Wharton School Deploys Lecture Capture Tech to Every Classroom
The Wharton School of the
University of Pennsylvania has implemented a lecture capture system in every
classroom, so students can access recordings of lectures on demand.
The school has been using lecture capture technology as part of its blended
learning curriculum since 2002, but the specialized appliances and media
equipment required for its original lecture capture system were too expensive
to implement in all of its classrooms. In 2013, the school switched to Panopto, a software-based video platform, and
over the last two years the school has deployed Panopto to every classroom.
According to information from the company, Panopto lets the school "capture
and manage lecture recordings from any PC using any combination of video
cameras." Professors can schedule their recordings in advance and then present
their in-class lecture as usual. The system captures the lecture automatically
and then produces and uploads the video to the secure video content management
system without any further action required by the professor. Panopto also
integrates with the school's learning management system, where students can
access the streaming videos.
Since its original implementation, the faculty and staff at the Wharton
School have explored other creative uses of the video platform, including the
flipped classroom approach, where students watch lecture videos before class
and then apply their learning through in-class activities. According to
information on the company's site, Panopto lets professors record webcam video,
slide presentations, screencasts and more from their laptop, or they can use
the system's mobile app to record micro-lectures from the field. Professors can
also embed quizzes, polls and other interactive content into their recorded
lectures, and they can view reports of students' lecture-viewing activity.
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].