Case Study: How YuJa Helps North Carolina Virtual Public School Provide Supplemental Instruction to Tens of Thousands of Middle and High School Students Statewide

Students in sixth through twelfth grades enroll through their local public school, and grades are reported to their school for credit. The courses use learning management and collaborative software to maximize student interaction in each class. The purpose of the North Carolina Virtual Public School (NC Virtual) is to provide e-learning opportunities to students.

Read the full case study here.

The Importance of Video Analytics

With video analytics, instructors and administrators can see who watched a video, review video hotspots, and see how long each viewer spent watching different videos. A powerful analytics suite is a key component to a Video Content Management System (VCMS), as it can draw attention to what media is making an impact and how it’s performing. 

YuJa’s Enterprise Video Platform offers a variety of information about individual media files and how users interact with those files. The overall summary shows information on storage, views, viewing patterns and where users stop watching the video, providing instructors with insights on areas where students may be having trouble.

Using Analytics to Improve Play Rate

Your play rate is how often viewers play video content. A low play rate means your investment in video content will be ineffective, and your students, clients and customers won’t learn as much as they could from your videos.

Assessing Video Engagement

Video engagement is how much time people spend watching your video content, and how much they engage with content, whether it’s by asking or answering questions, taking notes, or adding annotations. A higher video engagement means that viewers are staying interested in your content rather than shutting off the video mid-play.

Analytics enable administrators to look closely at individual videos. This can, over time, enable pattern recognition in videos and overall improvement of video content and video engagement. Assessing the following may help to improve video engagement.

• Are viewers watching videos all the way through? If not, when are they stopping the video? Are there any patterns to viewer interest?
• Is the video topically appropriate for the site? Is it relevant to your viewers?
• Does the video meet the needs of your users? Do they have a reason to watch it?
• Which of your videos has performed the best? What has made it a strong performer?

Not only does YuJa’s analytics suite provide an overall summary of data, but it also breaks it down user by user, which allows instructors to identify at-risk students. 

Using YuJa’s Video Analytics

Using video analytics maximizes the value of video content and video content management. YuJa’s Usage and Analytics tools enable an in-depth understanding of how users are watching video, and how your videos are performing on an ongoing basis. With these tools, you can review how students are using your content, what is peaking their interests, and which videos are performing best, which can be used to help guide future lessons.

Case Study: Entire North Dakota University System Relies on YuJa to Deliver Top-Notch Educational Experiences

“One of our institutions, University of North Dakota, started an RFP for a video service, so we decided to join their search along with the other 10 institutions,” explained Randy Wald, Operations Manager, Academic Services and Training. Wald and his team support learning technologies across the system, as well as provide training and best practices.

Based on usability, tools offered, its clean aesthetic and affordability, YuJa came out on top.

Read the full case study here.

Make Your Organization’s Content Accessible Across Devices

To make learning accessible across devices, YuJa offers a strong suite of mobile video capabilities, which include a customizable HTML5 player, apps for both android and iPhone phones, Apple and android tablets, and features like adaptive bitrate streaming. 

Feature-Rich HTML5 Player was Designed for Flexible Learning

The HTML5 player was designed with phones and tablets in mind. It provides:

• A responsive design, which allows for automatic scaling to any resolution and screen size.
• Network-sensing technology automatically throttles the quality levels to minimize network impact if a large volume of views occurs.
• Interactive capabilities, such as online quizzes and polls. 
• A scalable global network that can grow with your organization.
• Adaptive bitrate streaming, which improves video startup times, minimizes buffering and rebuffering, and provides a richer media experience for viewers. 

YuJa’s Technology Makes Learning Flexible 

“YuJa automatically optimizes video for effective play across devices and browsers.”

In addition to providing a smooth streaming experience, adaptive bitrate technology supports consistent, quality playback on every device across network types, wireless or wireline. It automatically generates adjustable transcodes for videos, so students who have lower bandwidth can view the video in a lower resolution and bitrate without sacrificing quality.

Using the app (downloadable in the App Store or Google Play), instructors and students can play back media, record captures, upload media, and download content for offline review, which is especially important for students with low bandwidth or where internet connectivity is an issue, as content can be viewed without WiFi.  

Improve the Learning Experience with Hardware and Software-Based Lecture Capture Technology

“Both software and hardware solutions have numerous advantages, and both help leverage technology to bring interactive educational opportunities to students.”

