Distance Learning | School of Professional Studies | Northwestern University

Recording Options

Web Conference Recording

• The simplest option is for the instructor to invite the guest lecturer to a web conference in Blue Jeans or any web conferencing platform that you and the guest are comfortable using. As host, you will need to be sure the meeting is recorded and enable the guest lecturer’s video, audio, screen sharing, and presenter tools.

Webcam Recording

• As an alternative, the guest lecturer may record themselves using either the macOS Quicktime app or the Windows Camera. Visit the Webcam Recording guides for more information.
• Using these methods, the lecturer must provide you with the completed recording. Given the size of video files, a file sharing website such as Dropbox or Google Drive may be the best means of obtaining the recording.

Recording with University Video Platforms

• If you have obtained an affiliate NetID for the guest lecturer, they could make use any of the video platforms provided by the university such as Panopto or Canvas Video. Visit the Webcam Recording guides for more information.

Editing and Captioning

Because lecture recordings may be reused over multiple subsequent offerings of the course, they need to be:

• Edited for both quality and conciseness. Many video recording tools, such as Panopto, QuickTime, or Camera, have basic editing capabilities built in. If you are familiar with more advanced video editing tools, you can use those as well, or you can ask the Distance Learning team for assistance and guidance.
• Closed captioned so they are accessible to all students. (There is no captioning requirement for real-time interactions with students or faculty.)

Remote Guest Lecturers in Sync Sessions and Course Discussions

Remote guest lecturers are welcome to meet with students during synchronous web conferences or interact with them through the Canvas discussions.

If you record a guest lecture within a web conference and intend to use it outside of the course section in which it was recorded, ensure that no students are identifiable by name or image in the recording. To reveal students’ identities outside of the course section is a violation of university policies and federal laws.

Affiliate NetID accounts can be authorized for remote guests who are invited to participate in the Canvas course site. To request an affiliate NetID, send the name and email address of the remote guest to distanceeducation@northwestern.edu along with the period duration of enrollment.

Payment & Examples

Guest lecturer fees are dispersed by SPS for one or more recordings that may remain part of the course for an indefinite period of time. Lecturers are compensated for the final recording only, not for any preparation time, equipment purchases, or other related expenses.

The fee is paid for a recording or other high quality deliverable only. Guest lecturers may volunteer their time to interact with students through a web conference or course discussion, but they will not be compensated for that time.

• Read the blog post, Guest Speaker Participation, for an example of how it worked in MSGH 452.
• Read the blog post, Recording an Interview Over Blue Jeans, for detailed instructions on recording with that web conferencing platform.