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

“Prior to the pandemic, the use of video in higher education was steadily increasing in North Dakota – everything from lecture captures to video vignettes and everything in between. So in 2019, the North Dakota University System sought to update its existing lecture capture system with a more comprehensive instructional video system. YuJa was selected at the conclusion of a market analysis.

With YuJa, each institution of the NDUS has the toolset and flexibility to brand and create its own unique space according to need. Since adoption and particularly after the pandemic struck in early 2020, YuJa has become an integral part of teaching and learning across the NDUS,” Wald said.

Additional considerations included the cost of storing video and making media accessible in Blackboard. “When you have a lot of videos, it takes up a lot of space on servers, which can come with a high price tag,” noted Anthony Willer, an Instructional Systems Analyst at NDUS. At the height of the pandemic, the system was using 32.5 terabytes of storage.

“We had the option to have a single zone with a hierarchy for each, but it was important for each institution to have its own logos and brand, so we opted to set up separate zones for each institution. We set up an LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) integration for each individual institution to ensure that as students connected, each would be brought to the proper zone within YuJa even when taking courses at multiple NDUS institutions,” Wald stated.

Recordings from the prior system were downloaded and converted to YuJa, with each institution able to tie the recordings to the proper instructor, get them to the right place and publish them to their courses.

Use Cases

NDUS Has Many Use Cases System Wide

Lecture capture is the most widely used feature throughout the 11 institutions within NDUS. “Lecture capture has been invaluable, especially through the pandemic, as it allowed us to provide an asynchronous learning experience during the pandemic when usage increased,” Wald said. “YuJa became the way to deliver lectures when everyone scrambled to get online.”

Streaming video files and proctoring also have been popular features of the YuJa Video Platform across institutions, noted Patti Heisler, Instructional Systems Training Developer.

Heisler shared that she worked with a professor who had more than 160 students in a class. When he began using YuJa, he was able to group students for project work and move presentations offline for students to work on in their own time. “He used class time to focus on other topics,” she remarked, noting that nursing faculty also have been exploring YuJa with flipped classes.

Other colleges are using automation, “so when instructors enter their classrooms, they don’t have to worry about recording. They can worry about their students and preparing themselves, rather than preparing technology,” Wald said. “Instructors who have used the tools have, over the pandemic, realized how it can improve both their teaching and students’ learning, and have continued using them as students return to campus.”