The YuJa Enterprise Video Platform allows a scalable lecture capture solution with desktop-based software, a hardware capture appliance, in-browser capture tools and mobile capture applications. 

Software Capture and Personal Capture Applications 

Record lectures anywhere and from any device, including mobile devices, with Software Capture. 

Software capture offers: 

• Flexible course delivery across locations
• Access using any device, whether its a browser, phone or tablet
• The ability to present using slides, audio, video and other peripherals
• Multi-stream audio and video captures with automatic-captioning
• Search-inside-video capabilities

Additionally, mobile apps allow students and instructors to record and view content on the go with an HTML5-based media player.

The YuJa Hardware Hub is Another Powerful Lecture Capture Solution

Simply placing a YuJa Hardware Hub in classrooms enables lecture capture and live streaming of multi-source content. 

With the Hardware Hub, instructors can: 

• Automate recording, remotely scheduling, starting and pre-scheduling on their schedule
• Publish and distribute content automatically
• Integrate hardware with existing video and audio sources
• Preview sources connected to the Hardware Hub, which enables real-time source monitoring

Advantages of Hardware and Software-Based Lecture Capture Solutions

Both software and hardware solutions have numerous advantages, and both help leverage technology to bring interactive educational opportunities to students. No matter which solution is chosen, videos are processed with AI-based semantic analysis, which enables auto-captioning and video search. 

Which solution is right for an institution depends, but listed below are some considerations for each.

Software-Based Capture is:

• Cost-effective. It doesn’t require additional equipment outside of a podium computer or instructor’s laptop.
• Easy to use. This solution may require more instructor involvement than a hardware solution.
• Intuitive. Software Capture is an ideal option for new users who are looking to test the features of YuJa.

Device-Based Capture (the Hardware Hub) is:

• Scalable. This solution is ideal for university-sponsored connected classroom integration.
• Automated. Device-based capture automates the process and reduces instructor involvement in lecture capture. It can be turned on manually or set to activate according to a pre-programmed schedule.
• Hands-off. This solution allows a more hands-off approach, making it ideal for faculty who prefer not to manage technology.

YuJa Bridges the Education Gap for Active-Duty Military

Education and Active Duty Military

The United States military supports students who wish to begin or continue higher education while on active duty with tuition assistance and other educational programs for those in the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard, and most Reserves. The GI Bill and VA Benefits also are available to help with educational costs no matter the type of degree a student is working toward.

Active Duty Military Students can: 

• Enroll in evening courses on base, provided by local colleges or community colleges.
• Take evening or weekend courses at an institution in a nearby community.
• Take advantage of distance learning opportunities and online learning.

The pandemic has expanded the world of online learning, with many programs now being offered entirely online. This makes remote learning convenient, accessible and flexible even to those with unpredictable schedules, while in-person learning options may vary depending upon where an individual is stationed, their work schedule, and their role in the military. 

Institutions that use YuJa help create distance or remote educational opportunities to support active duty students in meeting their educational goals.

Online Learning for Active-Duty Military

“The pandemic has expanded the world of online learning, with many programs now being offered entirely online.”

Online courses through YuJa allow students to watch lecture captures with integrated multimedia presentations, participate in online real-time discussions, and to connect and collaborate with one another.

To meet the needs of active-duty personnel in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, YuJa offers:

• The ability to watch lectures from any device.
• Features that enable search inside video and to re-watch lecture captures.
• Adaptive bitrate streaming and downloadable content for those with connectivity issues or who don’t have access to WiFi at all times. 
• The potential for instructors or course designers to create flexible, competency-based courses.

Competency-Based Learning: How to Support Non-Traditional Students

What Is Competency-Based Education?

Competency-based education (CBE), or personalized learning, combines the assessment of existing skills with mastery-based academic progression. With this model, instructors assess the knowledge and experience students already possess through work and life experience. Then, individualized educational plans can be created to best meet the needs of non-traditional learners, many of whom are in the workforce as they work toward earning a degree. 

Learner-centric in nature, interest in CBE has grown in higher education over the past decade, and adoption efforts span all institution types, according to the National Survey of Postsecondary Competency-Based Education (NSPCBE).

