Read on Twitter
Many universities’ blackboard installs will literally not allow you to delete video lectures once you’ve uploaded them. It’s no stretch to think universities will try to use these to re-teach courses sans prof, with only a TA, copyright or not. Be mindful. https://twitter.com/aram/status/1291100382517694464
Some folks are saying to watermark the videos, talk about current events to “date” the content etc. I understand the impulse but these things will not stop universities from trying to sell repackaged video classes with a skeleton staff to unsuspecting students in the future.
By the time future students are seeing the content the university will already have their dollars. University admins making the decision to repurpose content won’t care your videos aren’t perfect (or even view them).
This content may be used or sold under different a la carte/MOOC conditions than we can foresee. They may even be sold off to a 3rd party like an edutech startup. They can also be used as digital scabs in strikes as faculty witnessed in UK higher ed.
If there’s 1 thing we’ve seen in the pandemic it’s that higher ed is in a grim austerity stage & many universities are desperate to make money at anyone’s expense. Universities calling folks back to campus to get ill/die def won’t care about watermarks or dated content next year
Professors should think about how to avoid using Blackboard (or YouTube) to serve their own course video materials, especially if you would hate to see those videos used to further squeeze adjuncts or take away jobs in the future. Be intentional now, instead of regretful later.
