Users Share How Echo360 Provides Critical Tools to Help Meet the Post-COVID Demands for Online and Hybrid Learning

Did you miss the Echo360 User Community Conference? No worries! This is the third in a series of three articles recapping presentations from each day.

The final day of our user community conference featured users whose experience with Echo360 ranged from just a year to ten years and more. They shared how they used Echo360 to deliver emergency remote learning and how the platform is helping them to meet the increasing demand for online and hybrid learning post-pandemic.

University of Houston-Clear Lake Moves from Early Adoption of Video to Increasing Learner Engagement

The University of Houston-Clear Lake wanted to expand the use of academic video and needed a better video management system to do so. The pandemic and the need to deliver learning remotely was also a compelling call to action.

To meet these demands, the university selected Echo360 because it offered faculty and staff the ability to easily create lecture videos as well as manage and store video recordings made with Zoom.

Dr. Jennifer Willis-Opalenik, Director, Technology Learning Services told conference attendees that “Echo360’s Zoom integration was a game changer for us. Our instructors were familiar teaching with Zoom. Now, with Echo360, they could automatically record in Zoom and upload the recordings to their Blackboard course libraries.”

The university embarked on a rapid deployment of Echo360 in July 2020. They focused on using Echo360  to create video, the integration with Zoom and Blackboard, and using Echo360 as the primary means of video storage on campus.

By the 2020/21 academic year, Dr. Willis-Opalenik said the university had reached its target benchmark of a “significant increase in instructor-created instructional videos within Blackboard courses.” She reported that university instructors created more than 2,600 instructional videos during that timeframe. She also said the university will focus on integrating Echo360’s student response and polling features into course design to encourage greater student participation and engagement with the material presented.

Finally, for those considering selecting Echo360 for their campus video platform, Dr. Willis-Opalenik had a powerful message.

“I don’t have another vendor that is as easy to work with and as helpful as Echo360. I can’t say enough about the quality of our partnership with them.”

Watch the presentation by Dr. Jennifer Willis-Opalenik, Beyond COVID-19: Leveraging Echo360 from Early Adoption to Planning for Optimal Learner Engagement and Academic Success in the New Normal.

Echo360 Helps Case Western Reserve University Provide More Flexible Teaching and Learning Options

Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) Senior Teaching & Learning Technologist Genevieve Mathieson-Kilmer and Instructional Technologist Katie Skapin told our conference attendees how the pandemic forced their university to re-think the ways they use Echo360.

Even before their campus was forced to close completely, they knew that some students may not be able to return. They needed multiple ways to deliver teaching and for students to attend classes.

Echo360 had been deployed at CWRU since 2012 and campus leaders understood that Echo360 had the capability to support in-person, hybrid, and fully remote online learning.

Connected Classrooms Provide Multiple Ways to Teach and Learn

Genevieve and Katie described how beginning in March 2020 and through the summer of 2021, CWRU upgraded all of the classrooms and teaching spaces on campus with the technology to support multiple modes of teaching and learning.

  • All classrooms were equipped with either Echo360 capture appliances or Echo360 Universal Capture, document cameras, and Zoom.
  • Webcams and microphones were added to facilitate remote broadcasting and to record classroom discussions.
  • Faculty members were trained to ensure they were comfortable teaching using the new technology in their classrooms.

With Echo360’s expanded footprint on campus, usage has naturally risen. Katie reported that video views increased from 205K in the Spring 2020 term to more than 325K during Fall 2021. She also reported that more instructors are using Echo360’s polling and student response features, which increased from just a few hundred response activities in the Spring to more than 14,000 during the Fall term.

“Students want their lecture content delivered via Echo360, “Genevieve says. “With all of these changes, we can offer students greater learning flexibility in the future. We can now support multiple modalities of teaching and learning, from face-to-face to fully remote, with support for hybrid and dual delivery as well.”

Watch the presentation by Genevieve Mathieson Kilmer and Katie Skapin, Future Facing: Taking the Long View in the Face of Uncertainty.

