Australian university students’ access to web-based lecture recordings and the relationship with lecture attendance and academic performance

Web-based lecture technology (WBLT) allows students access to recorded lectures delivered live to the classroom any time and to any device with internet. This technology has become standard across universities. This study of Australian undergraduate psychology students explored many important questions related to WBLT. About 75% of students surveyed utilised recorded lectures. Qualitative responses allowed students to explain many reasons for using WBLT, including to study for exams, regular study throughout the semester, to catch up on lectures they missed attending, and to clarify specific parts of the lecture. Four types of students were identified. Those who: (1) attended lectures regularly and did not access recordings; (2) attended most or all lectures and also accessed recordings to reinforce learning and for exams; (3) attended lectures but when they missed class accessed recordings; also accessed to reinforcing learning and for exams; and (4) did not attend lectures (by choice or due to personal circumstances) and only accessed lecture recordings. No differences in final grades were found based on higher/lower lecture attendance or higher/lower access of lecture recordings. It is concluded that WBLT is flexible, allowing students to apply it in different ways and the different patterns are related to similar academic achievement.