University Business - July/August 2011 - (Page 67)
Funding Capture
Lecture capture technology is increasingly crucial. Here’s how to make the investment happen.
By Ann McClure
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TUDENTS LOVE LECTURE CAPTURE. ALSO enamored are administrators and faculty with active systems. Surveys and data collected from various intuitions have shown it improves engagement and student outcomes. Just one example: Of first year medical students involved in the Mediasite pilot program at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, 88 percent agreed the system helped them achieve their educational goals. Faculty members at other institutions have shared anecdotes about students being more engaged in classroom discussions because they know they can review the lecture and take notes after class. “It’s an excellent add-on to a course,” says Vince Kellen, CIO of the University of Kentucky, referring to content created with their Echo360 system. “You can review a lecture
and have an ‘ah-ha’ moment. That is where learning happens. This is very simple and basic, but it can be very profound.” The systems can also be used to enhance learning by making the world smaller. Penn State’s central IT leased a small generatorpowered satellite uplink so students traveling in a remote part of South Africa could use the Adobe Connect system to communicate with students at home in University Park, shares John Harwood, associate vice provost for IT at Penn State. “How cool is that?” Despite all these accolades, how do you justify investing heavily in technology during these times of tough budget cuts? The bigpicture argument is that lecture capture is becoming an essential technology in higher education and the undeniable benefits to student learning helps ease the path. Here are ways administrators are finding the funds.
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