The Untimely Death of Recorded Lectures

Students mourn features of online classes

Colin Mullaney / Assistant News Editor / The USD Vista

In-person classes are officially back, just like the university promised students for the Fall 2021 semester. This shift is like night and day for those who, until now, were unfamiliar with the ordinary swing of things and usual buzz of campus activity. Sophomores are still getting adjusted to the novel sight of a bustling Student Life Pavilion, and upperclassmen are becoming reacquainted with the old routines they have been missing for more than a year. With a few minor exceptions, everything appears to be back on track.

Barring another sudden spike in COVID-19 cases among students or another unprecedented global catastrophe, this means the inevitable death of online courses and potentially their counterpart: recorded lectures. Receiving lectures over Zoom, with the feature of re-watching prior lesson recordings, is now not only obsolete, but no longer an option for most students. After experiencing both sides of the coin, online and in-person, some students are missing the perks that accompanied remote learning. They wonder if perhaps a total reversal of all online features was truly necessary or advantageous, or simply throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

USD sophomore, Kaelyn Faull, shared about the transition away from widespread access to lecture recordings, 

“I definitely would prefer (professors) to record the lectures. Even though I plan on showing up to class every day, it would still be super helpful to have recordings to use as a study tool,” Faull said. 

Faull believes that having professors record their in-person lectures as they once did over Zoom could provide students the opportunity to engage with the content more deeply and on their own time.

 “Even if you just missed one thing that the professor said, you could go back and rewatch it to get that clarification,” Faull stated.

Dr. Jennifer Pretak, professor of Spanish in the Language Department, weighed in on the idea that recorded lectures could become a permanent fixture of her in-person class instruction. 

“Because the nature of our language classes is communicative, I do not see a great benefit to recording lectures, as class time is generally utilized for interpersonal, task-based activities, in addition to student discussion, and less direct lecture from only the professor,” Pretak stated. “However, if any students have learning accommodations that necessitate recording a lecture or a copy of the class instructional materials, I am happy to oblige.”

Fortunately, Dr. Pretak is not the only one to indicate a ready willingness to accommodate students with extenuating circumstances. Since returning, many professors have implemented creative solutions to bridge the remaining gaps between online and in-person instruction, even if they are not keen on recording lectures. Students who are concerned with the possibility of missing class time and material this semester in the event of illness or absence can express these concerns to the appropriate faculty members in order to reach a suitable negotiation.

Although recorded lectures may be on their way out, other helpful vestiges of instruction during the pandemic remain to the benefit of students.

 “While we may not be using the technological teaching tools to the same extent as we did last year (Zoom meetings for every class, assessments via Blackboard, etc.), we have not abandoned their use altogether as we recognize their continued benefit in certain cases: Zoom for office hours, options to participate in virtual cultural activities, remote guest speakers, etc,” Pretak expressed.

So, for those who are feeling nostalgic for Zoom classes and other methods of online instruction, traces of these teaching methodologies can still be found throughout USD in other forms. While it may not be the same as watching lectures over again at one’s leisure, it is important to note that not all the convenience of online instruction has been lost, and there is always the remote chance (no pun intended) that online courses could be reinstated as well, COVID-19 depending.