Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Is it ok to video record my college lectures/classes?
Is it ok to video record my college lectures/classes?
It's my freshman year, Calculus teacher speaks reaaaallly fast (you wouldn't even believe) and advanced Spanish teacher is from Colombia and speaks rapidly with an accent I'm not used to. Is it ok to use my flip video camera (small like a digital camera) to video my classes so I can view them later? Would that be a weird thing to do? The camera would just sit on my desk. It wouldn't be very noticeable. In a lecture hall it would be easier, but these are like 25 student classes. Should I not even ask?
Higher Education (University +) - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
You must ask first . The lectures belong to the professor, so don't take a refusal personally. If you get permission, do not record lectures given by a visiting or substitute professor if you ever have one. If you do not get permission, NEVER take the device out in the classroom for any reason at all! Good luck.
2 :
don't think this is legal. You aren't even allowed to shoot movies, etc on a college campus, let alone record a college prof without his permission. depends on what your use it. I would suggest just using a normal sound recorder or not recording him directly. some prof will not be happy he is being filmed!! unless he's really vain :)
3 :
It is NOT ok to record your classes without your professor's permission. Their lectures are covered by copyright law. Also, other students in the class may not want to be recorded. Ask your professors first. If you get permission, use a Smart Pen to record and take notes. You will find it more efficient than a video recording. Be sure to do your reading before your classes. This will give you an overview of the information to be covered during lectures. Also, go to your college's academic success center and get information on how to take notes. There are several things you can do to take better notes. In my experience, students who record lectures don't pay attention during class and rarely take the time to go back and review the recording.
4 :
You must ask permission of the professor, or it is not legal. (college professor)
5 :
You will need to get permission to record, whether video or just audio. You could just ask your teachers to speak a little slower. Your calculus teacher may be nervous too and not realize that he/she is speaking too quickly for the class to take notes. It's a common problem with new teachers especially. I'm sure he/she will not mind you asking (better to find out now than on evaluations at the end of the semester) and will in fact be glad to make such a small, simple change to help the class understand. Other students will appreciate it too. The Spanish teacher might resist somewhat, but will probably be willing to at least slow down for the first couple weeks to let the class get used to her particular accent and to hearing Spanish again after a summer away from it. Either way, you will get used to the Columbian accent and it might be good for you to get used to hearing fast speech in an advanced class if you ever want to be able to understand native speakers talking at normal conversational speed. I'd ask them first to slow down and only if that doesn't work, ask to record them. It'd be better to understand them the first time anyway, right?
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