(from left) Otago University Students Association (OUSA) welfare officer Bryn Jenkins, University of Otago student Jess Richards and OUSA international officer Rachel Goh discuss the increase in the number of online lectures being watched. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN

The number of University of Otago lectures downloaded by students is set to reach 1.2million by the end of the year, the university says.

University of Otago Information technology services director Mike Harte said demand for the Otago Capture technology, which allowed students to listen to lectures from the comfort of their own homes, was increasing rapidly.

In semester one lectures were viewed 800,000 times, up 50% on 2015.

Otago University Students Association international officer Rachel Goh said the recordings, which could be slowed or speeded up, were particularly helpful for international students.

``When you are an international student it can be very hard to understand and keep with what lecturers are saying.

``Now people can watch the lectures back and slow things down when they need clarification about something.''

Students could also bookmark sections of the recording that were of particular relevance, allowing them to return to the section whenever they needed to, she said.

Third-year law and politics student Jess Richards said most students used the recordings for revision or to catch up on lectures they missed.

She did not believe the recordings were used as a substitute for attending lectures in person.

``The law faculty don't put any of their lectures online, for example, so we have to go.

``I also think attending lectures is more conducive to learning.''

Mr Harte said the recordings were the modern equivalent of ``borrow the notes from the person sitting beside you''.

The cost of Otago Capture was commercially sensitive, but it was less than $100,000, he said.

The technology was available in 32 venues throughout the campus and about 240 lectures were recorded each week.

``Not surprisingly, the most-viewed are our first-year health sciences which, of course, are also our largest courses.''

The technology was not used by all lecturers, Mr Harte said.

``Certainly some lecturers are worried about some students not attending lectures if they make recordings available or maybe in some cases they have seen reduced attendance where they have made it available.''

The technology could publish automatically without intervention from lecturers, he said.

The university started using the technology three years ago.

margot.taylor@odt.co.nz

