ReCap | TEL Knowledge Base for Staff

Signposting content within ReCap recordings for your students

This is a quick guide for Staff on some quick and easy things you can do to signpost content for Students within longer ReCap recordings, for example recordings of your live teaching sessions.

This YuJa guide describes some helpful tools built into the ReCap player to help Students navigate and search within a recording (YuJa is the software which powers ReCap).

You can do the following to help Students use those tools more quickly and effectively:

WHAT YOU CAN DO	EFFORT	HOW IT HELPS
Post any slides you use during ReCap recordings on Blackboard. Add title slides with large text at the start of each section of content.	low	Students can use as a reference for a visual search in the ReCap player using the SHOW THUMBNAILS option from Settings Cog.
Stay near the podium or use a wireless mic during live session recording. Pause and clearly enunciate new topics / sections of content.	low	Students can search auto-generated captions in the ReCap player using the SHOW SIDEBAR options from the Settings Cog. Clearer audio = better captions.
Where embedding recordings in Blackboard site folders, Publish them also the Blackboard site’s ReCap Channel.	low	Students can only access the interactive transcript feature, which is a jumping off point to any part of the video, when playing a ReCap recording published to a Blackboard site’s ReCap Channel (the first screen after clicking on the ReCap link).
Bookmark key points within live session recordings using the Comment tool in the ReCap player (see image below). Contact your Digital Academic Developer for advice and support.	med	Students can see comments on the timeline (circled below) and click on the purple dot to jump straight to them (see image below).
‘Chunk’ any pre-recorded input you make into smaller, focussed bits.	med	Students can go straight to the recording with the content they need.

TELL YOUR STUDENTS WHICH OF THE ABOVE YOU HAVE DONE

Comment tool in the ReCap player:

screen image of the commenting tool in the ReCap player

Timeline showing comments:

For More Help

Contact your Digital Academic Developer for advice on options for online submission of work, student support and staff development.

As this guide only covers considerations for staff of embedding of ReCap by students within submissions, and does not cover general use of Blackboard Assignments it should be read in conjunction with the following guidance:

Blackboard Ultra Assignments guide for staff: how to set up submission points, access work and add and release marks and feedback.

Check with your academic administration team first if they are able to set up Blackboard Assignment submission points using standard School/Centre settings

These, and all other guidance on using the University’s learning technologies, can be found in the Technology Enhanced Learning Knowledge Base (linked to via the Assist section and institution home page in Blackboard).

Please note: students should check with their Course Team first if they have any queries about submitting, marking and return of feedback. See the Support for Students for more information.

Support for Students

Students should refer to the ReCap Submissions for Assessment using Blackboard Ultra guide for students for step-by-step instructions on how to embed ReCap into a Blackboard Ultra Assignment, as well as important considerations before they submit and a set of Frequently Asked Questions.

Students should refer also the Blackboard Ultra Assignments guide for students for general advice on submitting work to a Blackboard Assignment (e.g. how to attach files directly / save as draft also) and how to access their feedback.

Separate guidance is available for the Original version of Blackboard used before 22/23.

For technical issues students should log a call with the i-Zone, having first referred to the guidance which will contains advice for common issues. Note: if a student has continued problems embedding via ReCap you can advise them to attach media files directly to the Blackboard Assignment, but you will have to download the files to play them and need to have the associated player installed.

Otherwise, the Course Team is students’ point of contact for all other support and guidance. Specifically, you are responsible for:

settings expectations on length and quality of media

bear in mind upload limitations off-campus – we recommend no more than a few hundred Megabytes file size, reducing quality at point of recording if necessary (definitely not HD if more than a few mins of video)
creating the Blackboard Ultra Assignment submission point
providing assessment guidance
referring students to the technical guidance

recommend being explicit in the submission point where requiring ReCap media to be embedded, rather than media files attached directly, and link to the guidance highlighting that it includes browser requirements, advice for uploading off-campus and how to get their feedback
(contact your Digital Academic Developer for help embedding a short video tutorial for students at the point of submission)
answering queries about what, where and when to submit and when and how feedback will be given
clearing incorrect submissions

Retention of Submitted Work

How long are ReCap submissions kept for?

