RESTON, VA--(Marketwired - Apr 13, 2017) - Echo360 announced, today, the launch of a new learner interface designed to enhance the usability and accessibility of its popular video and engagement platform, which is now used by more than 3 million students worldwide. The new features, rolled out at colleges and universities like University of Cincinnati and Indian River State College, allow users to more easily engage with video-based course content, collaborate with peers, and customize their learning experience by annotating content before, during and after class.
"We are following our students' lead to craft learning experiences that are easy-to-access and intuitive," said Chris Edwards, Assistant Vice President for eLearning at the University of Cincinnati.
The integration of active learning into the company's platform reflects the popularity of interactive video to augment the learning experience among faculty and students, and increased demand for collaboration tools that extend informal learning beyond the classroom.
New features increase the usability and accessibility for students, including:
- In-Class Engagement: Students can ask a question, participate in a group discussion, take contextual notes, flag confusing content, or let their instructor know that they are struggling with a single click.
- Side-by-side Playback: Students and instructors are now able to arrange media streams, including a side-by-side view, to emphasize the content that is most important to their learning. They can continue to take notes and participate in learning activities while watching a class lecture or reviewing a presentation without toggling between multiple views.
"Two-thirds of our students are working while in school, and need 24/7 access to course content. It's our students who have become the drivers for adopting this technology," said Paul O'Brien, Vice President of Institutional Technology and Chief Information Officer at Indian River State College. "Students are telling us they've changed courses because they wanted to take the class with an instructor who was using Echo360 to incorporate video into learning and facilitate interaction with faculty, peers and content."
The new feature set is available now on the Echo360 platform, which allows students to easily review course content 24/7, ask questions during class in an anonymous and risk-free way, and actively engage with learning content, instructors, and peers in and beyond class.
"The explosion of mobile on campus and familiarity with core concepts among digital native students presents unprecedented opportunity to optimize video platforms around student needs," said Bill Holding, Executive Vice President and head of product at Echo360. "We developed these tools and designed the new learner interface in partnership with students and instructors to create a more seamless learning experience that deepens student engagement with course content and each other."
About Echo360: Echo360 believes that improved outcomes start with great moments in the classroom. Developed by educators, Echo360 helps instructors capture and extend those moments to improve student engagement before, during and after class. Through our video and engagement platform, students have 24/7 access to classroom discussion, presentation materials, and the lecture itself. We generate data that helps instructors and institutions identify problems early and take action. Today, Echo360 technologies are used by over 3M students in 11,000 classrooms at 750 institutions across 30 countries. Echo360 is backed by Revolution Growth led by Steve Case, Ted Leonsis and Donn Davis.
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