How to Record College Classes

Recording a college class on tape allows you to rewind the lecture later.

College can be a competitive atmosphere, and the fast-paced nature of many lectures can make it difficult to follow what is going on. Many students record college classes to replace notes or to help them organize their paper notes. Recording your college class can greatly improve your grade by giving you access to past college lectures from your hardest classes. Recording college classes is easy to do on your own or with a friend, and it requires recording equipment and permission from the instructor in advance.

Things You'll Need

• Recording device (audio or video)
• Recording media (tapes, memory stick, internal hard drive)
• Batteries or power cord

Instructions

1. Get the professor's permission to record her lectures. Let her know whether you are recording video or audio only.

2. Prepare your recording device. Put new batteries in the recorder, or fully charge its battery. Load the recording media into the device. Test the device to make sure it records.

3. Go to class. Position the recording device on a stable surface with clear space between the device and the speaker.

4. Turn the recorder on, and start recording. During the lecture, take notes and jot down key points that will help you navigate the recording later at home.

5. Pay attention to the recording device for warnings about the battery or the recording media capacity. Replace batteries and reload recording media as necessary until you are finished taping your college class.

Tips & Warnings

• Point the microphone directly at the speaker in a college class. Most basic recording devices have directional microphones--microphones that pick up audio from a narrow area straight in front of them. Pointing the microphone at the speaker gives you a better chance at a quality audio recording.

• Move, laugh and chew as little as possible; everything you do will make a sound on your recording.

• If you are going to be absent from a class, give a friendly classmate a quick lesson on your recording device, and have your class recorded for you while you are away.

• A professor's lectures are his intellectual property. Get permission before doing any recording.

References

• College of Saint Benedict: Lecture Note Taking