David Anderson, technical advisor to the European Commission and former president of the Laboratory Animal Science Association, is a veterinary expert and delivers seminars globally on the welfare of animals used in scientific procedures. In 2018, David ran a total of 23 workshops with an estimate of 1500 attendees, where in each session Echo360Point interactive polling solution was utilized. Anderson noted that there was a need for the engagement and assessment technology particularly in instances where some subjective assessment was required among a range of participants with varied skillsets from all over the world.

“I have found Echo360Point extremely beneficial where in workshops attendees can hold different levels of qualifications such as being professors to junior technicians. It is also an excellent piece of software where without it language can sometimes inhibit contributions,” he said.

Anderson has presented on Animal Welfare Legislation across Europe in a number of environments to include lectures, seminars and workshops. With the use of Echo360Point, David has been able to reinforce key session learning outcomes and maintain a much higher level of engagement among attendees during discussion. With the data gathered through Echo360Point, he has been able to compare results from workshops in different countries and between participants with different levels of knowledge such as those who are vets and those who are scientists. The interactive polling software has also been extremely helpful to him in enhancing group discussion where English has not been a first language to certain groups.

It is also an excellent piece of software where without it language can sometimes inhibit contributions.

In order to assess understanding among participants during seminars, Anderson used the PowerPoint polling feature within Echo360Point to ask around 20 to 30 interactive questions, which mostly consisted of multiple choice and true or false question types. Attendees of Anderson’s sessions were able to enthusiastically participate and engage in discussion surrounding the welfare of animals in scientific procedures by using clickers, with some questions allowing for an anonymous response.

Gary Morrison, vice president, International Division of Echo360 Technologies, adds: “The use of Echo360Point to develop approaches which promote dialogue and learning in the context of the scientific processes around animal welfare is wonderful. It is great to be associated with this issue.”

With this data, he used the reporting feature within Echo360Point to correlate results and felt the questions were essential for post-workshop analysis.

“There is no other way of getting all participants to engage other than by incorporating the use of Echo360Point into my presentations,” he explained.

He added, “The overall response from participants who have used Echo360Point with me has been extremely positive. I have found attendees feel more comfortable and less embarrassed to contribute in-group discussions, especially those whose first language may not be English.”

“I like using Echo360Point across Europe in my workshops as it promotes inclusivity amongst attendees, gets everyone involved from a range of cultures and promotes discussion. I would describe Echo360Point as a life-saver.”

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