Turn Lecture Videos Into AI Study Guides: A Student Workflow

What This Unlocks

First Things First: The Terminal (It's Not Scary)

If you've never used a terminal before, here's the truth: it's just a text-based way to talk to your computer. That's it.

Instead of clicking on folders and files, you type commands. Why? Because for what we're doing—processing transcripts, organizing materials, running AI agents—it's actually faster and more powerful than clicking around.

That's genuinely it. You're not hacking the mainframe. You're organizing study materials.

Getting Claude Code

Claude Code is Anthropic's official CLI tool. You need a Claude Pro membership ($20/month) to use it.

Installation

Open your terminal and run this:

$ npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

Then authenticate with your Claude account:

$ claude auth

It'll open a browser window. Log in. Done.

Your First Conversation

Navigate to your course folder and start Claude:

$ cd "/Users/yourname/Documents/FALL 2025/CS_321"
$ claude

Claude starts. You can talk to it:

You: Hello! Can you see the files in this folder?

Claude: Yes! I can see your course structure. You have:
- Module 1 with 3 lecture transcripts
- Module 2 with 2 lecture transcripts
- A .claude/agents folder

What would you like to work on?

That's it. You just talked to an AI that can read, analyze, and synthesize all your course materials.

The Real Magic: .md Files (Not Prompts)

Here's what most people get wrong: They think the prompt is the magic. It's not.

The magic is in the .md files you create. These are plain text files that contain your course materials—transcripts, notes, assignments, readings—and most importantly, links to other related files.

How It Works

You create markdown files that reference other files in your system using absolute paths:

# Introduction to Daoism Part 2

Focus on the figure of the sage in Zhuangzi's philosophy.

## Required Videos

- [Professor's Introduction Video]

  '/Users/yourname/Documents/PHL_371/Module_2/Required_Video_transcription.txt'

## Required Readings

- [In the World of Men, pages 49-62]

  '/Users/yourname/Documents/PHL_371/Module_2/In_the_World_of_Men_49-62.txt'

- [The Sign of Virtue Complete, pages 63-72]

  '/Users/yourname/Documents/PHL_371/Module_2/Sign_of_Virtue_Complete_63-72.txt'

Why this matters: Notice how it links to the transcription of the professor's lecture video. When you ask Claude a question, it follows these links—reading the video transcription, the chapter readings, everything—then synthesizes an answer using your professor's actual words.

This is why the folder structure from earlier matters. This is why file naming matters. This is why linking matters. You're not just organizing files—you're building a knowledge graph that AI can navigate.

# Daoism Module 2

More Zhuangzi readings - builds on Module 1 concepts.
Main focus: the concept of the sage and Zhuangzi's philosophy.

## Key Concepts

- What is a sage in Daoist philosophy?
- Zhuangzi's critique of society
- How to live according to the Dao

## Required Videos

Watch the intro video first (2 minutes):

  - [Professor's Video Introduction]

    '/Users/yourname/Documents/PHL_371/Module_2/Required_Video_transcription.txt'

## Required Readings

Zhuangzi chapters (Watson translation):

  - [In the World of Men, pages 49-62]

    '/Users/yourname/Documents/PHL_371/Module_2/In_the_World_of_Men_49-62.txt'

  - [The Sign of Virtue Complete, pages 63-72]

    '/Users/yourname/Documents/PHL_371/Module_2/Sign_of_Virtue_Complete_63-72.txt'

  - [The Great and Venerable Teacher, pages 73-88]

    '/Users/yourname/Documents/PHL_371/Module_2/Great_Venerable_Teacher_73-88.txt'

  - [Fit for Emperors and Kings, pages 89-96]

    '/Users/yourname/Documents/PHL_371/Module_2/Fit_for_Emperors_Kings_89-96.txt'

## Discussion Assignment

See instructions file after finishing readings:

  - [Module 2 - Discussion Instructions]

    '/Users/yourname/Documents/PHL_371/Module_2/Discussion_Instructions.md'

The key: Each .md file is an index pointing to your actual materials. Claude reads it, follows links, and navigates your file system like a knowledge graph.

The Five-Step Workflow

1 Download the Videos

Most universities stream lectures in a format you can watch but not download (M3U8 files). Qooly is a free Chrome extension that captures them as regular MP4 files you can keep.

How it works: Install the extension, navigate to your lecture page, hit play, and Qooly grabs it. You can queue up a whole week's lectures and let them download overnight.

2 Transcribe with Scriber Pro

This is the critical step. Scriber Pro turns hours of video into searchable text. Without this, none of the AI stuff works.

The process: Open Scriber Pro, drag in your lecture videos, select TXT as output format, hit transcribe. A 90-minute lecture processes in about 6-8 minutes on an M1/M2 Mac.

Output: CS372_Lecture05_Network_Metrics.txt appears next to the MP4, ready for AI processing.

3 Organize Systematically

Folder structure determines how AI agents understand your courses. Do it right once.

