used to write equations in the sand for your students? Of course you don't!!!! That was a long time ago, and technology changed. It didn't represent the end of all learning, in fact, I'd argue it didn't change the process of learning all that much at all. Neither will lecture capture, cell phones, the Internet, or any other life changing technology. However, it WILL change the way we DELIVER our instruction, and certainly our students expect that, want it and will embrace it. I can't see the downside of any of my students embracing learning!
I don't know everything. I'm tired of institutions of learning (and their instructors) claiming they KNOW the best way to teach. That's a cheap, easy way out. That's the mantra of the teacher that's finished learning or the organization that is afraid to shake things up with change. Let me ask you one question: If your college or university is so great at teaching, why did University of Phoenix post a 26% increase in income the first quarter of this year while so many "traditional" institutions were cutting back and laying people off?
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