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EDUCAUSE 2013 Roundup

By on October 22, 2013
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We had a great time at EDUCAUSE, connecting with savvy educators from all over the globe and enjoying the Southern California sunshine!

We were incredibly impressed by the razor-sharp edtech professionals we heard from, and the innovative vendors that serve them.

There are a few things that have been bouncing around our heads, as we flew back home and settled into our offices.

 

Six #EDU13 Videosphere Observations

 

1. Mobile Tech Isn’t Going Anywhere

It’s official — if it’s not mobile, it’s not working. There are now more people on Earth with mobile subscriptions than toothbrushes (no, really). Educators and students have a unique opportunity to integrate those devices into learning, in the classroom and beyond. If anything, they wish they got started much sooner.

Ensemble Video supports mobile learning on the video content management side, as well as the viewing side. Ensemble detects a user’s device and bandwidth, automatically delivering the optimum file through the appropriate player.

Users can also capture video on mobile devices and upload directly to an Ensemble Video media library. iPad and iPhone users can upload from their Camera Roll, and record directly into an Ensemble library. Ensemble’s video dropbox feature  works on mobile devices, for easy collection of video assignments.
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2. Death of the Homegrown Video Solution

zoolanderWe used to have to convince you why you need a video platform. Those days are officially over. You know YouTube isn’t enough. And you know your homegrown solution is becoming increasingly unmanageable.

Accommodating institutional security concerns, a growing demand for streaming audio and video teaching tools, and a consumer market flooded with video technologies has become a constant drain on IT staff and resources.

Keeping homegrown systems updated and agile, while balancing your team’s other responsibilities, is ultimately unsustainable. We feel you. That’s why our founders built Ensemble Video.

As instructional technologists and faculty in higher education, they couldn’t find a product on the market to fit their specific needs, so they created it. Colleagues suggested they test it at other institutions, and Ensemble Video was born.

 

3. Higher Ed is Flipping Out

Flipped learning has been growing like wildfire in the K-12 space, especially over the past year. But this year at EDUCAUSE, we heard a lot of flipclass chatter in higher education.

At many institutions, faculty and instructional technologists are working together to record lectures, labs, and demonstrations. Students are then able to to absorb those resources on their own time, at their own pace, leaving class time for more individualized, active learning.

Institutions are creating the videos using lecture capture and screen capture tools from Echo360, Crestron, and TechSmith; screencast apps and on-board cameras on their iPads or iPhones; and even simple camcorders or webcams. They upload the content to a video platform like Ensemble Video, and deliver it through a learning management system (LMS) like Canvas, Desire2Learn, Moodle, Blackboard, or Sakai.

 

4. There’s No “Maybe” in MOOC

casestudy-riceLike MOOC courses, educators’ opinions about them tend to be massive and open. MOOCs are either loved or hated. They’re the saving grace of higher education, or its downfall. The drama has been around for a while, but this is the first year MOOCs have been on the official EDUCAUSE agenda, signaling a willingness to negotiate their place in higher education.

Several of our customers have begun experimenting with MOOC courses. Rice University, for example, is using Ensemble Video libraries as part of their MOOC video production workflow. For more info, check out our brand new Rice University case study.
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5. Canvas is King

When asked what impressed them the most, out on the floor, the definitive response from EDUCAUSE attendees was “Canvas.” The buzz was palatable! Faculty and technology staff love how clean, easy, and integration-friendly it is.

We must admit — we’re pretty excited, too! Ensemble Video became a Canvas certified partner, last spring. Since then, our team has been working with Canvas developers to launch our deepest LMS video integration, to date. Soon, our users will be able to:

Click here to sign up for our e-newsletter, and be among the first to know when this is available.

 

6. Ensemble Video Gets You

Every year, our relationship with educators evolves. As we said earlier, this year we’re no longer convincing you why you need a video platform — we’re convincing you why we are the best choice to meet your specific needs. The number of edtech professionals who approached us at EDUCAUSE with their video management woes is staggering. It’s clear that Ensemble Video is a better fit for higher education than our competitors. No glitz and glamour, just a tool that works, that’s affordable, and that’s easy to deploy and support across your entire campus.

For us, education is not a marketing device. It’s our world. Ensemble Video was created for educators, by educators, and our solution was specifically designed to meet the media management needs of academic institutions and consortiums.

Contact us today for a free demo and trial!

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