University of Toronto Selects Echo360 as Sole Active Learning Supplier

DULLES, VA--(Marketwire - Mar 26, 2013) - Echo360, the global leader in campus-wide active and distance learning solutions, announced that the University of Toronto has selected the Echo360 as a university standard for lecture capture. After a rigorous selection process, University of Toronto opted for Echo360 due to its ease of use for both instructors and administrators. Academics now have a fulsome solution to create and capture instructional content both inside and outside the classroom. System administrators leverage the Echo360's centralized management capabilities to easily control a large deployment across the university campus.

Instructors in faculties across the university have the ability to record content using Echo360 to flip the classroom or provide students with additional study aids after class. In one example, the solution is being used to address rising enrollment for popular engineering courses. As demand for the alternative energy systems course increased, the department needed to offer additional seats in the course without teaching it more than once per term. The instructor moved the course online, allowing the university to increase enrollment from approximately 50 students to more than 140 each semester. Class sessions are recorded and students watch where and when it is convenient for them. Recordings serve as dynamic responses to common questions -- creating virtual, video-based office hours.

"Students highly value the independence offered by scheduling their own time to attend class online," said Dr. Jim Wallace, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto. "When students ask questions, I can create audio and video tutorials using Echo360 with illustrations that demonstrate the answer. It is an efficient way to serve a large, online student body and provide a more effective answer than an email."

Echo360 was selected as the campus-wide standard because it supported a variety of capture use cases. Instructors in dentistry, health sciences, arts, education, information sciences and business programs have the option to record content both inside and outside the classroom while administrators easily manage a single solution across the university.

"We tested numerous products but our selection committee chose Echo360 because it met the most needs for the University of Toronto," said Dr. Avi Hyman, Director of Academic and Collaborative Technology at the University of Toronto. "Echo360 delivers the diversity of capture options required by our academics, while providing a manageable, unified system for our technical staff."

"University of Toronto exemplifies how the savvy use of technology addresses challenges like rising enrollments," said Fred Singer, CEO of Echo360. "We're thrilled that a leader like the University of Toronto has put their trust in Echo360."

About Echo360

More than one million students in 6,000 classrooms at 500 institutions in 30 countries rely on Echo360 active learning technology to enhance their educational experience before, during and after class. Developed for educators by educators, Echo360 increases in-class participation with digital polling, provides a rich out-of-class experience by recording and sharing course instruction, and delivers deep usage analytics to help instructors gauge student progress in a course. Students watch, collaborate and participate on smartphones, tablets and laptops, wherever, whenever they choose. Echo360 was recognized with the Product Line Strategy of the Year Award from Frost & Sullivan, is CSIA-certified for outstanding customer service, and was named a Visionary Vendor in Educational Technology by IT research firm Basex. Echo360 is backed by Revolution Growth led by Steve Case, Ted Leonsis and Donn Davis.