Loyola Marymount University Shares Lessons Learned from Its Campus-Wide Rollout of Echo360

Long-time Echo360 user Matt Frank, the Director, Creative and Technology Support at Loyola Marymount University shared his insights on his institutions decade-long expansion from using Echo360 in a 10-classroom pilot project to deploying the platform within hundreds of learning spaces across three campuses.

He outlined a number of important factors that he said encouraged faculty adoption of Echo360 and supported the rollout university-wide.

  • Echo360 Universal Capture is affordable for every learning space.
  • Classrooms and learning spaces do not require a major audio-visual investment with Echo360. Capturing the instructor’s audio and presentation slides is more important for students than seeing a video of the instructor.
  • Faculty members need to be part of the process. They need to be made aware of the benefits classroom capture has for their students while addressing faculty resistance related to student attendance.
  • Echo360 is extremely reliable and long-term support DOES NOT require a major staff commitment. Loyola Marymount only uses a ¼-Full Time Equivalent (FTE) to manage and support Echo360.

Faced with budget cuts, Matt also shared how Loyola Marymount was able to save hundreds of thousands of dollars by eliminating redundant video management software by consolidating with Echo360. You can read more about why Loyola Marymount and other universities chose Echo360 as their campus video management platform.

What Students Want: Survey Reveals Strong Demand for Classroom Capture

As Loyola Marymount begins its second decade with Echo360, Matt said he expects demand for Echo360 to grow. He cited a College Pulse survey published in Inside Higher Ed that revealed 79 percent of students want lectures made available online so they can go back and review material.

“When our students return to campus, they have the expectation that lecture recordings will be available. Echo360 is now installed in every classroom. Classes are pre-scheduled to record automatically, and instructors only have to walk in and teach. Demand for Echo360 will go through the roof. It’s not only a benefit for students but an expectation.”

Watch the presentation by Matt Frank, Echo360 at Loyola Marymount University: A 10-Year Journey.

Echo360 Helps Instructor Establish Deeper Connection with Students

When the pandemic struck, Dr. Linda Felver, an associate professor at Oregon Health & Science University faced a now familiar but daunting task. She had just two weeks to transition her classes online. Fortunately, she had previously recorded her lectures using Echo360, so she got to work to create fully online versions of her face-to-face classes.

Using Echo360’s video editing capabilities, she “chunked” her existing lecture recordings into shorter segments which made them easier to view. She made them available to her students and they were able to “attend” the first part of her class online, asynchronously. After viewing her lectures, students attended the second part of her class synchronously using Zoom.

She didn’t stop there. Dr. Felver also created short, 1-2-minute videos using Echo360 Universal Capture. She recorded these videos in unusual locations around her home such as her garden or driveway. Their purpose was to emphasize important points in her lectures, tie concepts together, and keep students engaged.

But the videos also had another impact. She interspersed these videos throughout her course, and this helped her to connect and deepen the relationship with her students. She told our conference attendees that these short videos helped reduce student apprehension and anxiety levels about the difficulty of the material she was presenting.

Using Echo360 Analytics for Proactive Student Intervention

Throughout the pandemic, many students had difficulty adapting to learning online. But Dr. Felver had a powerful ally to help her students: data.

Dr. Felver told conference attendees that Echo360 learner analytics helped her identify students who were struggling. Data collected by the platform revealed whether or not students were watching her videos and participating in class.

Armed with the data, she proactively intervened with students who were struggling. This helped them get back on track. Her actions also made those students feel valued and cared for and ultimately, they were able to successfully complete their coursework online.

In response to the question, “Did students learn online?” Dr. Felver said the answer was a resounding yes. She said grades on mid-term and final exams were comparable to previous semesters when classes were held in-person, on campus.

Watch the presentation by Dr. Linda Felver, Pharmacology Greetings from my Driveway. Using Echo360 Universal Capture Offline to Increase Student Engagement.

Check Out Our Previous Conference Recaps

If you haven’t already, check out the recaps and presentations from the first two days of our user conference:

 

From campus video management, lecture capture, online and hybrid learning, and more, contact us to discover how Echo360 can help transform the teaching and learning experience at your institution.

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