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Hoshi University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences

Online classes for national exam preparation and lifelong learning training for pharmacists nationwide.

How Hoshi Pharmaceutical University leverages Panopto to provide lifelong learning to pharmacists across the country.

In 2020, the spread of the new coronavirus infection made online classes an urgent necessity. However, medical universities often offer seminar classes, and Hoshi University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, which has only offered face-to-face classes, had to set up an online class system without any facilities or experience. Furthermore, Hoshi University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences holds a lifelong learning program where active pharmacists gather at the university to obtain credits to become “certified pharmacists,” and the inability to hold face-to-face classes at the Corona Disaster was a major challenge.

The Challenge

Security concerns, inability to confirm attendance, and other problems
In establishing the online class system, we first used a general video distribution service to distribute lecture videos to students in the form of a limited release. However, a security problem emerged: even with limited access, anyone could view the videos by forwarding the distributed URL itself. There were also various issues such as the time and effort required to upload the videos and the fact that it was impossible to confirm that students had actually watched the entire lecture. Therefore, the company considered introducing a video platform specialized for online classes. The project to select a system began.

“We decided to choose Panopto because of its ability to integrate with the LMS and manage viewing linked to each student’s individual ID, as well as its high integration with external tools such as Zoom and PowerPoint.”
Mr. Kazuo Inaoka, Information Planning Office, Hoshi University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences

Reasons for the introduction of Panopto

Convenience of a cloud-based system and the ability to integrate with external tools were highly evaluated.
When selecting a system, we started from the point of choosing between an on-premise system and a cloud-based system. Mr. Kazuo Inaoka of the Information Planning Office, who made the selection, looks back on that time.

With the on-premise system, there was concern that the server would go down if too many students viewed the videos at the same time. Also, as the number of videos increases, storage capacity may become insufficient, so we had to forecast usage in advance and expand the servers when capacity became insufficient. We compared products in search of a cloud-based system that could flexibly address such issues. We were able to start trial operations in the actual environment the same month we signed the contract, and we felt that this was one of the advantages of the cloud-based system.

Effects after the introduction of the system:

Providing an efficient learning environment for national exam preparation
Hoshi University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences began using Panopto in September 2020. All approximately 1,800 students have been given IDs, and the system is being used in various classes. Professor Kazunori Asai, who is in charge of preparation for the national pharmacist exam and the shared pharmacy common exam at Hoshi University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, comments on the effectiveness of the system.

Students who aim to pass the national examinations have high self-management skills and are looking for efficient learning methods that make effective use of their time. Panopto allows them to see which parts of a video are being watched repeatedly, so they can ask questions such as, ‘Was this part difficult to understand? This also provides teachers with the opportunity to ask questions such as, “Was this part difficult to understand? Because classes can be held from anywhere in the world, for example, teachers in remote locations can be invited as outside instructors. Panopto was introduced at short notice at the Corona Disaster, but when we actually used it, we found that it enhanced the students’ learning even more than face-to-face classes.

“In the face-to-face format, students had to come to the university at designated times to take classes, but now they can take classes on demand while they want, allowing them to learn at their own pace.”
Professor Kazunori Asai, Center for Pharmaceutical Education and Research, Hoshi University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences

The ability to take the course at any time allows students to learn at their own pace. In addition, Panopto allows us to see which parts of a video are being watched repeatedly, which gives the instructors a chance to ask, ‘Was this part difficult to understand? This also gives the teachers an opportunity to ask themselves, “Was this part difficult to understand? Because classes can be held from anywhere in the world, for example, teachers in remote locations can be invited as outside instructors. Panopto was introduced at short notice at Corona Disaster, but when we actually used it, we found that it enhanced the students’ learning even more than face-to-face classes.

Mr. Inaoka of the Information Planning Office also noted that the system has had a significant effect on the management side of the lifelong learning workshops. When we create video content, we sometimes contract with outside speakers to give lectures. Thanks to Panopto’s security features, we are able to conduct online classes without any problems.

Mr. Inaoka also commented on the efficiency of administrative procedures: “When we used to hold face-to-face classes, we had to set up the venue, man the reception desk, and collect course fees on the spot, which was a big workload for staff who were not accustomed to handling cash. Now, we are able to collect fees online by linking Panopto with our payment gateway system, which has greatly reduced the burden on our staff.

Helping to Reduce Regional Disparities in Lifelong Learning
Because of the high effectiveness of the system within the university, Panopto will also be used for training sessions for certified pharmacists starting in November 2022. Previously, several hundred participants gathered at the university for face-to-face sessions, but it was difficult for active pharmacists from distant locations to frequently travel to the Tokyo university, and they only had participants from the Kanto area, which is easily accessible. For those pharmacists who could not attend, the lectures were burned on DVD and sent to them, and they were asked to return the DVD after watching the lectures, but this was not a good solution because it required a lot of time and effort on the part of both the administration and the participants. Professor Tomoo Hosoe, head of the Lifelong Learning Support Office for Pharmacists, said, “There are pharmacists all over the country.

There are pharmacists all over the country, and they should be given equal opportunities for lifelong learning, but we have not been able to provide them with such opportunities. In such a situation, we started using Panopto, and the number of participants from Tokyo and three prefectures, which used to account for 100% of the participants, has increased to 70%, and the number of participants from rural areas has increased to 30%.

Furthermore, regarding the participants’ impression of the service, Professor Hosoe said, “We had used another video distribution service after we entered the Corona Disaster, but since the introduction of Panopto, the participants have given us a very good reputation. One person who actually attended a training session said, ‘The image quality has greatly improved with Panopto. The operation is intuitive and easy to use, with keyword searches and the ability to quickly jump to the slide they want to see. The high image quality of Panopto’s recordings is especially important when checking a patient’s condition, so the high image quality is a big help to us. I also notice that the processing is faster when recording with Panopto. It’s amazing how fast you can go to class and come home and it’s already uploaded to Panopto,” he says.

“There is a shortage of pharmacists in rural areas, and I think the fact that we were able to help those who were too busy to participate in the program and close the regional gap is a very significant effect of the introduction of the program.”
Dr. Tomoo Hosoe, Professor, Hoshi University of Pharmacy and Life-long Learning Support Office for Pharmacists

Future: Further Use of Panopto

Finding further ways to utilize Panopto
Recently, lecture videos distributed by the Lifelong Learning Support Office for Pharmacists are being shared with graduates of Hoshi University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences to be used as content for “re-learning. Hoshi University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences is making full use of Panopto’s high quality and highly secure performance in its efforts to nurture pharmacists with the latest medical knowledge and skills who can continue to improve their skills even after graduation. In addition to this, various other uses of Panopto are expected, and Mr. Inaoka of the Information Planning Office talks about future prospects.

Inaoka said, “In the introduction of Panopto, we built the system with the help of our vendor, Panasonic Connect Corporation, who made a variety of proposals. For example, we are considering using Panopto’s split-screen function to display a camera image of the teacher’s hands together with a video of the teacher’s hands, not only for classroom lectures but also for practical classes. The other day, we also tried using Panasonic Connect’s 360-degree camera with a speaker microphone in conjunction with Panopto to create dialogue content. The video following the speaker from start to finish was automatically recorded by Panopto, so we were able to create very high quality content without any hassle. As you can see, Panopto can be easily integrated with a variety of systems, and we expect that it will be possible to further expand its operation.