UCL’s new Lecturecast system is live

This summer the Lecturecast service received a significant upgrade when we moved from our previous lecture capture solution to the latest offering from our supplier Echo360.

For those who have used Lecturecast in the past, you will be pleased to know that the new system offers a more streamlined and user-friendly service that allows you to schedule recordings for your lectures, link your recordings to a Moodle course and manage and edit recordings through the Lecturecast Active Learning Platform (ALP) interface. In addition to upgrading the system, we also have more rooms that are Lecturecast Enabled. Currently, over 110 rooms are online with more being added within the next few weeks.

We believe that the new system will make it much easier for you to schedule recordings and share them with students. There are benefits to be had for both staff and students in ‘Lecturecasting’ events. In a recent survey of UCL students and their use of technology, the most frequent request was for Lecturecast to be more widely available.

The new Lecturecast system comprises three elements:

• The Lecturecast Scheduler: this allows you to schedule recordings for confirmed CMIS (i.e. UCL’s online timetabling and room booking system) booked events.
• The Lecturecast Connector block – available on every Moodle course when you ‘Turn editing on’. This allows you to link your Moodle Course to a section in Lecturecast that contains the recordings for your course.
• Lecturecast Active Learning Platform (ALP) – This is where recordings are hosted. The ALP interface provides functionality that goes beyond just hosting recordings and allows you to create and add resources that include interactive slides and view learner analytics. For students, it allows them to flag and bookmark content as well as take notes, participate in discussions and respond to interactive slides.

We have developed new training resources including video and step-by-step guides to get you started using the new system, and are currently developing more advanced guides which will be available soon. These are available via the Lecturecast Resource Centre

Training and guidance on using the additional functionality will be phased in over the next 12 months.

If you are looking for inspiration and on how you might incorporate the use of Lecturecast into your teaching, have a look at some of the case studies from institutions around the world using Echo360 (the developers) behind Lecturecast.

Below are a host of links to get you started in using the new Lecturecast system at UCL.

• Lecturecast Scheduler: Use this to schedule recordings for events that have been timetabled and booked through CMIS
• Create a Link on your Moodle Course to a Lecturecast Section:  guidance on how to share your recording with students on your Moodle course
• Lecturecast FAQs: view answers to some of our most frequent queries.
• Lecturecast Enabled Teaching Spaces – view a list of rooms that are online. This list is updated weekly as more rooms become available.
• Lecturecast Resource Centre: information and guidance  to get you started on using Lecturecast

If you have any queries or need support, please email lecturecast@ucl.ac.uk