Tegrity
Technology continues to allow the classroom to evolve. O'Reilly's description of Web 2.0 includes things like cost -effective scalability of the product, software above a single device, etc. Lecture capture software can take the lecture outside of the traditional classroom. Lectures can easily be video-recorded or screen capture can be used with audio over the presentation. Students can sit in the comfort of their homes and listen to a lecture or bring it with them on their mobile device while they sit in a line of cars to pick up their kids. This type of technology is especially helpful in online classes, hybrid classes, or when "flipping the classroom so class time can be used for promoting higher order thinking skills. In this article, I will review Tegrity, a lecture capture software owned by McGraw-Hill.
Tegrity is a web-based lecture capture software that automatically downloads the first time it is used. It is subscription-based. A major downfall of the product is its price. There are two different pricing models used - one that is based on the number of hours of recording and one that is based on the number of full-time equivalent students using the product at an institution. My own experience with this product is that we negotiated the use of Tegrity into our purchase of McGrawHill materials. The cost-effectiveness of the scalability will really depend on the package or deal you have with McGraw-Hill.
One of the benefits of this product includes the ability to integrate it with a learning management system such as Blackboard. Lectures can be indexed, content can be linked to the lecture, and students can subscribe to the course on an RSS feed or as a podcast. It intimately connects the student to the classroom from anywhere. When put into a learning management system, students can view the videos and interact further in discussion posts, quizzes can be given online, and grading of the interactions can occur very easily. Interaction with the instructor can occur directly within Tegrity through chat. Students can also take notes while viewing or listening to the lecture in Tegrity. Instructors can add notes as well. Tegrity does not have to be integrated within a learning management system. It is easily found by students in a course the instructor creates in the McGrawHill Connect website. The course is set up as a private link for students to work within.
I have included another Blog review
to provide other user opinions on this product as well.
I could envision this technology making snow days obsolete in my area. We often have a day or two of classes that are missed due to inclement weather. Utilizing this technology to keep the lecture schedule on track would be another great use of this tool.
There are so many new tools in the technology toolbox for higher education. I would love to explore more of these tools in the future.
Thank you for this review Julia. This appears to be quite a useful product that more educators need to become familiar with. As more and more teachers begin to introduce the concept of the flipped classroom into their work, my guess is that further refinements will be made and that more competitors will enter the market. That should eventually drive down the price that you mentioned as a current hurdle. It certainly does appear to be an especially useful product for those schools that anticipate extensive weather closings. Likewise, it appears that it would be a valuable tool for those teachers who are considering moving toward a strictly online instructional format. Am I correct in this assumption? Do you have any experience in using the product in this fashion? I would like to hear more about it if you do.
ReplyDeleteI also find it instructive that Tegrity is bundled with a textbook publisher's products. As a teacher who came of age when secondary schooling was solely driven by the content of material in a textbook, I watch in amazement as the number of tools and resources available to teachers expands exponentially. One challenge that faces all teachers today is to determine how to use these tools in a way that is efficient and most useful with instructional time. I know that is not an easy puzzle to figure out but I admire those who are experimenting with these new tools and hope that the proper combination will eventually lead to better instruction for all of our students.
I haven't used Tegrity myself yet, but have several faculty in my department that use it and love it. They have used it to provide supplemental instruction for a course on a difficult topic to understand. I think it could be a wonderful tool for the online format that we are just beginning to implement more. I hope to play with is a bit over the summer so I can try a few experiments with it this fall.
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DeleteNice review, Julie. While not Tegrity, I use a similar product - Camtasia - to create the short videos for this class. One of the big issues with any screencast is keeping it short. Few students will sit through a 50 minute lecture on a computer screen. None of us are Steven Spielberg! Crafting a series of connected short videos tends to work better.
DeleteThank you for the advice! I'm looking forward to trying this. I had a class of students this past spring that pushed me into YouTube. We videotaped each of our dissections. We made a class learning project. I learned how to post to YouTube and they learned to use it. It really helped with their grades on that part of the lab exams. I hope to make similar strides with lecture capture tools.
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