As physical chalkboards and textbooks continue to go by the wayside, and schools adapt to accommodate both virtual and in-person learning, students now expect user-friendly technology as a part of their learning experience. Universities and colleges must meet this growing demand. 

Video technology is important, not only for professors and current students, but also for appealing to prospective students through marketing and recruitment efforts. And in the coming year, students will expect their institutions to be more sophisticated than ever when it comes to video.

Technology that students are looking for at your university

Video learning with a seamless mobile experience

In today’s higher education environment, a student’s primary device is not their laptop, but rather their smartphone. Mobile has become more important than ever as students have moved toward using their phones for consuming and creating content across all areas of daily life. 

Students want to access course work, communicate with professors, do research, and submit assignments on the go. And now that smartphones have evolved to feature better cameras, higher screen resolution, more robust storage, and a stronger app infrastructure, video can be a critical part of a student’s mobile experience.

To keep up with student demands, your institution needs all of its video content—from lecture recordings to video quizzes—to be easily accessible on mobile devices. With Panopto’s HTML5 mobile video player and mobile apps for iOS and Android, meeting this need is a no-brainer. 

Panopto automatically detects the device each student is using and displays the video in the proper player for their device, whether it’s an iPhone, Android, iPad, or computer. The mobile apps not only allow for recording, viewing and sharing videos, but also include features like closed captioning and video search for any word spoken or shown.

Video in every part of the learning experience

Students now expect their learning experience to reflect a full range of technology integration. That means today’s students want video to be part of every aspect of their coursework. 

A few years ago, lecture capture was the primary reason students used video on campus, but today, they also want to use video to engage with and enhance what they’re learning about in class. In cases of virtual learning, students expect more collaborative and interactive video conferencing experiences. Video quizzes, video-based assignments, and supplemental video content that give students different ways to interact with material are all in high demand.

Live streaming for important campus experiences

College is an important period of many students’ lives, full of milestones like thesis presentations, debate competitions, sporting events, and ultimately, graduation. Students want to share these moments with their friends and family, and now, they expect to be able to do so whether the people they love can make it to campus or not. Video technology is the answer. 

With Panopto, you can live stream any event, and thanks to our HTML5 video player, you can make that stream available publicly from any device and on any browser. You can also choose to securely share a private live stream with a restricted group, thanks to Panopto’s security options.

How Panopto meets students’ technology needs and sets your university apart

As technology continues to evolve, it is easy to get caught up in complex video solutions that don’t scale. Panopto provides features that allow universities and colleges to customize the video platform to their needs while remaining cost-effective and easy to implement and use.

Panopto’s remote video recording functionality allows professors to remotely schedule lecture capture, as well as monitor recording status and preview videos, from a web browser or smartphone. Video can be captured from multiple recording devices simultaneously, and the platform’s automatic processing tools can then automatically upload the video to Panopto for playback on any device. Panopto works with in-classroom hardware video capture devices like the Matrox 6020, as well as with a laptop. This seamless experience cuts down on technical issues and set-up time during class, a benefit to professors and students alike.

Beyond the classroom, the ability to teach remotely has become essential. Professors need to be able to seamlessly record and fully support their pedagogy when away from the classroom, either for a single class or the whole semester. Virtual classroom teaching is part of the new normal. 

When it comes to the student viewing experience, our platform offers closed captions, search inside video, annotations and varying levels of playback speed. These features allow greater accessibility for students with different devices and different learning styles and needs.

How your university can use video to attract students

As your university continues to make advancements in video technology to satisfy growing demand, you should put these advancements front and center in your recruitment marketing efforts and use them to attract new students.

Make sure your video technology use is featured in your traditional marketing materials, on your website and via your social media channels. Then, when prospective students visit campus, create experiences for them to see students engaging with video firsthand, whether in a lecture or during their study time.

Video technology has the power to set your school apart from other institutions. The key is making your video platform easy to use, especially with the high volume of individuals accessing it. Implementing technology to meet current needs is the first step. Promoting that technology in marketing and recruitment—and then continuing to evolve in new, future-thinking ways—comes next.

With an eye to the future, Panopto can also scale with your university’s changing needs as they continue to evolve. With over 13 years in higher education, Panopto’s team has deep experience and understands the unique needs of institutions like yours.

 

If you’re looking to implement video technology to meet student demand and provide a seamless learning experience, reach out to our team. Panopto will help set up your university or college for recruitment success and future innovation.