Lecture Recordings

Introduction

Some programs at WesternU routinely record classroom lectures and make the recordings available for review through Blackboard. If your program is one of these, please read the following.

For a guided tour of the new Echo 4.0 player interface, select the following link:

• What New in Echo 4.0

A list of browswers compatible with this new player can be found here:

• Browsers Compatible with the Echo 4.0 Player

Lecures recorded through our echo360 lecture capture system are scheduled in advance and automatically uploaded to specific Blackboard courses at the discretion of the program or instructor.  The links to these recordings can be found within a a folder called "Webcast Recordings" and include the following types of files:

• Audio Video Webcast is a streaming presentation (not downloadable) that can be viewed at high connection speed or low connection speed. The high connection speed option delivers the audio, video and PowerPoint slides. You will also be able to speed up the audio with this option. The low connection speed option delivers only the audio and Powerpoint slides. With both types of connections, you can skip to a particular slide and hear the associated audio.
• Lecture Audio is an audio-only option. The file is an mp3 file and can be downloaded to your computer.
• Enhanced Lecture is only the audio and PowerPoint slides. The file is an m4b file and can be downloaded to your computer for viewing. This format is mostly designed to be viewed on iPods.

Variable Speed Playback

While not built into the Echo interface, there is a third party plug-in that enables you to change the playback speed of the lecture recording. The plug-in, VLC Media Player, can be downloaded for free from cnet and other software download sites.

Once VLC is downloaded, refer to the following tutorial for instructions on using the variable speed player with Echo.

• Using VLC for Variable Speed Playback of Echo Recordings

Troubleshooting

If you experience slowdowns and momentary pauses while watching the lectures, it could be due to network congestion. Because the high speed connection uses a much higher bandwidth, increasing network traffic, we recommend using the low speed connection whenever possible. Other issues you may encounter while viewing lecture recordings include the following:

• Can't hear the audio portion of the lecture - Check to make sure that the volume on your computer's audio output is turned up and not muted.
• Can't find a recorded lecture - While we do our best to ensure that the lectures are recorded as scheduled, hardware and software failures can happen. However,  Lecture Halls 1 and 2 are equipped with a backup system that records audio only in the event of such a failure.
• Can't play the recording - Contact our technical support hotline x5432 or send an email to techsupport@westernu.edu.

Remember, the recorded lectures are not a substitute for attending classes!


If you have a how-to that you want us to post on this page, please send an e-mail to itdltraining@westernu.edu with a description of your request.