Dell To Bundle Echo360 Lecture Capture with Servers

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 07/09/12

A lecture capture company that caters to higher education will be sold under a Dell label in a new deal between Echo360 and Dell.

Echo360's platform allows an instructor to capture and record lectures and presentations that can be converted into multiple formats for playback on a number of devices, including PCs, tablets, and mobile phones. The program lets instructors create "activity heat maps" to understand viewer usage habits and assess specific topics within lectures that are generating the most student discussion.

Dell will be bundling Echo360 with its server infrastructure--including servers, storage, and networking gear--under the name, "Dell Lecture Capture," to support the simplified rollout of lecture capture across an institution. Support will be provided by Dell. The company already offers similar packages for learning management systems, assistive technologies, education data management, and other areas.

The two companies said that the packaging of hardware and software will speed up the time it takes to procure and deploy lecture capture.

"Higher education needs leading-edge solutions, especially when it comes to the classroom. The partnership between Dell and Echo360 simplifies the purchasing process and makes it much easier to significantly expand blended learning technology solutions," said Vince Kellen, CIO of the University of Kentucky and 2012 "Dell Transformational CIO." Kellen's university purchased Echo360 for a campus-wide installation through Dell.

"Echo360 has helped hundreds of universities innovate the teaching and learning environment for better interaction and student access--using technology to reach more students more conveniently; extending the interaction between students and professors before, during and after a lecture and providing a platform for immediate feedback on lessons that need further explanation," said Dell Vice President and General Manager of Education John Mullen in a statement.

"The majority of the technology investment in educational institutions is focused outside of the teaching and learning moment. Today instructors are forced to adapt their teaching to the new technology-centric world armed with little more than chalk and blackboard. It is time to give them the tools they really need," said Echo360 CEO Fred Singer. "We are pleased to partner with Dell to provide institutions with clear solutions for recruitment, retention, distance learning, and flipped classroom so they are able to reach more students without added costs."