Freeing Up Fridays

wnolan1992

Sid_Justice wrote: »

with me in charge i'd have the bulk of it done in less than 10 years.

Well on this issue then, I guess I'm sad you're not in charge.

You've got me thinking though, and I know I'm sorta taking my own thread OT, but how difficult would it be to install a video camera in the lecture theatres.... Surely it'd be relatively inexpensive to install a cam beside the overheads....

Though I suppose then you'd run the risk of people not attending.... which in the current set up would be bad because it would eliminate questions from the lectures.

Sid_Justice

I can assure you, the problems aren't practical in nature, the barrier to this are all social.

There would be teething problems of course, always are with IT. You'd need a system of recording, titling and uploading and then downloading at the other end for students. Really isn't difficult, especially for a university that is supposed to be doing great work on sensor systems.

The issues are more to do with copyright. Who own's the lecture afterwards? The college does. If you're a junior lecturer, brought in to research and give let's say 30 lectures a year, if they just record them, why do they need to renew your contract to give lectures if they have them on tape? Lecturers would be worried they'd be replaced by recordings.

We will have to move to a system where lecturers have to prove the worth of what they're doing. The lectures given in UL are the same given around the entire country and world at 1st and 2nd year level (and 3rd and 4th for other colleges). If you do a business course in UL you're not getting taught anything different from someone in TCD, really and fundamentally.

If student don't want to go to lecturers and prefer to listen to them at home, so what? it's easier for the uni to accommodate smaller number of present students. If they see no value in attending they should be given the freedom and autonomy to do that. At the end of the day STUDENTS ARE PAYING for this service and should be entitled to use it or ignore it. If you want to learn at home from books it shouldn't be their business.

If you want to attend to ask a question so be it. Otherwise email it.

Jester252

Sid and wnolan your ideas are very good

difficult would it be to install a video camera in the lecture theatres

why not have them live streamed for student who could not make in for any reasons. (I know that I would love to stay in a cozy bed for 9am lectures these days) and have a chat box so student who are not there can ask questions to the lectures.
I have had to go into a lecture hall last year to watch a lecture when it could have been posted online :rolleyes:.
The lecture in the video said that it was very hard for him to give a lecture without the student feedback.

video of lecture, transcript of lecture, podcast, video cast, interactive message forums, group chat, tutorial rooms, self directed learning, ebook libraries

Sid I assume you are in UL to do a postgrad. I dont know what department you are in but you probably have to work close to a lecture. If you feel like it you could ask the Lecture if you may record his lecture next year and put them up for his student and see if having access makes they grades improve.
If it does then you could go to your department head and show him your results and see if it could go collage wide in a couple of years
you are right it doesn't take ten years to set this up. It should only take 3 tops

The issues are more to do with copyright.

It would be the lectures unless it was stated in a contract which would have some sort of clause if the lecture leaves or fires to pay them a once off fee for the lecture material

Probably would save a lot, the uni's wage bill would certainly be reduced significantly.

Lecture are mainly paid for research

university that is supposed to be doing great work on sensor systems.

They are

Sid_Justice

Jester252 wrote: »

Sid and wnolan your ideas are very good

Of course they're good they're mine.

The lecture in the video said that it was very hard for him to give a lecture without the student feedback.

Let the lecturer sit in his bedroom too and let students turn their webcams on too so he can get the feedback.

Sid I assume you are in UL to do a postgrad. I dont know what department you are in but you probably have to work close to a lecture. If you feel like it you could ask the Lecture if you may record his lecture next year and put them up for his student and see if having access makes they grades improve.
If it does then you could go to your department head and show him your results and see if it could go collage wide in a couple of years
you are right it doesn't take ten years to set this up. It should only take 3 tops

sounds like stuff someone doing a phd in education should be looking at not me

It would be the lectures unless it was stated in a contract which would have some sort of clause if the lecture leaves or fires to pay them a once off fee for the lecture material

it's more complex than that. firstly, you'd have to look at the actual content, you can't pretend to have copyright over stuff that you reproducing from textbooks. If the lecturer was employed to produce lectures, they were put together under college time and using college resources the 'copyright' may be with the college.

Lecture are mainly paid for research

lol including all the UL lecturers without phds.

Sid_Justice

I had a lecture with someone from another university. They were on their camera at their desk and we were in the class room on a big camera so she could see us. It worked grand like.

