Recorded Lectures: a love and hate relationship

Recorded Lectures: a love and hate relationship

I cringe every time a professor tells me that they record his or her lectures.  Why?  Well, at that point, he or she is giving me the chance to not listen.  I am tempted and the struggle is real.  However, I understand why the professors do it.  I really do!  I love hand writing all of my notes.  I am a fast writer, but sometimes I cannot get every single word that the professor is saying.  Sometimes, it is so difficult to understand what he or she is saying.  Sometimes, my thought processes are faster than my typing.  There are pros and cons to every method of note taking.  This is why recorded lectures have been very beneficial to me as well.

When reading my notes, I find uncompleted sentences and sometimes I do not even understand my own handwriting!  However, these recorded lectures do allow me to follow my notes and clarify what the professor was saying. This is a pro, right!  This is like listening to the lecture twice.  Then, there are other days…

…Days which I find myself just sitting in class.  Sitting in class and that is all.  I am not listening to a single word the professor is saying.  This is just very easy to do since I know that I can just listen to lecture later at home.  To me this is a con because it is not fair for the professor or for you.  The professor is obviously trusting that you will still listen in class, regardless whether she uploads the lecture or not.  This is why I cringe every single time a professor says that he or she will record the lecture.  It is a love and hate relationship!  Do you love it more or hate it more?  Please leave your comments below.  What are your thoughts on this?

I think that recorded lectures are great for reference use while studying, but you cannot solely rely on them!  I understand how some commuters appreciate this because accidents happen and sometimes they are unable to make it to class.  We are all old enough to understand that recorded lectures are not substitutions for class time.  We should still go to class, right?

 

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