Introduction

The onset of the pandemic in the year 2020, led to a complete transition from an offline to an online set up. The medium of engagement which was earlier stigmatised as a distraction for students turned out to be the only platform to make their education happen. Lectures, seminars, classes, external sessions all went online with the advent of the pandemic era. Even as we transition back to in-person instruction, a fact that cannot be ignored is the integral position that this medium has come to occupy in our lives. Softwares like zoom and google meet for instance, are still being employed in order to engage with  as wider audience as possible, in most cases from all across the globe. This is why, institutions like Beulr are essential for the current generation. It not only enables one to record their lectures but also aids in getting access to complete lecture transcripts which can further help students to revisit the live lecture, skim through the entire call transcript and never miss a lecture again. It facilitates in the teaching and learning process by allowing students to get a better idea of what is being conveyed in a lecture via the written medium.

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Here's how Beulr can you help you record and transcribe zoom lectures

Beulr expedites the process of note making and summarisation for the students. Moreover, it also exempts institutions like schools, colleges and coaching institutes from the burden of circulating printed/ hand written notes to their students and pay more attention to the quality of the lecture and the ways of communicating the concepts in a more efficient manner instead.

A major arena in which this system attempts to create an impact is that of increasing inclusivity. It takes into consideration the language barrier and the difficulties encountered by certain people to understand and comprehend a particular language, generally not one's native tongue or the accentuation employed by the speaker at the same pace. Therefore, it liberates the moderator from the scepticism of whether one is being  able to disseminate their ideas well while at the same time also enables the participants to comprehend and fathom the lecture in a more efficient manner. For instance, a student in India who is facing difficulties in understanding the complex jargons used by a Professor conducting a lecture series from say a country like Britain, would now have the opportunity to turn back to the transcript of the lecture and further research on those very terms which they lacked clarity upon initially. This would make the lecture more accessible to the students while at the same time reduce the burden on the moderator as well.

In addition to this, it attempts to address the concerns of digital divide and connectivity issues to a large extent by enabling students to get a transcript of the lecture or in other words, an alternative resource to rely upon just in case they lose connection in the middle of the same. For instance, a student who is not able to attend the lecture owing to network issues in their locality, would now have the option to refer to the transcript or the recorded lecture and connect the missing dots via the same.

Furthermore, recordings are great as an accommodation tool for students who have disabilities that make it difficult for them to hear, process, or take notes during live lectures. It provides flexibility to the students to view or review content at their own pace. Additionally, these recorded lectures allow students to revisit particularly challenging material. Rewatching difficult lectures can help students gain clarity on many of the concepts they were initially confused about and can also help them in identifing the areas that they are still struggling with. This in turn helps students understand what to focus on during class discussions or office hours. 

In the words of Michael Dennin, “Utilizing lectures in this fashion to achieve real equity in our courses is an area of active research and experimentation. It needs to be combined with well-thought-out course policies and overall course goals”. Therefore, in my opinion Beulr is a catalyst in beginning a wave of instructional and pedagogical innovation that moves us closer to the goal of creating inclusive, supportive, and accessible educational spaces.