On-demand access to course content with new video capture partnership

Manchester Metropolitan University has teamed up with video capture platform Echo360 to provide an upgraded interactive online learning experience for its students.

Initiated in 2018, the pilot of the lecture capture scheme was piloted during the spring term, and after encouraging results, has now been rolled out to all Manchester Met faculty and 30,000 students.

According to a press release, students reported a significant improvement in their learning experience and agreed the system was user-friendly and helpful.

“A university’s ability to offer a high-quality, seamless lecture capture experience is increasingly essential to the success of students, as well as the institution itself,” said Kurt Weideling, Director Information Systems and Digital Services at Manchester Metropolitan University.

“By partnering with Echo360, we can both provide students with recordings of course content that they can use to review course content whenever works best for their schedule, and active learning tools that will allow them to engage with the course material, their instructor, and their peers – just like they would in the classroom.”

Echo360 captures the lectures and keeps them permanently on their technology platform, allowing students 24-7 access to not just the video lecture, but discussions and presentations materials. The idea is that it turns a video of a lecture into an active learning experience but with student response elements, the company has found student engagement increases seven-fold. This helps student learning before class has even started, as well as during and after the lecture.

Handy tools like confusion flags, bookmarks, time-synced notes, and discussion forums help keep the students engaged throughout and gives them points to refer back to after the class.

Data collected from these sessions, and students’ engagement with certain elements then helps lecturers and organisations themselves improve their delivery and maximise learning outcomes.

“In the United Kingdom, there is an increasing recognition that students are looking for colleges and universities that can offer them an engaging, digital learning experience that enhances the classroom experience,” said Fred Singer, founder and CEO of Echo360.

“We’re proud to partner with institutions like Manchester that are recognizing this student need and committing to providing their students with the best learning experience possible.”

Started in the United States, Echo360 is expanding in the UK as this interest grows. Capturing lectures is not the only thing universities are utilising. The company also offers a flipped classroom experience, enabling faculty to share information before class so students can discuss their findings while in the physical classroom.

The Echo360 platform can also take student polls and keep a track of classroom engagement, highlighting problem areas when they arise. And they facilitate online learning through leveraging recorded content and extending a university’s reach, giving remote students the same access as their on-campus peers.