Barker College
Capturing Lesson Content and Flipping the Classroom
Achievements
Staff pleased with functionality
Teachers capturing lectures on their own devices
Recordings embedded within LMS
The Challenge
At Barker College, teachers are challenged to “inspire each learner, every experience, every day.” This means that they are constantly looking at ways to improve the learning environment for their students and integrate pedagogical best practices into the classroom.
As a result of this continual drive to improve, school staff became increasingly interested in the possibilities offered by video as a learning tool. With the widely documented rise of YouTube and other online video platforms, teachers knew that their students were already well-versed in using video to teach themselves new skills. It made perfect sense for the institution to start using video in a more structured way.
While instructors were keen to start experimenting with video, their existing setup gave them very limited opportunities to record classroom content. Consequently, they began to look for a solution that would support their ambitious new aims with video.
Staff at Barker College were looking for a platform that would allow them to:
- Employ the flipped classroom model by recording pre-class materials from a range of locations
- Give students easy access to video content through a combination of live-streamed events and on-demand recordings
- Enhance their offsite campus activities, which support indigenous groups in their region.
They wanted to deliver all of this with a platform that was both simple and secure. Having reviewed their options, they selected Panopto for its ease of use and flexibility.
The Solution
During the initial roll-out of Panopto, Barker College focused on recording classroom content so that students would be able to review lessons on-demand for revision purposes. Because Panopto is easy to install on laptops, smartphones, and tablets, teachers were able to use their own devices to capture class content – a confidence-booster that helped spur adoption among staff.
Another key aspect of the implementation of Panopto was its integration with the school’s learning management system (LMS). This integration allowed teachers to embed their Panopto recordings directly into the relevant unit of work within the LMS. This meant that it was easy to make video content accessible to the appropriate students whether they were on- or off-campus.
Panopto is playing an important role in helping the school embrace the flipped classroom approach. Teachers are using Panopto to capture subject content – sometimes live, sometimes pre-recorded – for students to review before class. The ability to record using a range of devices opens up all sorts of opportunities to provide more engaging flipped classroom content – even recordings from field trips and off-campus sessions. With students able to engage with a topic via video before class, teachers can then focus face-to-face time on more interactive activities and deeper discussions.
“I use Panopto to record various aspects of my Japanese Language course. My students are able to view and listen to these at home via Panopto to practice the various expressions. This helps with pronunciation and tone. Panopto has given me a fantastic avenue for students to train in the language.”
Keiko Hosogoe, Japanese Teacher – Barker College
The Impact
Even in these early stages of video adoption, staff are already commenting favorably on the impact of Panopto in their classrooms. They can see how Panopto’s video capabilities enhance the established functionality of the school’s LMS to help create more engaging learning experiences.
One of the college’s favorite aspects of the system is its inside-video search function, known as Smart Search. As Panopto indexes every word spoken in a video – as well as those featured on-screen or in a slide deck – it’s easy for students to find and fast-forward to any topic they want to review using a keyword search. This makes it much simpler for students to consolidate their knowledge and review for exams.
While classroom capture is currently done with staff laptops and iPads, the institution is looking to install IP cameras as part of its standard recording setup. This would allow Barker to ensure that all recordings are captured with consistent levels of quality across campus.
Staff are also eager to use Panopto at off-site campuses, sharing the expertise of their in-house teaching staff with colleagues in other locations. The ultimate aim? To improve teaching and learning for the entire Barker College community.