Here's how to actually do it:

# Go to your Documents folder
$ cd "~/Documents/FALL 2025"   ← Navigate to your semester folder

# Create a new folder for this course
$ mkdir "CS_321"   ← Make a folder called "CS_321"

# Go into that new folder
$ cd CS_321   ← Open the CS_321 folder

# Create folders for each module
$ mkdir "Module 1" "Module 2" "Module 3"   ← Make 3 folders at once

# Move transcript files into Module 1
$ mv CS321_Lecture01*.txt "Module 1/"   ← Move Lecture 1 files
$ mv CS321_Lecture02*.txt "Module 1/"   ← Move Lecture 2 files

What you end up with:

FALL 2025/
└── CS_321/
    ├── .claude/agents/
    │   └── document-quiz-ingestor.md
    ├── Module 1/
    │   ├── CS321_Lecture01_Introduction.txt
    │   ├── CS321_Lecture02_Math_Prelim.txt
    │   └── CS321_Lecture03_DFA_Basics.txt
    ├── Module 2/
    │   ├── CS321_Lecture04_NFA_Intro.txt
    │   └── CS321_Lecture05_NFA_to_DFA.txt
    └── Module 3/
        ├── CS321_Lecture06_Regex.txt
        └── CS321_Lecture07_Grammars.txt

Why this works: AI agents can process by module, course, or entire semester. The hierarchy mirrors how concepts build.

4 Configure AI Agents Advanced

AI agents analyze transcripts and generate study materials on demand. No more manual note compilation.

What agents do:

• Search all lectures to find every mention of a concept
• Generate practice quizzes from lecture content
• Create study outlines showing concept connections
• Build concept maps of topic relationships
• Answer questions by synthesizing multiple lectures

Example agent configuration (real CS student workflow):

KNOWLEDGE STRUCTURING:
- Organize information into logical knowledge clusters
- Create mental maps of concept relationships
- Identify cause-and-effect, comparisons, contrasts

QUIZ RECALL READINESS:
- Answer questions from basic recall to complex analysis
- Provide accurate, complete answers with detail
- Cite specific lectures or sections when relevant

CROSS-DOCUMENT SYNTHESIS:
- Track how concepts evolve across lectures
- Identify when lectures discuss related topics
- Build comprehensive understanding from distributed info

Real use case: "Explain all instances where the professor discussed NP-completeness and connect to reduction techniques." The agent searches transcripts from Lectures 3, 7, 9, and 14, then synthesizes a comprehensive answer.

5 Generate Study Materials Advanced

With organized transcripts and configured agents, create custom study materials instantly.

The difference: Materials come from your actual lectures. The terminology, examples, and emphasis match what your professor teaches.

Start to Finish: Implementation

What You Need

• Mac computer (for Scriber Pro)
• Chrome browser (for Qooly)
• 2-3 GB storage per course
• Claude Code (optional, for AI features)

The Setup Sequence

1. Install Qooly: Get it from qooly.com
2. Get Scriber Pro: Mac App Store ($3.99 one-time)
3. Download lectures: Use Qooly to capture streaming videos
4. Transcribe: Batch process all videos with Scriber Pro
5. Organize: Create folder structure mirroring course hierarchy
6. Configure agents: Set up AI processing (optional but powerful)

The Fine Print

Technical Reality

• Transcription accuracy: High quality but not perfect. Verify critical details (equations, heavy accents) against original video
• Visual content: Diagrams don't transcribe. Keep original videos for reference
• Platform compatibility: Works with most streaming platforms, not all proprietary systems

Why This Approach Works

Time Liberation

Typical course: 30+ hours of lecture video. Traditional review means scrubbing through hours of content to find specific information.

With this workflow: Text search finds anything instantly. AI synthesis generates study materials in minutes.

Setup investment: 4-6 hours per semester. Pays back in efficiency every single week.

Scriber Pro is Non-Negotiable

I'm going to be blunt: without Scriber Pro, this whole thing falls apart. Video stays video. AI can't read it. You're stuck scrubbing through hours of footage looking for one explanation.

Why Scriber Pro specifically:

• Scale: Process an entire semester (30+ hours) for $3.99. Cloud services would cost you $450+ at $0.25/minute.
• Privacy: Everything happens offline on your Mac. No uploading lectures to third-party servers (which often violates university policies).
• Accuracy: It actually handles technical terminology. "Dijkstra's algorithm" doesn't become "deck straw's algorithm."
• Batch processing: Queue everything up, let it run overnight. Done.

Other approaches either cost too much, violate privacy policies, or take forever. Scriber Pro solves all three problems for less than a cup of coffee.

Quick Recap

1. Download: Capture streaming lectures with Qooly
2. Transcribe: Convert to searchable text with Scriber Pro (offline, batch)
3. Organize: Structure folders to mirror course hierarchy
4. Configure: Set up AI agents to analyze materials
5. Generate: Create custom study materials on demand

Result: Instant search across semesters. AI-powered study tools. Automated material generation from your actual course content.