UW-Stout Taps Echo360 Lecture Capture To Connect with Distance Students

Distance education students at the University of Wisconsin-Stout are enjoying the personal touch in their online technical communications program thanks to deployment of lecture capture from Echo360. EchoSystem captures in-class voice, video, and visual aids from such devices as smartboards and tablet PCs, then publishes the combined media to a school's learning management system, iTunes U portal, or Web portal. It also provides RSS feeds. The student can access the material via PC or handheld device.

At Stout, the technical communications program blends multimedia, product marketing, and interface design under a single degree. As one of the smaller programs offered at UW-Stout, administrators in the technical communications program were looking for methods to improve enrollment numbers. In a statement from the vendor, the school said that attracting additional distance-education students allows for an increase in enrollment without requiring more classroom space.

"The ability for us to matriculate additional distance-education students per class is a make or break for this program," said Matthew Livesey, program director and assistant professor. "Using Echo360, we enroll two to four additional students per class and give them a better distance education experience. It is a win-win for UW-Stout and our students."

"Our distance-education students have access to the same curriculum and faculty as the other students. But they express frustration over the missed interactions as they aren't attending class in the physical classroom," said CIO Doug Wahl. "Echo360 captures the culture of the classroom, connecting our distance-education students with their on-campus peers and faculty."

Other Echo360 customers include Arizona State University, Boise State University, and Oregon State University.

Echo360 also recently launched a new Web-based editor for its lecture capture system. Further information about that can be found here.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  •  floating digital interface with glowing icons, surrounded by faint geometric shapes

    Digital Education Council Defines 5 Dimensions of AI Literacy

    A recent report from the Digital Education Council, a global community devoted to "revolutionizing the world of education and work through technology and collaboration," provides an AI literacy framework to help higher education institutions equip their constituents with foundational AI competencies.

  • From Fire TV to Signage Stick: University of Utah's Digital Signage Evolution

    Jake Sorensen, who oversees sponsorship and advertising and Student Media in Auxiliary Business Development at the University of Utah, has navigated the digital signage landscape for nearly 15 years. He was managing hundreds of devices on campus that were incompatible with digital signage requirements and needed a solution that was reliable and lowered labor costs. The Amazon Signage Stick, specifically engineered for digital signage applications, gave him the stability and design functionality the University of Utah needed, along with the assurance of long-term support.

  • lock with a glowing keyhole integrated with a transparent, layered server stack against a dark background with a subtle grid pattern

    Cohesity Integration Adds Protection for Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization Workloads

    AI-powered data security company Cohesity has expanded its collaboration with Red Hat to enhance data protection and cyber resilience for Red Hat OpenShift Virtualization workloads.

  • computer screen displaying a landline phone being unplugged from a single cord, with a modern office desk, keyboard, and subtle lighting in the background

    Microsoft to Discontinue Skype Services

    Microsoft has announced that it is shutting down service for its Skype telecommunications and video calling services on May 5, 2025.