Transforming teaching methods with a self-serve video studio
UCLouvain is dedicated to providing quality education, accessible to everyone, and fostering innovation. The university serves nearly 40,000 students across a variety of disciplines, spread over eight locations in Brussels and Wallonia. The main campus is located in Louvain-la-Neuve, a city established in the 1970s.
An increasing number of MOOCs
The Louvain Learning Lab, previously known as the Institut Pédagogique Multimédia, aims to help teaching staff transform their pedagogical methods, with a focus on student success. The Lab provides equipment for creating MOOCs, with support from its team of advisers and a videographer, as well as kits so that staff can film independently with a smartphone or tablet. However, given the extensive editing and post-production required for these videos, coupled with the increasing volume of lessons and clips, the need for a more autonomous and time-efficient solution became clear.
Users
Lecturers, researchers, assistants
Primarily the 19 departments, the research institutes and also the marketing and support services
Language teachers
Learning centers
Maximum output, minimal time
Out of all the digital tools available to teachers, the Rapidmooc video studio has made a name for itself thanks to its intuitive design. It’s easy-to-use interface lets users start recording straight away and whenever needed, simply by booking a time slot.
The video studio has empowered the university to use videos in all sorts of ways:
- Summary lessons (average length: 15 minutes)
- Visual presentations on environmental risks and sustainable development issues (inspired by weather presentations, featuring animated maps)
- Promotion of research projects and updates on progress
- Onboarding new students with sequential presentations by teachers
- Interactive curriculum introductions designed to be fun and engaging
- Audio content creation for language teachers
This saves users a significant amount of time:
- A 2-hour filming session can produce several ready-to-use clips
- Progressive fade effects allow seamless video transitions during recording (enabling up to 10 teachers to record a video together, speaking in sequence or groups)
- One teacher, who used to record at home, now enjoys his weekends as video creation time has been halved
- Questions asked in class can now be addressed in dedicated videos, enhancing post-lecture engagement
Benefits
Video ready to use immediately after recording
Independence and freedom
More creativity thanks to video effects
Built-in customisable teleprompter
Key figures
150+ regular users
10-15 minute videos (sometimes shorter)
Over 10 lecturers in a single group recording session
480+ videos recorded in total
The next steps
The current recording room, measuring 3m x 2m, is only just big enough for the studio, green screen, and acoustic panels. With plans to transform the library into a learning center and the growing need to make digital tools more accessible, UCLouvain is considering adding new studios to its facilities in the near future.
By using the Rapidmooc studio, the university can develop course materials tailored to modern teaching and learning methods. The next steps involve gathering inspiring models and content and exploring the new built-in AI features, allowing teachers to be even more creative in scripting and producing their lessons.
Acknowledgements
Pascal Vangrunderbeeck
Digital Pedagogical Advisor at the Louvain Learning Lab
Manuela Guisset
Pedagogical Advisor for Digital Learning, Techno-Pedagogical Engineering Trainer, and Facilitator