I've also seen plenty of guys give lectures without any audience.

wnolan1992

Jester252 wrote: »

Sid and wnolan your ideas are very good

why not have them live streamed for student who could not make in for any reasons. (I know that I would love to stay in a cozy bed for 9am lectures these days) and have a chat box so student who are not there can ask questions to the lectures.
I have had to go into a lecture hall last year to watch a lecture when it could have been posted online :rolleyes:.
The lecture in the video said that it was very hard for him to give a lecture without the student feedback.

Live streaming is a good idea in theory. However, I have reservations about this whole scenario in that attendance would be practically non-existent. Now, you may argue that this isn't important, but watching UCBerkeley lectures on youtube, there are often questions from students in the class that add to lectures. I think that the educational culture in Ireland as it is means that no-one would turn up to lectures, thus no questions.

One way around this I suppose would be to maybe give extra credit to those who attend lectures (we'll say .5% or so per lecture, so about 1% for every weeks lectures attended added onto whatever mark you get in the final exam). I must look into what the policies regarding this in US universities are.

If you feel like it you could ask the Lecture if you may record his lecture next year and put them up for his student and see if having access makes they grades improve.
If it does then you could go to your department head and show him your results and see if it could go collage wide in a couple of years
you are right it doesn't take ten years to set this up. It should only take 3 tops

That's a fantastic idea. Not sure about your own circumstances Sid, you might not have enough time etc, but if I do a postgrad I'll certainly be suggesting this.
EDIT: As you say, this would be a perfect issue for someone in education to look into. I'm a bit surprised actually that no-one in UL seems to be doing it.... Can't wait for the surveymonkey surveys on this to start flooding my inbox :pac:

Jester252

wnolan1992 wrote: »

Live streaming is a good idea in theory. However, I have reservations about this whole scenario in that attendance would be practically non-existent. Now, you may argue that this isn't important, but watching UCBerkeley lectures on youtube, there are often questions from students in the class that add to lectures. I think that the educational culture in Ireland as it is means that no-one would turn up to lectures, thus no questions.

One way around this I suppose would be to maybe give extra credit to those who attend lectures (we'll say .5% or so per lecture, so about 1% for every weeks lectures attended added onto whatever mark you get in the final exam). I must look into what the policies regarding this in US universities are.

Ya I know that theory a bitch but what I meant to say was have the live stream as well as the physical lecture. Your extra credit is a very good idea to make sure that student will still attend. As I said a chat box so student who could not make are still able to ask questions. I agree that the best lecture are one that are driven by questions from the students

Gael23

my original timetable had me off on Wednesdays and in until 5pm on a Friday, Now ive changed that to a 1pm finish on Friday by giving myself classes 10 to 1 on a Wednesday. I would be willing to do alot of things to finish early on a Friday because with bus timetables im not home until 5.30 even finishing at 1. For me c&s fill up my spare time and thats all good but I dont need a whole day off for them, ive only got 16hrs a week so ive alot of free time anyway.
Id actually like to havr=e a Friday off instead of any other day if I had the choice.

thats not gone well

sure all these ideas to finish early on a Friday etc are good,
however, 8 am starts and 8pm finishes are all well and good when it doesn't take an hour each day to get to college and the same home.
not everyone has the luxury of moving to castletroy or being able to afford a car.

maybe, by not having lectures put on a Friday afternoon would mean that people could adjust labs/tuts with lecturers so that they could make buses or whatever.

surprised no one mentioned lecturers booking rooms early on in the week for their own tuts, should they get stuck with a slot on a Friday. But the lack in rooms early in the week is causing the late timetabling on a Friday :rolleyes:

mayo_lad

freeing up of Fridays would be nice for everyone but the idea of having classes till 8 pm is just stooopid like as most of the bus routes to Ennis end at that time , I think that the idea of a free Wednesday for clubs and socs is a good one but to be honest it must be taken into account that is any of the clubs utilising this time as far as I can remember most club and soc's events happen post 6 clock during the week or during the weekends taking that into account it makes more sense to scrap the idea of a free Wednesday afternoon and just have a free Friday afternoon as it would effectively extend the weekend for clubs and socs.

mayo_lad

Sid_Justice wrote: »

I had a lecture with someone from another university. They were on their camera at their desk and we were in the class room on a big camera so she could see us. It worked grand like.

I've also seen plenty of guys give lectures without any audience.

sid you are forgetting that teaching is only one side of a university the main purpose of a university is to conduct research not to teach .

in my own department the Mechanical, Biomedical & Aeronautical engineering department there are a number of lectures who do not lecture at all there main focus is to preform research . In fact one of the most successful spin of companys from ul (the http://www.stokesbio.com ) originated from the department . so even if you got rid of the lectures the university's staff number would not reduce that much