FAQ MTSU Lecture Capture & Recording

As many classrooms as possible will be outfitted for Fall 2020 with the necessary equipment and software for recording and/or livestreaming a video feed into D2L of each class session via the Panopto interface and video management portal. The system captures and records the whiteboard in the classroom as well as the display on the PC or iMac in the room.

• The captured content is delivered to a Panopto course folder in the D2L shell of the faculty member assigned to that room during any given class period.
• To capture audio, faculty members wear a rechargeable lapel microphone or a microphone attached to a lanyard. The mic goes on a charging dock at the end of every class.
• In general, students will not be captured in the video or audio unless they come to the front of the room or ask a question live or if they are participating via Zoom.
• Captured lectures will be saved to the instructor’s Panopto course folder in D2L, where faculty can manage and edit them.
• Captured lectures will be deleted automatically at the end of the semester unless they are copied or moved to a different folder.

Yes, you can use Zoom, but you can only use it on the PC or iMac in the room.

Yes! Watch this video to learn how: Lecture Capture Quick Start Video. Please be aware that you may have to use the PC or the iMac in the room during the first few weeks of the semester for lecture capture.

Yes, you can use the document camera and the image will be captured via the Panopto interface.

To find out if and when your classroom will have the integrated classroom technology, please contact:

Albert Whittenberg (albert.whittenberg@mtsu.edu or 615-898-5062) or James Copeland (james.copeland@mtsu.edu or 615-904-8586)

• Faculty members are strongly encouraged to use the technology but may opt out of recording if it is not appropriate for their class.
• Lecture capture is not a mandate; however, in cases where faculty do not provide lecture capture, they are required to provide students with an equitable and reasonable alternative.
• The requirement to provide an alternative to lecture capture for on-ground classes is aimed at ensuring that students who are unable to attend class for health-related reasons are not penalized and that students are discouraged from attending class if they are sick. (See “Temporary Amendment to MTSU Policy 311.”)
• While remote classes don’t have the same face-to-face attendance requirements, it’s expected that faculty provide alternatives similar to lecture capture for students who miss synchronous sessions (e.g., Zoom recordings).

Faculty are encouraged to avail themselves of these tools to understand how to create an equitable alternative to class session participation: 

• Workload Estimator 2.0 From Wake Forest University
• Kim Godwin’s workshop on assigning a reasonable workload; From MTSUOnline.

• Provide students with a file (PDF/PPT) of lecture slides. 
• Include instructor notes with the lecture slides.
• Provide an audio recording of the lecture (live or pre-recorded).
• Provide extensive notes from the class.
• Pre-record lectures that cover similar material.
• Add asynchronous elements to the alternative assignment, but be sure the assignments are not more onerous than attending the lecture.

• Create an online discussion board where students can post and respond to the discussion prompts that were used in class.
• Require a short reflective response paper based on discussion promptsused in class.
• Use questions raised by students in class to construct an alternative assignment. 
• If you use small group discussion, ask each small group to provide a summary of their group that you can share with students who missed class.[i]

[i]Kelly A. Hogan and Viji Sath, Eight Ways to be More Inclusive, Chronicle of Higher Education, April 8, 2020. “Provide resources and opportunities for asynchronous learning. One certainty in these uncertain times is that students face a whole host of barriers to remote learning — unreliable internet access, computer snafus, even different time zones — that they don’t encounter when we are together in a physical classroom. For that reason, record each Zoom session in order to be inclusive. If your subscription allows, record to the cloud to create audio transcriptions. [MTSU files will be automatically available in D2L.] …Post the audio files, too, since video can be difficult to view for some students. Create an online discussion forum that asynchronous users can contribute to before and after class, even if they couldn’t contribute in real time. In general, it’s helpful to ask yourself: How can I ensure that students who aren’t able to join in any synchronous activities feel included in the learning and in our class community?”

In D2L, faculty have control of the recordings and who can see them. Zoom and Panopto have been integrated into D2L, and faculty can adjust the settings via the Panopto interface to make the recordings available to students at the faculty member’s discretion. Current systemwide settings also prohibit download from D2L or sharing of recordings captured in Panopto.

Zoom is now integrated into D2L, which means that Zoom sessions can be captured directly to D2L. For the Zoom session to be saved directly to the D2L shell, the instructor must schedule and start the meeting from within the D2L shell. The link to Zoom is found in the navigation bar in D2L. Since Zoom is also integrated with Panopto, recorded Zoom sessions will be automatically captioned when they are saved to the Panopto course folder in the D2L shell. Zoom recordings that originate in D2L will be saved to the instructor’s Panopto course folder in D2L and will be deleted automatically at the end of the semester unless they are copied or moved to a different folder. For more help on the Zoom/D2L integration, see Jimmy Williams' training video available on the D2L homepage under "News": https://elearn.mtsu.edu/d2l/home

Students can use Panopto in D2L to make their own videos and those recordings can be uploaded via Panopto, if the faculty member has created an assignments folder. Other students cannot access these videos in the assignment folder nor can other students download the videos if the student posts a video to a discussion board. The videos created by students in Panopto are saved locally to the student’s computer. This means that the student retains control of any videos he or she makes for the class. Please note: Video Note for students is also now available in D2L.