See the Digital Learning Capture policy for the standard retention periods of media within ReCap.

IMPORTANT: In order to retain embedded submitted media you must not delete the Blackboard Assignment submission or remove the student from the Blackboard site it was submitted to until after the required retention period (see the U niversity retention schedule for assessed work). Contact your Digital Academic Developer for advice.

Can I download students’ work?

ReCap is designed to playback online and as such there is no option as standard for a viewer of another’s media to download a copy. However, this can be enabled on a case-by-case basis by the owner of the media, for example a student who you have asked for permission to take a copy of their media to show as an exemplar. Contact your Digital Academic Developer for advice.

Marking and Feedback

Blackboard Ultra

How can I access students’ submitted media?
Why can’t I play a student’s ReCap media?
Adding and Releasing Marks and Feedback

How can I access students’ submitted media?

You can see students’ submissions to Blackboard Ultra Assignments via the Gradebook in your Blackboard Ultra module site (formerly the ‘Grade Centre’):

Accessing student media submission and feedback via Gradebook

See the Blackboard Ultra Assignments guide for staff for more information on accessing submissions, including files attached directly to the submission rather than embedded media, how to set the number of submission attempts that can be made and how to clear an incorrect submission.

Why can’t I play a student’s ReCap media?

Newly uploaded media needs to be processed by ReCap before it can be played. You will see a holding icon (shown below) while it is being processed.

The student guidance advises their media can be embedded in the Blackboard Assignment and submitted immediately, before ReCap has finished processing it, and that markers will be able to play it after ReCap has finished processing it. Contact the IT Service Desk if you find it is still not playable after an hour or two.

Adding and Releasing Marks and Feedback

Marks and feedback are added in the standard way for any Blackboard Ultra Assignment submission, whether or not ReCap is embedded, by accessing the submission via the Gradebook:

When ready to release the mark and feedback, simply click the Post button next to the student (or students).

See the Blackboard Ultra Assignments guide for staff for further guidance.

How ReCap Submissions work in Ultra

ReCap submissions use a standard Blackboard Ultra Assignment submission point. Within their Blackboard Assignment submission students can embed media that they have first uploaded into ReCap. See the ReCap Submissions for Assessment in Blackboard Ultra guide for students to familiarise with how they do this.

Please note Blackboard Assignments are different to Turnitin submission points. ReCap media cannot be embedded within a Turnitin submission.

How to set up a Blackboard Ultra Assignment for ReCap Submissions
How much media can students submit?
Why embed ReCap media and not just attach media directly to the Blackboard Assignment?
What is ‘YuJa’?

How to set up a Blackboard Ultra Assignment for ReCap Submissions

Students can embed ReCap media in a standard Blackboard Assignment submission, there are no special settings required. See the Blackboard Ultra Assignments guide for staff for instructions on setting up a submission point.

Check with your academic administration team first before creating a Blackboard Assignment. Unlike Turnitin, there are no standard University settings, however some Faculties, Schools and Centres use their own standard settings. Ensure you refer students to the technical guidance for students. See Support for Students for advice on guidance for students at the point of submission.

How much media can students submit?

ReCap can effectively accept any size of file, being limited mainly by the students upload speed for which you should set realistic expectations for length and quality of video, especially where uploading off-campus (see Support for Students). Multiple pieces of ReCap media can be embedded in a single Blackboard Assignment submission, either at the same time or by saving the submission as a draft and returning later to add more media before submitting (see technical guidance for students).

Why embed ReCap media and not just attach media directly to the Blackboard Assignment?

Blackboard Assignments enable multiple and/or larger files than Turnitin to be attached to submissions. Although media files can be attached directly to a Blackboard Assignment submission, like attaching to an e-mail, attachments have to be downloaded by markers to play and types of media file that can be submitted are limited by the software markers have installed.

