While there are many upsides to Zoom recordings, there are also accessibility and privacy concerns. College classrooms are often thought of as spaces to interrogate challenging and often sensitive topics, but recording class sessions can pose problems. Barnard is now equipping many of its classrooms with recording capabilities that may be used beyond the pandemic. Recordings may be a breach of students’ and professors’ privacy as their contributions (and names on Zoom) are often being recorded without their explicit consent. Although I have reservations about class contributions being recorded because recordings could be shared inappropriately and breach basic student and faculty privacy, I recognize the many benefits of Zoom recordings for students and particularly for some students registered with CARDS.

Since recording seems to complement learning for many students, I think that it is a worthwhile practice during Covid-19 and perhaps beyond the pandemic. In order to make recordings more available and to enhance current recording privacy measures, students, faculty, staff and the administration need to take an active role in ensuring recordings are used and shared appropriately. As a concerned student and community member, I have designed a Best Practices Guide that I hope will both highlight the many benefits of recordings and encourage new measures to better protect students and faculty members’ digital privacy.

Recordings are not appropriate for all contexts. Although it makes sense to harness the benefits of recordings, there are times when just because we have the capability to record does not mean that we should. One basic test to consider is if the situation meets one or more of these conditions:

• You would have recorded the meeting in person or on the phone before Zoom recording was common practice
• You plan to make the recording available for an audience after the fact
• You expect some individuals will not be able to attend the meeting and notes and slides will not be sufficient to fully understand the material

If none of these conditions are met, then it may not be appropriate to record the meeting.

What is potentially gained by recording this session? Would there have been any archive of it before the shift to online learning? Try to think about the trade-offs before defaulting to recording. This is an area where it may be useful to consult with colleagues and have student input.

Classes are diverse in their material and expectations. As a general rule, it often makes the most sense to record:

1. Lectures: often a great amount of material is covered, professors are speaking most of the time, and students may find it helpful to review lectures at a later time, particularly when preparing for exams and papers  
2. Discussion Sections and Labs: scenarios where students are often applying concepts from lectures in real-time and there is a high degree of student participation; recordings have some potential to be useful to review for future class learning
3. Seminars: more student participation and largely discussion-based; potentially less useful for students to later review to prepare for class assignments
4. Dance classes: professor and students’ entire bodies and rooms are often captured; can be useful for choreography-based classes (it might be worth starting recordings after stretches and warm-ups)

 Physical Education Classes

Physical Education classes are generally one of the least useful class environments to record in; students may be exerting themselves, and it is unlikely that students would review footage; it may be more appropriate to restrict these class recordings if faculty member decides to proceed with recording.

In class settings, it may not be appropriate to record politically or personally sensitive discussions. In other settings, it is rarely advisable to record office hours, student meetings, or faculty meetings. During office hours, students are often encouraged to be open with faculty members and recording may hinder this aim. Similarly, with many meetings, it may make more sense to take notes like in the good old days than to resort to recording.

To create the most inclusive community environment, it is crucial to set classroom expectations and to welcome discussion surrounding Zoom recordings. Professors should write their expectations around recordings in class syllabi, as well as explain them orally to students. If as a faculty member you do not have a strong preference for whether class sessions are recorded, then it may be useful to solicit student responses. This could happen during a class discussion, an anonymous Zoom poll, or through a survey before the first day of class.

Add an addition to class syllabi about Zoom recordings. Have the new section include:

• Who can access the recordings
• How to access the recordings
• How long the recordings will be available
• Explicitly state if the recordings are to be used for the purposes of the class and not to be shared widely or used inappropriately (it may be useful to further explain what appropriate and inappropriate use entails)
• Specify that students can ask for a recording to be paused in order to discuss sensitive material
•  State clearly that if classes are recorded and stored in Panopto (a video platform on CourseWorks), then students should not take surreptitious recordings for their own distribution (particularly when a recording has been paused in order to allow for more open conversation)
• Note if and when the recordings will be disposed of

"I will be recording lectures and large group discussions (small groups are not recorded) so that absent or asynchronous students have access to class material. These recordings will be stored and will be accessible to everyone through CourseWorks. However, I will pause the recording if we are discussing material that is politically or personally sensitive. I also will honor requests to pause the recording if you want to contribute something to a class discussion but do not want to leave a record of it. Because I will be controlling and making available the recording, I ask that you do not record our meetings yourself. This is especially the case when we pause the recording: it is essential to building a community and culture of accountability that you do not take recordings surreptitiously."

Courtesy of Dr. Alex Pittman, Associate Director of the Center for Engaged Pedagogy

Excerpt from Dr. Pittman’s Critical Approaches in Social and Cultural Theory Syllabus 

“Class will be held primarily online, with class sessions taking place over Zoom and using other tools as appropriate. Depending on preferences of the students and the feasibility of doing so, we will have the opportunity for some in-person small-group meetings throughout the semester. Zoom links and recordings will be available in CourseWorks. Zoom sessions and recordings are for use only for students enrolled in the class and other course personnel. Please do not share the links, recordings, or screenshots with others.”

Courtesy of Dr. Rebecca Wright, Professor of Computer Science 

Excerpt from Dr. Wright’s Privacy in a Networked World Syllabus

It is worthwhile to explicitly discuss the use of Zoom recording during syllabus week. Explain why or why not you have chosen to record. In the same way that you might discuss expectations for how students participate in class, it would be useful to articulate how you envision recordings being used.

Depending on your flexibility with your recording policy, it may be worth inviting students to ask any questions or express concerns that they may have during the initial class section— preferably before you begin the first recording. It is also advisable to invite students to reach out privately if they would like to discuss any of the recording policies further.