Student essentials
Lecture recordings are accessed via the Re/Play link in the left navigation of your unit's Blackboard course. They become available two working days after the lecture has taken place, unless your lecturer manually publishes them earlier or retracts them after (eg to make some edits). You can access the recordings on any device, using any browser or the free Blackboard mobile app (Android and iOS versions).
More information:
How to get the most from the recordings
We have put together these pointers to help you identify how to get the most from combining traditional note taking with the new lecture recordings, which will be provided in the 2015/16 academic year. It is not intended as an authoritative guide, you will need to select the method/s that suit you best.
Being able to take good notes is an important life skill, and there are plenty of examples in the world of work such as taking minutes of meetings and detailed case notes for lawyers and clinicians.
Getting the most out of lectures is about getting the balance right between note taking and engaging with the lecture. We would encourage you to think about note making, rather than note taking, as this frame of mind enables you to pay more attention to the live event, enabling you to concentrate more on the discussion than on making a full set of notes.
The best way to engage with the recordings is:
- Take concise notes during the live event which focus on key concepts
- Use the recording to make a fuller set of notes within a week of the live event
- Use the recording to clarify points that you either missed or found difficult
- Re-listen to key concepts during revision to help embed them in your learning
Studies over the years have shown that learning outcomes are improved when:
- You write something in your own words rather than verbatim, as the process of encoding a message enables you to make more sense of the concept under discussion.
- The idea or concept you are writing about has a meaning for you.
- You reinforce the learning from the lecture shortly after the live event e.g. by listening to snippets from the recording to clarify key concepts or by making a fuller set of notes within a week of the live event.
Learning outcomes are significantly decreased when:
- You take verbatim notes during the live event and never encode the concepts into your own words.
- You leave note taking until revision time, as this will be like seeing the material again for the first time.
- You use recordings of lectures as a replacement, or attempt to listen to the whole recording again.
Troubleshooting
I can't find my recording
- Check that it has been two working days since the lecture.
- Recordings can only be accessed via the associated Blackboard course, and you can only access them if you are enrolled on this course.
- If there are a lot of recordings, multiple pages are created so the recording you’re looking for could be on the next page.
- If you cannot see the Re/Play link in the menu bar on the left hand side of your course page, speak to your lecturer/Unit Director. They may also have chosen not to publish recordings (yet), or they may be published elsewhere.
- Only lectures are recorded (not seminars etc), and only those taking place in equipped rooms.
My recording isn't playing / is not playing correctly
Please refer to the FAQs about playing recordings.
If these tips do not resolve your query please email: service-desk@bristol.ac.uk, providing further details:
- Is the issue occurring on just one device/browser or have you tried several?
- Which location are you trying to play the recording(s) from.
- If this is a University location, please provide the asset tag (on barcoded label marked IT Services, of the form IT012345)
- Unit code, and it this is about a particular recording full details of it (date, time, LT, title)
