Appendix II: Netiquette guidance
Lecture Recording and Netiquette Guidance for Staff (19/08/20)
Please note: the footnotes will take you to further guidance/how to guides/information
Introduction
Why do we need this guidance?
We have been asked to provide guidance for those who will be teaching remotely about what to record when delivering synchronous teaching face-to-face via Zoom (or similar) and so we have produced this document to try answer the concerns and questions people have raised.
What is netiquette?
Netiquette denotes the rules of etiquette that apply when communicating online. These rules are important in everyday online interactions, but are particularly important in a learning situation where the ‘normal’ feedback you would receive from your students (for example, them smiling and nodding their heads, or looking confused or upset) is much harder to see.
How does this relate to the lecture recording policy and the guidelines for students?
We would like the work we do with our students during a time of remote and blended teaching to align with the spirit of the lecture recording policy, even if we are not in rooms with Echo360 to implement the process for us.
What about students’ netiquette?
We are creating guidance for students[3] about netiquette during remote teaching. Feel free to discuss it and share it with your students and your colleagues. It will be ready by the start of the academic year and will positioned at the top of the student Moodle.
[3] Student netiquette guidance will be here soon: https://moodle.gla.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=19209
Do I have to record my teaching?
The lecture recording policy is an opt out policy. It advocates the educational benefits to students of recording lectures but it recognises that there are a range of reasons why this might not always be appropriate or desirable.
Are there different considerations for recording online sessions?
When on campus, lecture recording is particularly well suited for teaching that is delivered in lecture format and where the lecture is not particularly interactive (see table). In on campus settings, lecture recording works less well with small group teaching or classes where there is student input or interaction partly because of the room set-up but also because it can alter the nature of those interactions. Indeed, lecture recording facilities are not installed in the smaller teaching rooms. In online settings, these physical constraints are not relevant. Thus, the main considerations are the educational value of recording a session, the lecturer’s right to opt-out and students’ permission to be recorded.
Why might I record online classes?
Students will be joining classes from a range of different time zones and with different personal circumstances and study environments. Some will also need to travel during semester in order to arrive in Glasgow to continue their studies. As such, and depending on your learning design, in order to support students in attaining the ILOs for their courses, it may be that recording classes is important for them.
Where a class is largely or wholly based on lecturer input, then the decision to record is a function of learning design and the lecturer’s choice in relation to provision of learning resources. Choices will need to be made about whether and how the chat function is used, and students advised that the session is being recorded (see below).
In terms of interactive sessions such as discussions during lectures or smaller group sessions, the reasons for recording require other considerations. Recording of tutorials is not covered in the University’s Lecture Recording Policy and interactive learning is considered one of the reasons why staff may opt out of recording a session. However, it is reasonable to apply the principles of the policy in relation to smaller group sessions where it is educationally beneficial to do so. We know that students learn from interacting with one another and with the lecturer, and although most of that benefit derives from being part of that session in a live environment, again, for students who cannot attend a session, or for those who did and who want to revise, recording interactive sessions may sometimes be beneficial. Students may also request that the interactive, discussion-based sessions are recorded - they may know one another well and be comfortable with their discussions being recorded and available for study purposes.
Thus, for interactive elements of teaching, if you are minded to record the session, it is important to consider whether recording discussion is beneficial to students or not. You should consider what the impact would be on peer interactions and on your ability to give feedback on learning, especially if students did not wish to be recorded and so either participated anonymously or did not participate at all. If recording would impede learning and engagement, it would not be desirable to record the session.
What about student permission?
For the lecture-part of any teaching that you deliver, if you intend to record your own input, please inform the students that you will record it. It is preferable for students to be on screen with their names visible, even when there is no discussion or they are just using the chat function, because it allows you to get to know your students and for them to get to know one another. However, a minority of students might not be comfortable with this even when you are recording only your own input, and where this is the case, students should not be required to be on camera. Your students should be advised that they can choose whether to be ‘on screen’ or to turn off their camera and can choose their screen name.
For interactive elements of teaching – within a lecture session or smaller group session – the same approach would apply. If you had decided that there were educational merits for recording the session as outlined above, students would need to be advised that they can use a screen name and are not required to be on camera.
What if a student is ill and misses a class that hasn’t been recorded?
If a student is unwell and misses a class, it is particularly helpful if you have recorded the aspects of the lecture where you have been speaking, and made the recording available to them (see table), but the same caveats apply here as discussed above about recording student-interactions. Where sessions are not recorded, in order for students to be able to meet the ILOs if they miss a class, the purpose of the session would still need to be clear and articulated in relation to the ILOs and students advised on the work that they should do to compensate for their absence.
How do I design and record my lecture material?
There is guidance on the Glasgow Anywhere Remote and Blended Learning webpages that outlines a range of ways in which you can design your teaching and there are upskilling sessions you can access from that link that show you how to use the technology to best effect. It is also important that you follow the guidance on accessibility, especially given the changing legislation that comes into effect from September 2020. Detailed guidance is available that relates to teaching on the Digital Accessibility pages. There are a range of tools and approaches available that you can use to ensure your material is accessible and the guidance has recently been created to support staff who teach and support learning.
What should I record and what should I not record?
| Type of teaching | Type of teaching session | Should I record this? |
|---|---|---|
| Asynchronous | Lecture-style teaching | Given that this teaching is asynchronous, we anticipate that this will all be pre-recorded and posted onto your course Moodle site. It will be most effective and engaging when split into small chunks (we recommend up to ten minutes) to keep students’ attention and will come with captions and a transcript in order to make it accessible. To support students’ attainment of the ILOs, it is helpful that if you use a PowerPoint, or similar tool, as a visual aid, it will also be provided for your students on Moodle. |
| Synchronous | Synchronous lecturing | We recommend that people do not deliver 50-minute lectures via Zoom (or similar) but that the face-to-face time (on Zoom) you have with your students will be used in a varied way that might include some content and some discussion and/or group-work.
In the situation where you are delivering a lecture or lecture segment within a taught session, please inform your students that you will be recording the session/segment for them, and their peers, and that you will make the recording available after the session. (see also: What about student questions? below). |
| dSynchronous | Interactive lecturing | If you are, in part, delivering content and, in part, facilitating discussion and inviting questions, please think about pausing the recording during the discussion and questions section(s), and telling your students in advance that you will do so. This will ensure that they are not concerned that these times, when they might feel more vulnerable during discussions, will be captured on video for others not in the session to view. Where you believe that it is appropriate to record these interactions, please tell your students, in advance, that you will do so, but be aware that this might result in some students withdrawing from active participation. |
| Synchronous | Mostly discussion-based/small group teaching | We do not normally record discussion-based/small group teaching and we are not asking that you do this remotely either. Often these sessions encourage students to discuss their ideas and to be open with their learning and so recording a session like this might inhibit this process. If you would not normally record these sessions, please do not unless it is clear that students would find this useful and are comfortable with recording taking place. |
| Synchronous | Interactive sessions | As with discussion-based/small group teaching, we do not expect you to record an interactive session, unless there are elements of it where you are delivering content, in which case, where possible, record only this element of the teaching. |
| Synchronous | What about students’ questions? | If you are predominantly speaking in a lecture-style situation, we would suggest that you use the chat function to allow students to ask questions and then you can clarify their understanding. However, it is also worth cautioning your students that, by spending time in the chat window, they will likely miss the message. To overcome this, it is worth considering pausing to give your students time to ask questions in the chat window that you can address and then move on to the next topic/section. For discursive elements to your teaching, where students might feel more vulnerable in sharing their ideas, pause or stop recording for the discussion to encourage participation and inclusivity. |