Echo360 Teams Up With Instructional Design Firm iDesign to Support Faculty With Transition to Active Learning

New Partnership Pairs Technology Platform With Hands-on Support to Help Faculty Implement Modalities to Better Engage Students


RESTON, VA--(Marketwired - June 02, 2016) - Echo360 announced today that it has selected instructional design firm, iDesign, to support the implementation of a technology platform that helps faculty apply active learning techniques to improve student engagement.

"Technology alone won't engage students or transform the classroom," said Perry Samson, head of teaching innovation at Echo360. "Evidence-based instructional design is paramount. Great instructional designers armed with analytics can play a powerful role in guiding faculty through pedagogical shifts that maximize the potential of classroom technologies and data."

Active learning engages students in activities, such as reading, writing, discussion, or problem solving that promote analysis, synthesis, and evaluation of class content before, during, and after class. Echo360 is used by over three million college students to take time-synched lecture notes, ask questions in class, revisit lecture content, flag areas of confusion, and collaborate with peers and faculty during and after class. Faculty use the platform to see real-time data on student behavior to identify challenges early, and inform and adapt their instructional strategy.

iDesign brings deep instructional design expertise and a hands-on approach to guide faculty through the implementation of new pedagogical practices that utilize technology, such as online, flipped, or blended classrooms. The data captured through implementation of active learning is both instructionally relevant and used to inform predictive analytics for colleges and universities looking for risk indicators -- and better predictors of student success.

"Our focus is on designing the ultimate student-centered learning experience with faculty," says Paxton Riter, chief executive officer of iDesign. "When faculty feel comfortable, informed, and equipped with the right design support, they can make the best use of the toolsets and data, allowing the technology to fulfill its promise."

About iDesign
iDesign partners with universities to build, grow and support online and blended courses and program offerings. We are passionate about helping faculty harness the potential of emerging technologies to design courses and degrees that make an impact, whether they are fully online, flipped, adaptive, blended or competency-based. From statewide university systems to private colleges, our custom solutions pair instructional design with technologies to enable great teaching. For more information, please visit www.idesignedu.org.

About Echo360
Echo360 believes that improved outcomes start with great moments in the classroom. Developed by educators, Echo360 helps instructors capture and extend those moments to improve student engagement before, during and after class. Through the Echo360 active learning platform, students have 24/7 access to classroom discussion, presentation materials, and the lecture itself. We generate data that helps instructors and institutions identify problems early and take action. Today, Echo360 technologies are used by over 3 million students in 8,000 classrooms at 600 institutions across 30 countries. Echo360 is backed by Revolution Growth led by Steve Case, Ted Leonsis and Donn Davis. For more information, visit: www.Echo360.com.

Contact Information:

Media Contact:
Natalia Garcia

202-739-1322