Echo360 Active Learning Platform Delivers Student Analytics With Insight on Student Activity, Participation and Engagement

DULLES, VA--(Marketwire - Mar 12, 2013) - Echo360, the global leader in campus-wide active and distance learning solutions, is announcing a product release that provides analytics for student activity before, during and after class. Data-rich summaries provide instructors intelligent insight on each student's participation, flags topics of difficulty and measures student engagement in and out of class. Ultimately, this data will guide instructor-led course adjustments and improve academic outcomes as teaching pedagogies change to respond to student cues in real time.

A recent study suggests that nearly 70 percent of queried campus departments consider "data and classroom analytics a major priority" (EduCause Center for Applied Research). Tools that support the collection of these measures are in high demand for higher education institutions, supporting the need for the student analytics found in Echo360.

"For centuries, exams were an instructor's only tool to determine a student's progress in a course. Learning issues that could be rectified often went unidentified until it was too late," said Fred Singer, CEO of Echo360. "With Student Analytics available in the Echo360 active learning solution, instructors can now examine student engagement and instantly respond to student feedback. Long term, this data can be used as predictors for academic success and retention."

Echo360 offers a complete suite of indicators that alert instructors to student-specific or class-wide issues before, during and after class. Student Analytics include in-class participation on polls, quizzes and note taking; video heat maps; bookmark reporting and discussion topics; presentation view counts and completion rates; and general consumption trends. These metrics are reported individually for student-based intervention or in aggregate for high-level, course-based analysis.

For real-time insight during a live class, a professor can deliver a quiz with Echo360's LectureTools to gauge engagement and understanding. If students report difficulty, an instructor can poll the class to ascertain issues and revisit material accordingly to ensure class-wide understanding. All responses are identified individually to the instructor but are anonymous to classmates. After each class, instructors receive a daily "report card" of in-class activities.

Echo360's lecture capture solution automates the recording and publishing of a classroom lesson and provides the instructor dashboards reporting the viewing habits of students. Instructors can review heat maps that indicate a specific segment of the lecture has been revisited heavily, which may alert them to retention difficulty. Similarly, reviewing bookmark and discussion activity may also indicate difficulty with material. Instructors who are flipping their course may assign recordings before face-to-face class time. Viewing analytic data will identify those students who have watched and are prepared for in-class discussions.

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.