CBE FOR NONTRADITIONAL LEARNERS

“More research is needed, but early indications suggest that CBE programs often serve a greater proportion of students with prior credits than traditional programs, and institutions price their CBE programs so that the amount students pay may be similar to or lower than for traditional programs,”

Personalized learning solutions offer improved access to education, particularly for non-traditional learners such as adults who are returning to school after years away, and students with families.

“More research is needed, but early indications suggest that CBE programs often serve a greater proportion of students with prior credits than traditional programs, and institutions price their CBE programs so that the amount students pay may be similar to or lower than for traditional programs,” the report noted.

For a student with significant relevant experience, course progression may occur quite rapidly. Non-traditional students may find personalized education more manageable and affordable.

YUJA AND COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION

Traditional classroom structures can fail to support competency-based learning—these set-ups require students to move through material at approximately the same pace, regardless of personal understanding.  

YuJa provides video capture and integrated social tools that enable students to tailor their learning path to reflect their strengths and interests, as well as tools that make attending flipped courses more convenient for the student and easy for the instructor. 

INCREASING COMPETENCY-BASED LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Competency-based learning leans on innovative technological solutions to help non-traditional students thrive.  A 2020 State of the Field study by American Institutes for Research found that between 2018 and 2020, 128 unique institutions have reported offering at least one operating CBE program, for a total of 1,057 CBE programs. 

Further, 82% of institutions expect the number of CBE programs in the US to increase in the next five years. 

“Despite the major disruptions to institutional operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we see evidence of growth in programs and optimism about the future of CBE, even though barriers remain,” it concluded. 

LTI Compliant Lecture Capture for Seamless Lecture Capture and LMS Integration

Learning tools interoperability allows third-party tools to communicate and work within the structure of a compliant LMS, without the addition of special applications.

LTI integration simplifies the process of faculty lecture capture integration, as well as student access to lecture capture files.

• LTI compliance increases the value of your investment in classroom technology, both in terms of your LMS and your lecture capture technology. 
• LTI allows auto-generation of YuJa accounts in the LMS based on LMS user information, and it logs the user seamlessly into YuJa without the need to enter credentials.

YUJA IS FULLY COMPLIANT

YuJa is fully LTI compliant, making installation and access simple for users. YuJa offers an IMS-certified LTI 1.1, 1.3, and LTI Advantage LMS integration for all commercial LMS systems.

YuJa’s standard LMS integration for all commercial LMS platforms includes:

• IMS-Certified LTI Integration: We offer an IMS-certified LTI integration including provisioning of role, user, and course information. 
• Gradebook Integration: IMS-certified LTI Gradebook integration and native Gradebook integration to automatically import video quiz assessment data.
• Media Chooser Extension for LMS-Embedding: Instructors can directly embed media within LMS pages, modules, announcements, discussions, assignments, and more. Content is deep-linked using the LTI Advantage specification to ensure data is accurately tracked. 
• Single-Sign-On Crosslinking: Integration enables cross-linking capabilities with an institution’s Single-Sign-On provider across non-LMS enterprise systems. 

Other Benefits:

LTI compliance makes it simple to access the features of YuJa, but offers a number of other advantages to users of both your LMS and YuJa:

• Integrate student information, including access rights, directly into YuJa from your LMS.
• Information from the LMS automatically transfers to YuJa, making setup simple.
• Create seamless access to lecture capture video.
• Offer instructors multiple lecture capture options, including with the YuJa appliance, YuJa software interface and YuJa web capture available through the familiar LMS

HOW DOES YUJA INTEGRATE WITH YOUR LMS?

“LTI compliant lecture capture makes lecture capture technology accessible and available through the LMS your faculty and students already know and use.”

YuJa relies upon LMS integration modules designed for common and widely used learning management systems. LTI compliant lecture capture makes lecture capture technology accessible and available through the LMS your faculty and students already know and use. YuJa meets the specifications to integrate with other compliant LMS systems without other technology. 

Integrating YuJa into your LMS is a task for your IT department, but once it is in place, faculty can easily make YuJa available to students directly through the LMS. LTI integration makes the use of lecture capture technology seamless, both for instructors initiating capture in their classrooms and students who need to view lecture capture videos. 

Creating Engaging Lecture Capture Recordings for Remote and In-Person Instruction

Recording lectures through YuJa’s lecture capture tools provides students with the ability to watch, re-watch, and review lectures wherever they are, using a computer or mobile device.

