FAQ on legacy public Course Capture content

Here is additional information to assist the campus community and the public with upcoming changes to UC Berkeley’s library of legacy public Course Capture (classroom lecture) content from webcast.berkeley.edu, located on YouTube and UC Berkeley iTunesU.

Q: Who uses this content? How much of the content is used/watched?

A: Course recordings are a study-tool for current students. Results from a recent review of our legacy (2006-2015) public course recordings on YouTube show that the average video is watched for less than eight minutes.

Q: Who are the “pirates” mentioned in the CalMessage?

A: Pirates is a term used to describe websites that embed YouTube content without the permission of the original copyright holder for profit. UC Berkeley legacy Course Capture content has been discovered on for-profit websites, which use either a subscription fee or on-page advertising.

Q: Why now? Is this related to the DOJ letter?

A: UC Berkeley stopped posting course lecture videos publicly through webcast.berkeley.edu in 2015 as a way to reduce costs and increase adoption. However, we left legacy content from 2006-2015 in place. The Department of Justice letter indicates that they believe our legacy Course Capture content from webcast.berkeley.edu and located on YouTube and iTunesU is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. We are removing the legacy webcast.berkeley.edu content from public access to focus on making future public content more accessible. Instructors are encouraged to reference accesscontent.berkeley.edu for best practices and resources for making course content accessible.

Q: If we don’t add captions and descriptions, what happens?

A: Failure to meet the expectations of the Department of Justice could mean potential legal and financial ramifications.

Q: What about current students who need captioning?

A: ETS and the Disabled Students Program (DSP) have been partnering over the last several years to identify courses requiring captioning based on student need. The partnership and support of students working with DSP will continue.

Q: What will happen to the recordings?

A: Beginning March 15, 2017, iTunesU Course Capture content will be removed. You may continue to use/download course capture content until that date. Other content in this location such as events, KALX and Public Affairs content will remain available after March 15. On the same day ETS will begin moving the publicly offered YouTube course capture content from the current legacy channel [youtube.com/ucberkeley] to a new authentication login-required channel. The entire process is expected to take three to five months. Berkeley users seeking to view this older content will be able to access it by logging into YouTube with their bConnected/Google supported identity. Instructors with course recordings on YouTube recorded fall 2015 or later will experience no change. Individual video URLs (links) will remain unchanged. Instructors currently using impacted recordings are encouraged to contact the Course Capture team to identify ways to mitigate any effect on their courses: [email protected]

Q: How long will videos be interrupted?

A: The entire process to migrate the public YouTube videos from their current location to a new YouTube channel that will be accessible with campus member’s bConnected/Google supported identity will take 8-10 weeks and begin on March 15, 2017. Each video will be unavailable on bCourses for 2-3 business days. If you are a current instructor using impacted legacy recordings please contact the Course Capture team to review your needs: [email protected]

Q: If I have other videos that I want to get captioned or audio described, how would I do that?

A: While speech-to-text tools continue to improve, effective captioning remains a very manual process. The UC System has recently introduced contracts with several vendors to provide captioning services.The vendor transcribes a recording and adds the text to the appropriate YouTube video, or a transcriber may be hired to caption an event live. At UC Berkeley, content created/captured by Berkeley Video and Berkeley AV is now being captioned. Information on audio description best practices are available at: https://webaccess.berkeley.edu/resources/tips/audio-description and https://webaccess.berkeley.edu/ask-pecan/descriptive-audio

Q: I’m using the impacted recordings (iTunesU or spring 2015 or earlier YouTube content) in my course now. What should I do?

A: ETS is working hard to mitigate impacts to current instruction. If you already have a list of your video links, you have no additional steps to take. Video URLs will remain unchanged. If you need assistance or have additional concerns, please contact the Course Capture team to review your needs: [email protected]

Q: I am an instructor who is using impacted recordings (iTunesU or spring 2015 or earlier YouTube content) for something outside of UC Berkeley. What should I do?

A: If you are an instructor using legacy recordings currently available to the public as an extension of your research or teaching, please contact the Course Capture team: [email protected]

Q: Why was the public not notified before webcast.berkeley.edu content disappeared so that we had a chance to download iTunes legacy content?

A: We added notifications to our sites and provided a warning before content began to be removed. The legacy content on webcast.berkeley.edu located on YouTube and UC Berkeley’s iTunes U is three to ten years old.

Q: I am a Berkeley instructor who wants to use old content in my class, where can I find the URL to share with my students?

A: Before videos are migrated: Instructors can copy/paste their YouTube links for future reference. Link URLs will remain unchanged. Educational Technology Services (ETS) is working to modify webcast.berkeley.edu so that videos are accessible to UC Berkeley CalNet users starting in April Instructors with immediate questions can contact the Course Capture team: [email protected]

Q: Can I get a copy of my old lectures from YouTube to use personally?

A: Currently, ETS doesn’t have a service that provides copies of recordings to individuals.

Q: I am a Berkeley CalNet user, so why can’t I search for videos and playlists that I used to be able to see on webcast.berkeley.edu?

A: The process that allows us to place the videos behind authentication removes playlists and content search options. ETS is working to provide campus users a new website that will function as a directory of recordings that should launch sometime in April on the existing webcast.berkeley.edu site.

Q: Can I still find previous events and other non-Course Capture recordings on YouTube?

A: The public UC Berkeley Events Channel (youtube.com/ucberkeleyevents) will continue to be available. Many recordings at this location are already captioned and plans are in place to caption future content.