University of Leeds

Challenge

In years past, the UK’s University of Leeds, one of the world’s top 100 universities according to QS World University Rankings, captured lectures on a limited scale. But it sought to create a larger initiative with a single video platform that integrates with its Blackboard learning management system.

Solution

In the fall of 2014, the university selected Mediasite by Sonic Foundry to build the largest end-to-end automated and integrated lecture capture and multimedia management installation in the world.

Mediasite captures and manages the audio and visual content in teaching rooms for students to watch live or on-demand within the university’s virtual learning environment. In addition, My Mediasite, gives faculty and students the ability to create and share presentations from desktops or mobile devices.

The University captures rich video recordings of lectures and other teaching activities with Mediasite, giving students a flexible and personalized approach to learning. Mediasite Video Platform ensures all content will be searchable, secure and managed in one place.

“This is a significant investment which will transform teaching and learning here at Leeds,” said Professor Neil Morris, Director of Digital Learning at the University of Leeds. “Not only can we capture all our audio and video assets, but Mediasite will allow us to store, manage and publish content across multiple channels. We are unique in having a digital strategy that encompasses all of these elements.”

Results

The University invested more than $3 million for their lecture capture initiative that is deployed in more than 250 rooms. Since Fall 2014, faculty have used Mediasite to create more than 72,000 academic video recordings that receive over 1 million views each year. The initiative catapulted the university into a digital campus and had immediate and sustained positive impact on teaching and learning.

The Times and Sunday Times’ Good University Guide named the University of Leeds ‘University of the Year 2017’ for outstanding teaching quality, student experience, quality research and graduate prospects.

“We know our students learn in different ways, so as well as attending lectures, this gives them the opportunity to engage with the materials wherever they may be and at their own pace. Whether that’s going over topics that are particularly complex or using recordings to help with revision, this new system will provide over 30,000 students with outstanding resources to support their learning,” Morris said.

“Our digital strategy gives Leeds a distinctive advantage and a competitive edge when it comes to enhancing the student experience,” said Professor Tom Ward, Deputy Chancellor for Student Education. “As well as meeting the needs and expectations of our students, it also offers our staff the chance to develop new teaching methods, from supplementing their activities which richer online course content to using valuable contact time for more interaction and problem based learning.”