Panopto Conference 2019

Last week was the annual Panopto conference at 30 Euston Square, London. There was lots to enjoy including some great freebies, very tasty food and a fun drinks reception but the main video-related notable moments were as follows…

Updates on Panopto –  Eric Burns’ (CEO of Panopto) opening keynote and Tim Sullivan’s (VP of engineering at Panopto) roadmap both offered some insights into what is on the horizon. The biggest change is a move from recording through the client app to the browser – “friction-free video recording for all, on multiple devices and with a single workflow”.

Eric Burns opens the day

Other improvements will include better integration with Moodle, better analytics, easier ability to reuse content (rolling over videos for modules), more intelligent use of permissions, further work on captioning and better Zoom integration.

Tim Sullivan on content reuse and embeds

Case studies – Some of the best ideas from case studies include the Panopto champions at the University of Southampton – student course reps who offered support to staff and students.

A great session from Anna Madeley (Lecturer in midwifery at the University Bedfordshire) on Panopto and skills and scenario training. They use the quiz function alongside an algorythm so students can only complete the task if they have completed certain activities.

Midwife quizzes by Anna Madeley

Research – On attendance by Olaf Spittaels and Dries Vanacker (Artvelde University of applied science). They found there is little impact on attendance but the recency effect (reusing lecture videos before exams) can contribute to improved results, especially for struggling students. Into the best approaches for accessibility in the Alistair McNaught led panel session.

The panel on accessibility: Ros Walker, Jo Lisney, Rachel Hayes and Alistair McNaught

Other – Gilly Salmon’s questions on “what if education 4.0 became video first” – she had us consider the potential of binge watching for lecture capture videos. There was consensus on Twitter that it might not be the best idea as video may work best when bite-sized and learning tends to work best when active rather than passive. Jo Lisney from the University of Southampton’s SU – talking about what students want – and they want video!