Limitless Learning at The College of Saint Rose
Educators at The College of Saint Rose were struggling to find the right methods to address classroom disruptions. Learn how Christine Paige, manager of technology integration, implemented a solution so professors could consistently communicate with students regardless of life’s twists and turns.
Limits to Communication
A pressing issue the staff at Saint Rose encountered was trying to scale down lectures to meet the needs of individuals who were having common problems with a lesson topic. Students having difficulty in a subject isn’t anything new, but working with numerous struggling individuals in a large lecture is much harder.
What it all boiled down to was one simple question: How can teachers reach students outside of the classroom in an easy, effective, and time-efficient manner?
Exploring the World of Screen Recording
Christine Paige is the manager of technology integration and Resource Center at Saint Rose College. As an educational technologist, Christine is responsible for integrating technology into the classrooms of faculty members.
Christine stumbled upon TechSmith Knowmia (formerly TechSmith Relay) while researching solutions to the challenges that she and her colleagues faced. Once she realized the potential screen recording products had, Paige immediately began recommending TechSmith Knowmia to members of the Saint Rose College staff.
“I had a faculty member call me and let me know he was stuck in another state due to weather trouble and that he couldn’t make it to class for the start of the semester,” Christine recalls. She directed him to TechSmith Knowmia so he could record his lessons on his personal computer and have them posted for students on class day.
That same professor is now a huge advocate for TechSmith Knowmia and encourages other teachers to try it. “He had such a good experience with it, and it just sort of spun from there,” said Paige.
“It’s not cutting into the day. Previously, instructors would have to go to our media center and do the recordings there,” said Christine. “Teachers can spend a few minutes doing a recording from their laptop, and then move on with their day.”
TechSmith Knowmia allowed the faculty of Saint Rose College to record exercises for students to watch at home on their own time, giving them the ability to go back and re-watch parts that confused them.
”I could do a lot more with my online courses too,” said Christine. “Doing introductions to each topic and then elaborating further for students to review saved me time in class, which I could then devote to other learning opportunities for the students.”
In an online community, losing face-to-face time can sometimes hinder a student’s ability to do well. But according to Christine, having online lectures posted really made a lasting impression.
Incorporating Video into the Classroom
The response from faculty members and students at Saint Rose College has been very positive. The staff caught on quickly, and soon even the less tech savvy teachers were using TechSmith Knowmia in their daily routines.
“We have some pretty technophobic staff members, but once they get started they see the simplicity of the product,” Christine states. “All it took was showing them how easy it is to use TechSmith Knowmia and walking them through the process.”
The results in the classroom speak for themselves. By giving students the ability to view videos at home, they have become more active in the classroom. According to Christine, students have responded very positively to TechSmith Knowmia, and their responses in course evaluations show they are recognizing the improvements they’ve been making.
Christine notes, “We surveyed the faculty, and the stats are amazing.” In only two years, the faculty has produced the same number of videos as they did in the entire decade before Saint Rose adopted TechSmith Knowmia.
“It really shows that people are using the product and they are loving it,” said Paige. “The selling point is that you can do all the recordings yourself with hardly any effort involved.”
With a lot of passion and a little help from TechSmith Knowmia, Christine Paige and the faculty of Saint Rose College are on the forefront of technology in education. And together, they’re improving the educational experience one classroom at a time.