All Zoom and Panopto recordings can be saved for the duration of the semester and will be deleted globally at the end of each semester.

• If you pre-record a video with no students present and the video, hence, does NOT include student PII (personally identifiable information), you are free to keep and use it in accordance with the amended intellectual property policy.
• If you record a video, either a class session or a pre-recorded lecture, that includes student PII (video, audio, or other personally identifiable material) and you intend to distribute the recordings to any audience other than the D2L section in which it was originally recorded, you will need to  blur the image of any students who are personally identifiable in the recording. 
• Recommended syllabus statement:  (Zoom) Zoom class sessions will be audio and video recorded. Except as explained below, the recordings are accessible only to students enrolled in the course.  This will allow students to review sessions whether they participated or were unable to attend.  Students who participate with their cameras engaged or who utilize a profile image are agreeing to have their video or image recorded.  If you are unwilling to consent to having your profile or video image recorded, be sure to keep your camera off and do not use a profile image.  Likewise, students who unmute during a Zoom class and participate orally are agreeing to have their voices recorded. If you are not willing to consent to having your voice recorded during class, you will need to keep your mute button activated and communicate exclusively using the “chat” feature which allows students to type questions and comments live.  Guest speaker lectures will be recorded and may be made accessible to students in other or subsequent offerings of this course.  If images of students are captured in such videos, the images will be blurred so that the student(s) cannot be identified.
• Recommended syllabus statement: (Panopto lecture capture) Class sessions will be audio and video recorded. Except as explained below, the recordings are accessible only to students enrolled in the course.  This will allow students to review sessions whether they participated or were unable to attend. Guest speaker lectures will be recorded and may be made accessible to students in other or subsequent offerings of this course.  If images of students are captured in such videos, the images will be blurred so that the student(s) cannot be identified
• At the end of the semester, faculty may request video editing support via CTAT. You can reach them by telephone 615-904-8189  or by email, itdacad@mtsu.edu 

• Live closed captioning will be available in remote and web-assisted classes where there is a requested DAC accommodation If a student requests accommodation, contact DAC to confirm access to live captioning services.
• In addition, once videos are uploaded to D2L from Zoom or via the Panopto interface, they are automatically closed captioned with about 75 to 80% accuracy and only require additional editing if you plan to archive the recordings. Other recordings (not native to Panopto) can also be auto captioned using the Panopto editor in D2L.

Yes.  For lecture capture in web-assisted classes, students can attend in-person, can join the class remotely in real time via Panopto Livestream or Zoom, or view the recorded class later—at the instructor’s discretion.

To schedule training with the integrated classroom technology, please contact:

• The Center for Technologies and Training (CTAT) at 615-904-8189 or itdacad@mtsu.edu.

Consider using the following language in your syllabus: Students should have the opportunity:

• To request a cessation of class recording during selected, agreed upon periods.
• To be notified that recording will commence. Instructors should include language in their syllabi and/or remind students at the start of class that the session will be recorded.
• To be offered an alternative assignment if lecture capture is not available.
• To retain control of likeness, voice, and any presentation materials—both in the short term (for that semester) and in the long term (if faculty decides to keep the lecture capture); with the provision that should the faculty member wish to use the recording in future classes any student PII must be removed. See recommended syllabus statement.
• To be notified as to the deletion or retention of the video recording.
• To be afforded the full protection of FERPA, meaning that all classroom recordings are password protected and housed in D2L. Each student should be assured that the recorded classroom environment is as secure and as confidential as a live, non-recorded, in-classroom course.

You can require the following of students and should consider including this language in your syllabus: Students have a responsibility:

• To secure the necessary device and internet connection to participate.
• To recognize that any provided recordings are supplements to the classroom experience and active participation is expected and crucial, including attending scheduled remote synchronous or web-assisted on ground class times, participating in class activities, and completing assignments.
• To use recorded materials as intended and to review recorded classes or alternative materials in case of absence and in order to complete class assignments.
• To respect the privacy of the instructor and students and comply with FERPA, which means:
  • To not create personal video or audio recordings of the class session without advance written permission from the professor or the appropriate DAC accommodation.
  • To use recordings for course purposes only.
  • To not distribute any recorded material to any person not enrolled in the class.
  • If given permission to make a personal video of a class session, to destroy said recordings at the end of the course term. [i]
  • To recognize the potential consequences both academic and legal for violating the privacy of the instructor or fellow students.[ii]*

[i] See University of Nebraska, “Lecture Capture Policy,” https://www.unk.edu/about/files/lecture-capture.pdf, accessed June 25, 2020.

[ii] See University of Washington defines FERPA violations: https://itconnect.uw.edu/learn/tools/panopto/panopto-policies/ Accessed June 25, 2020.

Students enrolled in dual enrollment classes have all the same rights and responsibilities as students enrolled on campus.

• Provide students with a link to the MTSU website for students.
• You may also consider adding language to your syllabus about student rights and responsibilities.
• Consider devoting class time to introduce the various tools you'll be using that might be new to students.

Access the appendix here for a quick guide to lecture capture and recording at other universities, including additional sample syllabus statements.

Visit Stay on Course: Faculty Resources for Remote and Online Teaching.