For online learners and flipped classrooms, lecture captures may provide the only lecture experiences for the class. Recorded lectures that are interesting and appealing to students will help engage students, keep their attention, maintain focus, and help them learn.

Below are some tips to create engaging recordings for all students, whether they attend class face-to-face or online.

Add Visual Interest With Multi-Source Recording 

YuJa makes it simple to incorporate multiple cameras, video feeds, audio and screen sources. This brings all of the tools of a well-equipped lecture hall online and makes it more accessible to your students, even those away from the classroom. Incorporating visual elements engages your students, including visual learners, as you lecture.

Visual presentation material is essential to take your lecture up a notch. It also makes note taking easier for students.

• Use PowerPoint or another presentation software to incorporate images, notes and other information. You can easily share your screen as you produce a lecture capture recording.
• Plug in your classroom SmartBoard to allow students to see you work equations, make notes or share information on the board.
• Document cameras allow you to share printed material with students.

Most instructors are already using PowerPoint presentations, SmartBoards and other tools in their everyday lectures. These tools are even more important when recording lectures.

Helping Students Connect with Lectures

“Incorporating visual elements engages your students, including visual learners, as you lecture.”

Visual interest is not the only way to create an impressive and engaging lecture capture. You can implement many different strategies to maximize the effect and interest of your lecture captures.

Show: Show how, when and why this material matters using real-world examples. This is especially helpful for general education classes. 

Connect: Connect material to information your students already know. Making familiar connections can help students stay interested.

Summarize: For information dense lectures, summarize or review material before moving on to new material.

Define: Define jargon or unfamiliar terminology.

Outline: Use outlines, a table of contents and other tools to help your students organize their note-taking.

Explain: Explain difficult concepts in several ways to reach all of your students.

Use Assessment Tools

YuJa offers a number of ways to assess the efficacy of your lecture captures.

• Incorporate video quizzes into lecture captures. The results will help define problem areas.
• Review discussion boards for student questions. Check and see if students seem to be struggling with a certain concept or assignment.
• Check your analytics for signs students are re-watching portions of videos. Analytics provide insights in real-time.

Remote vs Online Learning: What’s the Difference?

The terminology has caused confusion among students and the public at large, but the main differences lie in planning and preparation for these courses. 

Remote learning:

• This type of education is an “emergency measure used to assure continuity of learning.”
• Faculty must quickly adapt and use whatever tools are at their disposal, even if they’re not designed for educational purposes. 
• This type of education may lack user experience if instructors aren’t trained to use available resources.
• Students may or may not have access to technology and internet connectivity needed to fully participate in courses without institutional technology at their disposal.

Online learning: 

• Online courses are purposefully planned and designed to function in an online environment.
• Technology and tools are selected to support the instruction and to help meet objectives.
• Faculty are trained and supported in their use of online teaching tools. 
• Students only enroll in the course if they have the technology and tools to help them be successful.

During the pandemic, many realized that the flexibility of online learning is a benefit that should be afforded to all students, even beyond lockdowns and emergency situations. To that end, selecting technology to support true online learning is critical. 

Create a Successful Online Course With Tools that Support Online Learning

“Courses and content should be available 24/7, so students can learn anywhere, and using any device.”

For a successful online learning experience, a strategic approach must be taken to ensure: 

Availability. Courses and content should be available 24/7, so students can learn anywhere, and using any device. Offering downloadable documents for offline viewing, adaptive bitrate playback, and delivery that facilitate support across a broad range of devices all will help students and instructors be successful. 

Accessibility. Courses should be accessible to all, including providing accessibility features like closed-captioning, high contrast options, compatibility with screen readers, and adherence to standard accessibility templates and frameworks. 

Interaction. Enabling interaction between the instructor and students, and among learners, is important to facilitate idea and knowledge sharing. Each individual should be able to contribute to the learning process. 

Integration. Learning tools should all work together to support your learning ecosystem. Ensure your solution includes enterprise connectors and integration points for cross-compatibility with your LMS, SSO, and other learning tools. 

Support. Train and support both instructors and students in their online educational journey.

Inside Higher Ed concluded that as institutions work to meet the needs of students, they must intentionally design online learning. “We certainly do not expect all courses to be online in the future, but institutions would do well to support all faculty in leveraging digital learning tools and best practices… To best employ such tools in serving students, institutions will need to rely on thoughtful technology selection, faculty development, instructional design and application of proven frameworks to best ensure quality online learning.”