Overview

UMASS Lowell faculty has actively experimented with emerging technology to enhance their teaching effectiveness for over a decade. When the Department of Mathematical Sciences sought ways to improve the placement and performance of Pre-Calculus and Calculus students, they turned to lecture capture technology to help students master difficult quantitative concepts.

Increased Enrollment Triggers Change

For many years UMASS Lowell found that using standardized test scores resulted in a large number of students being placed in Pre-Calculus that should have been in Calculus 1. A new placement system led to a significant increase in Calculus I enrollments, making it impossible for the department to continue to teach in small classes and mandating a move to a large lecture format. Since this increased both the pace of the course and the professor-student ratio, the university decided to give students the advantage of 24x7 access to lecture material.

After researching many solutions, UMASS Lowell selected the EchoSystem for their lecture capture initiative. The EchoSystem gives UMASS Lowell the ability to offer rich media lectures as a Web-based learning complement to traditional education.

Because the EchoSystem can be scheduled to start and stop automatically, Calculus 1 professors can to present their lectures without being burdened to operate a system or change the way they teach.

Immediately after class, Calculus students are able to review a rich media version of their lecture through UMass Lowell's website. The interactive, indexed lecture plays back the voice and video of their instructor synchronized with full motion formulas, equations and other course visuals presented during class, giving students the flexibility to replay particularly difficult topics to improve their understanding of the material at their own pace.

Improving Comprehension and Success Rates

The EchoSystem was initially installed in two large lecture halls. After a year of offering online lecture review via the EchoSystem, UMASS Lowell conducted a survey that found that 72% of students said that the Echo³⁶⁰ lectures had contributed to their understanding of the subject matter. Later studies of Echo³⁶⁰-enhanced classes showed that the impact on grades was even more striking. Students in Echo³⁶⁰-enhanced Calculus courses had a success rate (a grade of C or better) 11 percent higher than their peers, and received 10 percent fewer Ds, Fs, or withdrawals.

"Calculus 1 students overwhelmingly credited the ability to review EchoSystem lectures as playing a role in improving their understanding of calculus concepts," said Professor Ron Brent, department of mathematical sciences, UMASS Lowell. "The data indicates that EchoSystem lectures have played a part in better preparing students for Calculus 2, a prerequisite for succeeding in advanced engineering and other hard science majors."

The school observed a similar spike in comprehension when Echo³⁶⁰ lectures were added to its nationally renowned Green Chemistry classes. "Echo³⁶⁰ has a transformational effect on my students who've historically been in the bottom half of the Green Chemistry grading curve of 40% or less," said John Warner, director UMASS Lowell Center for Green Chemistry. "They use Echo³⁶⁰ to increase their understanding of the concepts and once they do, they achieve better grades and begin to believe in themselves. I can literally see it in their eyes; it lights a passion in them for the subject matter."

Distance Learning, Tutorials and More

"With such promising results, we plan to enhance a wide range of our offerings with rich media – including our continuing education and distance learning programs," said Mike Lucas, UMASS Lowell coordinator of distance learning. "Since these can all be scheduled, captured and managed centrally, we can literally create a vast library of online learning assets and pursue new publishing opportunities within the greater higher education community without adding staff or making significant technology investments."