Active learning starts by making your course content available to students anytime, anywhere, on any device

Earlier this week, we outlined the five fundamental components of active learning technology.  Simply stated, Active Learning starts with the ability to create, archive and make your courses available online.  It’s the cornerstone on which every other activity is built. You can’t flip a classroom, establish a blended learning environment, set up a distance learning program or launch a MOOC without first having captured your lecture material. Once you’ve captured your course, students have full access to it. They can view lectures on their own time, at their own pace.

Here are just a few examples of how leading institutions around the world make use of video to flip classes, set up distance learning programs and even use technology for contingency planning – courses can go on, even when access to the campus is restricted.

Loughborough University – How do you create a more agile and efficient learning environment for students? How do you differentiate your institution from others in a highly competitive educational landscape? Loughborough University used content replay as a way to create a blended learning environment.  It let students review complex subject matter and better review and prepare for assessments and exams.  The university also leverages online video for staff development workshops, meetings and conferences.  Info sessions are even recorded for the more than 2,000 international students for viewing before they arrive in the UK. Read more about Loughborough University.

Gallaudet University – This is the world’s only university dedicated to providing liberal education and career development for students who are deaf or hard of hearing.  How does a student take notes in the classroom, when sign language is used and he or she has to watch the instructor? The answer: video.  Lectures are recorded, synchronized, transcribed, close-captioned and archived. Students can easily access course lectures and can even playback high-quality video at different speeds, depending on their signing ability. And instructors didn’t need any additional technology training as lectures are automatically recorded. They just arrive to class and teach.  Read more about Gallaudet University.

George Washington University – There’s no “distance” in distance learning at GW. Students from around the world get the same interactive learning experience as their peers sitting in a classroom. Students anywhere can view course lectures at their convenience.  Recording is automatic, so instructors only have to focus on teaching.  An added benefit is that the technology has inspired faculty mentoring to improve teaching.  Read more about George Washington University.

These are just 3 examples out of many case studies.  Every institution is going to approach the issue of “lecture capture” and course accessibility differently because no two institutions are alike.  But, being fearless means knowing that you have to start somewhere.