Learning Capture

What is Learning Capture?

Learning Capture refers to the recording of teaching activities – both live sessions (such as lectures) and pre-recorded materials (like screencasts or demonstrations).

At the University of Reading, Learning Capture is supported by YuJa, our platform for capturing, editing, storing, and sharing recordings securely with students via Blackboard.

Whether you’re delivering a lecture, offering additional support through short videos, or flipping your classroom, recordings can play a valuable role in supporting your students’ learning and success.

Why make recordings?

Learning Capture recordings supports student success, flexibility, and inclusion. They provide essential support for students throughout their studies.

Evidence-backed benefits include:

• Students can learn at their own pace by pausing and rewatching.
• Helps students recap complex terminology and ideas.
• Supports students balancing work, caring responsibilities, or long commutes.
• Aids understanding for students with English as an additional language.
• Provides inclusive support for students with disabilities, including those who may not disclose their needs.
• Helps students manage illness or other temporary barriers.

I think the materials (recorded videos of the class) available on Blackboard really helped with personal study – Undergraduate student (2024)

What am I expected to record?

The University Recording Policy encourages staff to record teaching in ways that support students’ learning and reflect the nature of different teaching contexts.

You should record:

• Staff-led, presentation-style content (e.g. lectures, demonstrations)

You don’t need to record:

• Student-led or discussion-based sessions (e.g. seminars, tutorials)
• Sessions with sensitive content or where a recording would have limited value

You can:

• Record just part of a session (e.g. the first 20 minutes of a lecture)
• Choose not to share a recording if it turns out not to be useful

Pedagogical tips for using Learning Capture

Learning Capture works best when used intentionally as part of your teaching design.

Here are some practical ways to use it:

• Create short videos to explain tricky concepts or provide revision support
• Make short ‘Welcome to the module’ videos introducing yourself and the structure of the course
• Encourage students to rewatch specific sections (e.g. for essay planning or revision)
• Use YuJa analytics to see what students are watching and address gaps in class
• Record quick module recap videos for students returning after break

Practical Learning Capture resources for staff

Using YuJa at Reading

• Getting started with YuJa Learning Capture. TEL’s YuJa Help Pages cover setup, editing, publishing, and advanced YuJa features.
• Learning Capture-enabled rooms – A regularly-updated list of YuJa-equipped teaching spaces.
• Learning Capture FAQs – Find answers to common questions about recording, editing, and accessibility.
• How to make screen-casts

Pedagogy & Classroom Capture

• Attendance and classroom capture: Does the availability of recordings affect student attendance?
• Research on Learning Capture in HE: TEL-curated TALIS list of academic studies.

Accessibility 

YuJa has been designed with accessibility in mind with features including: captions, downloadable transcripts, caption font size and colour adjustment, keyboard navigation and video indexing. To learn more about these features, see our YuJa Accessibility page. YuJa’s own support page, Accessibility Features in the Media Player, has further information on display settings.

Training & Support

• Learning Capture training opportunities – Attend one of our training sessions to help you use Learning Capture effectively in your teaching.
• Case Studies – Explore real examples of how staff use Learning Capture to enhance teaching and student engagement.
• University Recording Policy
• Copyright and performance rights – Guidance from IMPS
• Data Protection and Learning Capture – Classroom privacy notice and recording retention details.

Slides for your teaching

• To help you introduce the new Learning Capture policy to your students, we’ve created a set of ready-to-use slides. These include editable wording you can copy into your own teaching materials to explain what will and won’t be recorded in your module, and how students can make the best use of recordings. Using consistent wording across modules will help students know what to expect.

Resources for Students

• Making the most of session recordings – Student guidance from the Study Advice team.
• See the YuJa section on our TEL Student Support pages.
• Student Policy for the Recording of Teaching and Learning Activities.

Want to know more?

• Need more help, or have a question? Raise a DTS ticket and the TEL Team will be happy to help you with Learning Capture.

TEL help & support

If you have a query related to technology enhanced learning, have a suggestion for an addition to this site, or find a broken link, please contact the TEL team via the DTS Self Service Portal or by emailing dts@reading.ac.uk.