Recording facilities are now available in all of the University’s lecture theatres. 

IT Services (ITS) has installed at least basic audio and PC recording equipment in every lecture theatre - and some seminar rooms - on campus, tripling the number of rooms with this capability to 40. 

In 2012-13, just 14 lecture theatres had recording facilities (plus a further three with only sound recording). 

The work was completed in time for the start of the 2013-14 academic year and is the first phase of a major investment programme at Sussex designed to improve the use of video for teaching and learning. 

A number of other improvements were made this summer by the Learning Services team in ITS to give staff and students more options for using video on Study Direct. 

The team has also:

• Made it easier for teaching staff to record lectures – in some lecture theatres, staff can now use the touch screen console without having to log in to the PC
• Expanded the number of places on Study Direct where videos can be displayed
• Made it simple to capture and share high-quality video on Study Direct from a tablet or mobile device 

There are also a number of improvements that will make it easier for students to use video resources on their mobile devices. Videos in Study Direct are now: 

• displayed in a modern, web-friendly way, similar to Facebook and many other popular websites
• playable on a wide range of devices, from desktop computer to mobile phone
• available in high definition with full-screen viewing options on all platforms
• easy to make available to students in more than one cohort 

Carol Shergold, Head of Learning Services, said: “Students often report that video reinforces their learning. 

“It can be a useful way to catch concepts missed in lectures, and is particularly helpful for students whose first language isn’t English, or who have dyslexia. 

“Many also find it useful to go back over lectures when preparing for exams and usage statistics show that lecture recordings are played back particularly intensively during revision periods. 

“So we are pleased that we have been able to expand these services and we think that staff and students will see the benefits. 

“Initially, the sound quality will be better in some places than in others but we will be refurbishing some areas in the next phase of the project to enable higher quality sound and a broader range of inputs, including laptops.” 

For more information, visit the ITS web pages.