New research reveals that an overwhelming majority of instructors want technology in the classroom. That same research shows that most students (79%) want courses that integrate technology such as video and lecture capture that allows them to access their course content online, anywhere and at any time.

But, how can digital learning leaders ensure that instructors have the necessary knowledge and training to effectively use such technology in the classroom?

Enter, Christa Morrison, Digital Pedagogy Specialist with the MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation, and Excellence in Learning and Teaching at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Her job is to introduce and train instructors in how to use Echo360 in order to promote deeper learning for students.

Morrison doesn’t simply provide instructors Echo360 technical training. She offers training that allows instructors to experience what it is like for students to learn with Echo360. By creating interactive activities, instructors experience first-hand how Echo360’s student response tools can increase engagement, or how questions and polls can be used as a form of “low stakes” testing, and how confusion alerts can be used to modify classroom instruction and clear up student misunderstanding.

“The training we provide was born out of the need for instructors to understand the student’s experience using Echo360,” says Morrison. “How can students use the technology? Will it really enhance their learning? So, before instructors were prepared to invest time in learning how to teach with Echo360, they wanted to know what it’s like to learn with it.”

Creating More Opportunities for Students to Interact with Learning Content and Each Other

When Morrison introduces Echo360 to faculty members, she doesn’t focus on the technology. Instead she shows them how Echo360 can create a digital, online learning space where students have more ways to interact with course content.

“When instructors realize that this virtual learning space can augment and complement the activities that are going on in the physical classroom, they begin to get really excited,” she says. “This is the moment they realize that using Echo360 to create classroom activities, discussions, and assessments actually expands the opportunities for student learning. Learning doesn’t have to stop when the lesson ends.”

According to Morrison, in courses in which Echo360 is used, student participation has increased regardless of whether the course is delivered face-to-face, online, or through a hybrid or blended learning format.

“Actual participation is the key,” says Morrison. “Research shows that when students actively participate, there is greater opportunity to promote deeper learning and understanding.”

Why has participation and engagement improved? Morrison believes it is because students now have more ways in which to interact with their learning content and with each other.

“Echo360 helps increase participation in two important ways,” says Morrison. “First, students can interact with multimedia learning content in more than one way. For example, they can watch a video and then participate in group discussion forums. During a lecture or class, students can participate in a variety of formative assessments. They can also submit assignments using video. Second, they can interact with each other by sharing content or answering each other’s questions online. Students today are used to interacting and communicating with each other on digital platforms. For students, learning with Echo360 is more in tune with the way in which they live their lives.”

Learn why Echo360 is the smarter video platform for education. Contact us today to schedule your personal demonstration.

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