Quantitative analysis of lecture-capture archive viewing by pharmacy students during the emergency switch to remote learning

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic caused the sudden suspension of face-to-face classes in many higher institutions worldwide. To leverage preparedness of higher education in similar emergencies preventing on-campus classes, we aimed to understand some of the factors that facilitated the rapid switch to remote learning. Methods: We quantitatively analyzed how rapid switch to remote learning following pandemic (Spring 2020) impacted access to lecture-recording archives by undergraduate pharmacy students. The number of views per lecture for each course were mapped to the time of the day, weeks of the term and number of weekly assessments. Data were compared between Spring 2019 and 2020 in addition to analyzing differences before and after remote learning (Spring 2020). Findings: Weekly lecture-recording views after the suspension of in-person classes in Spring 2020 were higher compared to Spring 2019 (452 versus 291 views). Driven by viewing of the previous year's archives (Spring 2019), the number of weekly views soared in weeks 11-13 (Spring 2020) compared to before coinciding with the sudden switch to online learning although all scheduled assessments in this period were postponed. This was confirmed by comparing views of Spring 2019 archives at two time points - November 2019 and September 2020. All courses studied had higher views per lecture in September 2020 compared to November 2019. Conclusion: Our study underscores the benefits of embedding lecture-capture systems to support student's learning and leverage preparedness of universities to respond to emergencies preventing face-to-face classes