Students' satisfaction and valuation of web-based lecture recording technologies

Abstract

This paper explores students' satisfaction and valuation of web-based lecture recording technologies (WBLT) that enable students to download recordings of lectures they could not attend or wish to review for revision purposes. The study was undertaken among undergraduates and postgraduates in accounting at an Australian university. In addition to traditional Likert scale questions capturing the extent to which students appreciate WBLT, we introduce new valuations such as the price they are willing to pay to access WBLT. The findings revealed that the majority of students rarely used WBLT and placed a very low monetary value on them, placing into question the high percentage 'positive' and 'appreciative' feedback found in this and earlier studies. Although most students appreciate WBLT when it is perceived to be free, most are unwilling to pay for access, suggesting they are not 'truly' valued. Importantly, while most students do not value WBLT, some students value them very highly, raising issues of equity and access not captured by average values across students. Students who regularly attend face to face lectures did not use WBLT as much, and those students who rarely used WBLT were more likely to accept a $50 reduction in fees if WBLT were not made available. It appears university administrations are correctly emphasising that WBLT should not be viewed as a replacement for traditional face to face lectures.