Where embedded via ReCap, all commonly used media files can be accepted and converted to play back online, without having to download the media or the need for any additional software to be installed.

What is ‘YuJa’?

Where you see ‘YuJa’ referred to, which may be on-screen when using ReCap or via links to some external guidance, this is the software that powers our digital learning capture service which we call ReCap. Please use ‘ReCap’ when contacting our student and staff help desks.

ReCap for Assessment

ReCap submissions use a standard Blackboard Assignment submission point. Students can embed into their Blackboard Assignment submission media that they have first uploaded into ReCap.

Some 21/22 Blackboard Original modules are still ‘teaching out’ or being used by students under the ‘trail and progress’ route, whereas many will now be interacting with the new 22/23 Blackboard Ultra sites, please select below which guidance you require:

ReCap for Assessment in Blackboard Original (Index Page)
ReCap for Assessment in Blackboard Ultra (Index Page)

ReCap Submissions for Assessment using Blackboard Ultra From 22/23

This guide for staff covers assessing ReCap media embedded within Blackboard Assignments (sometimes known as Gradebook or Grade Centre submissions) using Blackboard Ultra from 22/23. Separate guidance is available for the Original version of Blackboard used before 22/23.

This guide should be read in conjunction with:

Blackboard Ultra Assignments guide for staff : how to set up submission points, access work and add and release marks and feedback.

ReCap Submissions for Assessment in Blackboard Ultra guide for students: for familiarity with the process students need to follow.

Recreating Alternative Versions of Content for Smoother Playback

ReCap Housekeeping

Alternative quality versions of your content are automatically made by ReCap to enable smoother playback across a range of connection speeds. If your content hasn’t been viewed for 3 years these alternative quality versions will be deleted as part of the ReCap housekeeping process in order to manage storage costs. The original version of the video will remain playable, albeit with potential buffering on slower connections. Content owners can also recreate the alternative quality versions, called ‘transcodes’ by YuJa (the software which powers ReCap), at any time in the following way.

Locate the content in your My Media area in ReCap. Hover the cursor over the content and select More…

Showing More... option on content in My Media

Expand the More Options section within the More… menu and select Transcodes:

Tick any currently unavailable alternative quality versions that you want to recreate:

Showing ticks to request recreation of alternative quality versions

Click the Save Transcodes button to request recreation of the alternative quality versions.

Close the More… menu, return later and re-open to check progress. Recreated alternative quality versions will say Finished:

Showing Finished meaning alternative quality versions have been recreated

If after some time they are still showing as Not Available, check that you clicked Save Transcodes when requesting their recreation, before closing the More… menu. For support, or to request creation of alternative versions of higher qualities, CCCU Staff can contact their Digital Academic Developer and for KMMS Staff the Digital Education team.

Restoring Removed Content

ReCap Housekeeping

You can yourself restore centrally removed content from your My Archive area for up to 6 months, after which it will be permanently deleted. Note: restoring content, although automated, can take up to several hours.

Simply locate the removed contact you want to restore in your My Archive area, hover the cursor over it and click Restore:

Showing restore option on content in My Archive

You will receive a confirmation e-mail that your restore request has been received, and another when it has been restored (which can take up to several hours).

Content is restored to a Himalayas Restored folder in your My Media area (Himalayas is the ReCap archive facility):

Showing Himalayas Restored folder in My Media

You can move restored content from the Himalayas Restored folder using its More… menu. Hover the cursor over the content and select More…

Select Move Media from the Actions menu:

Showing Move Media option from Actions menu

IMPORTANT: You will need to re-publish it as required to any Blackboard sites’ ReCap channels. Restored content is immediately playable again for you in your My Media area, also where embedded within the content of a Blackboard site using the ReCap Media Chooser (formerly called the YuJa Media Chooser) before being removed to the archive.