Pitt Business e-newsletter Issue 13, January 2009
Technology Upgrades Executive MBA Experience
Technology offerings at the Executive MBA (EMBA) Pittsburgh Program just expanded! In the fall 2008 term, an online resource known as Mediasite was incorporated to provide students with audio and video recordings for EMBA classes.
Cameras are affixed to the back walls of two EMBA classrooms in Alumni Hall and faculty teaching in the classrooms wear a lavaliere microphone to capture the instruction presented to students. Professors are also able to utilize the document projector to work out calculations and illustrate problems, which, like the classroom recording and any PowerPoint slides presented, are made available for students to view in Mediasite mere minutes after a class concludes.
Previously, only audio recordings of EMBA classes were available to students. Having the audio and video recording available has been well received by EMBA students including Chandra Jay, plant quality assurance manager for Dymax Corporation. "The video recordings help me to better understand and gain insight into key aspects of the lecture," Jay says. "It also serves as a reemphasizing tool that can be accessed 24/7 without leaving my desk!"
The class recordings are a great supplement in the event that a student misses a class or they would like to revisit something covered during a lecture. Mediasite recordings also enable students who may be traveling, those who live outside of the Pittsburgh region, or who are otherwise unable to attend to get information covered during midweek review sessions.
"Top business schools are advancing their offerings with Mediasite. This technology will improve students' overall learning while participating in the EMBA program," says Associate Director for the Center for Executive Education Sharon Bindas, who managed the Mediasite implementation. "Although we are currently using Mediasite only for automatic lecture capture, we look forward to using this as a foundation for other rich media applications on campus."
