Recording live class sessions is a recommended best practice for instructors teaching remote courses. Recorded class sessions benefit students who are unable to attend a class, whether due to illness, internet connectivity issues, or other reasons. All students benefit by being able to go back and review course content covered during class.
- Familiarize yourself with University policies governing instructors’ appropriate use of recorded class sessions. Recordings should only be made available to the students enrolled in the course for which the class sessions are being recorded. A classroom recording should not be used for any purpose except to meet the educational objectives of that particular class. Should the department or instructor wish to use recordings for any other purpose, contact the Office of University Counsel.
- Discuss plans for recording class sessions with students. Some students may be uncomfortable being recorded, and less likely to contribute during class. Discuss your rationale and plans for recording class sessions with students, and adjust accordingly. For example, there may be certain classes (e.g. discussion of sensitive or personal topics) that the instructor elects not to record. Instructors may want to edit video before making it available to students, or limit class recordings to specific content. Zoom settings can be adjusted to capture transcripts, record audio-only, or video that only displays class materials (shared screen) without showing students’ faces. Learn more about settings for recording Zoom sessions.
- Notify students (and guest speakers) before a class session is recorded. Recommended language for syllabi and verbal reminders: The course instructor may record meetings of this class for educational purposes. These recordings will be shared only with students enrolled in the course for purposes of academic instruction only. Your instructor will communicate to you how you may access any available recordings.
- Remind students that they may not make or share recordings. Recommended language for syllabi and verbal reminders: Any use of a class recording by a student shall be for educational purposes only. Students may not record a class on their own, in any format, without prior express authorization from the University and may not copy, reproduce or distribute any recording that they access. Students requesting the use of assistive technology as an accommodation should contact Accessibility Resources & Service
- Decide how class sessions will be recorded and made available to students. For most courses, Zoom is being used to record live class sessions to the cloud. Instructors can access links to class recordings through their Cloud Recordings page in Zoom. Note that meetings conducted using Microsoft 365 Teams can also be recorded to the cloud.
The most reliable and secure way to share class recordings with students is to set the recommended Zoom settings to restrict access to the recording and then post the links to the classroom recordings on a course site in Sakai (or other course management system). For information on how to set edit Zoom settings, see “Securing Zoom Cloud Recordings” near the bottom of the Zoom Settings and Features page.
Contact
If you have questions regarding class recordings, reach out to help.unc.edu.