Engaging the Modern Student: The Impact of EchoVideo and Polling in Higher Education
by Alison Maloney
Over the last 15 years, Murdoch University has regularly introduced new teaching-focused tools that Sarah Withnall Howe, Senior Lecturer at the School of Law and Criminology, has adopted – always with the aim of enhancing her students’ learning experience. Notably, when the pandemic forced everyone into online learning, she embraced the potential of video technology to support student learning and engagement.
However, when students returned to face-to-face learning post-pandemic, Howe noticed a significant shift in their engagement levels. The pandemic had brought about significant changes in the educational landscape. She noticed that students, particularly those who had completed their senior high school years online, struggled with the return to face-to-face learning. Many struggled to adjust back to the traditional classroom setting after months of online education. They were disengaged, often requesting extensions, missing deadlines, and skipping workshops. This widespread disengagement made her realise that she needed to find new ways to engage her students actively and help them develop the skills necessary for successful learning.
It was Howe’s student engagement strategies that first drew her to our attention, and in 2022 she was awarded an Echo360 e3 tech grant to support her presentation at national conferences, expanding on her work finding engaging ways to teach Law.
Inspired by the capabilities of EchoVideo, Howe devised a new strategy. She had been creating 20-minute introductory videos to complement her lectures. These videos aimed to make the live lecture content shorter and more manageable and, to her delight, students responded positively, appreciating the concise format. Howe began embedding multiple-choice polls at strategic points throughout her videos. These polls were designed to be straightforward, reinforcing the material she had just covered.
Students were required to watch these videos and complete the polls by a certain point in the semester. To incentivise the students, she integrated this activity into their overall grade, assigning a small percentage for completion and accuracy.
The impact was immediate and impressive. Most of the students watched the videos before attending the main lecture, with an impressive 80-90% completion rate by the due date. This proactive engagement led to more meaningful class discussions and a deeper understanding of the material. Students came to class better prepared, familiar with the key concepts, and ready to dive deeper into discussions.
This proactive engagement led to more meaningful class discussions and a deeper understanding of the material. Students came to class better prepared, familiar with the key concepts, and ready to dive deeper into discussions.
The real magic of the EchoVideo polls lay in their simplicity and effectiveness. By answering the poll questions, students were forced to stop, reflect, and apply what they had just learned. This process of active engagement helped them develop critical thinking and analytical skills, essential for success in the field of law and criminology.
In this video, Sarah Withnall Howe explains the value of the introductory videos with polls and how the polls not only test understanding, they give students the opportunity to apply their learning.
Howe found that creating these videos with embedded polls required careful planning. She had to think strategically about where to place the polls to maximize their impact. Despite the initial learning curve, the user-friendly nature of EchoVideo made the process manageable. The analytics provided by the platform were particularly valuable, allowing her to track who watched the videos and how well they performed on the polls. This data helped her tailor her teaching strategies to better meet her students’ needs.
Encouraged by the success of polling in EchoVideo, Howe looked forward to experimenting with EchoPoll. She recalled how online teaching during the pandemic had led to broader student participation through chat functions and EchoPoll, she believed, could replicate this engagement in a face-to-face setting by allowing anonymous responses, encouraging more students to participate without the fear of judgment.
Sarah Withnall Howe discusses the advantages of EchoPoll in the video below.
Sarah Withnall Howe now recommends Echo360’s suite of educational technology solutions to her colleagues. The straightforward tools and easy integration made it an excellent starting point for anyone looking to enhance their teaching. She encourages others to experiment with new tools, emphasising that even small changes could significantly enrich the learning experience for students.