Case study
How ArtCenter College of Design Scaled the YuJa Enterprise Video Platform to Support Online Learning
Researching Video Solutions
The Search for a Dynamic, Easy-to-Use Video Platform
When the renowned ArtCenter College of Design began creating ArtCenter Online, an immersive, online learning experience for applied art and design education, department leaders began their search for streaming platforms that could host video for courses as they were developed. Located in Pasadena, California, ArtCenter College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. The college has an enrollment of approximately 2,335 students representing more than 40 countries. It offers 11 undergraduate and seven graduate degree programs in an array of programs.
18
Degree Programs
2,335
Enrollment
1930
Founded
40+
Country Representation
Traditionally, ArtCenter classes were exclusively held in person. “Art and design can be hard to teach online or through video,” explained Kevin Lipnos, Director of Media Production for ArtCenter Online. With that in mind, when he and a colleague began researching video platforms, they had a rubric to compare capabilities and features in everything from ease of use to security, closed captioning, video storage and more. YuJa was one of 12 companies and platforms Lipnos demoed.
Not only did the college want a platform that could be used for ArtCenter Online, but it had hopes that their chosen solution could be integrated into the rest of the college later. The goal was for the new online program to pilot and collect statistical data that could be used down the road. “When we demoed YuJa, we saw that it was everything we needed and more,” Lipnos said. “YuJa is the unicorn of video platforms — something like this only comes once in a lifetime.” Ultimately, selecting YuJa as its enterprise video platform was an easy decision, Lipnos shared.
About the Client
About ArtCenter College of Design
Located in Pasadena, California, ArtCenter College of Design is a global leader in art and design education. The college has an enrollment of approximately 2,335 students representing more than 40 countries. It offers 11 undergraduate and seven graduate degree programs in an array of programs.
“YuJa is the unicorn of video platforms — something like this only comes once in a lifetime.”
Use Cases
Enterprise Video Platform Benefits Students and Instructors
YuJa’s multi-camera recording and video player have been critical to a successful online program. Because art and design often require three-dimensional visuals, the ability to record from a number of angles was a big draw for ArtCenter. “We wanted to showcase different angles of someone drawing and sketching, which is crucial in providing an experience similar to in-class instruction,” Lipnos remarked, noting that not having to crowd around the instructor to see different views has benefitted students taking online courses.
Instructors have enjoyed the ability to store and secure videos, as well as the analytics provided. Teachers can verify that a video has been watched in its entirety, and can easily caption and embed videos all from a single platform, rather than creating a video, downloading and editing all in separate software. “If instructors need to change something, they can edit without creating another link, interrupting students or creating other issues down the line,” Lipnos shared. “YuJa has been a great tool for us to be able to build online courses that are as close to being inside a room as possible with the multi-stream video player and capturing features. Having multiple features in a single platform makes everything quicker and easier to use for instructors and students alike and has been key running smoothly, especially during the pandemic.”
Expanding Use
Pandemic Accelerated Scaling of YuJa at ArtCenter
When the pandemic halted in-person classes, Lipnos said YuJa was “a lifesaver” for ArtCenter. “With YuJa, we had a tool in house that we could deploy quickly for instructors to upload and store files for their classes,” Lipnos remarked. “While we couldn’t have planned for the pandemic, we had planned for a scenario in which we expanded the use of YuJa throughout the college.”
As the pandemic continued, the college saw a need for storage of videos instructors were creating. Lipnos stepped in to work with instructors who wanted to use the features YuJa offers. “As people saw what YuJa could do, it became a tool the school could use to replace a number of other platforms,” Lipnos said. Instead of patchworking together several tools to record, edit and store videos and other content, instructors could now do everything in one place. ArtCenter does not mandate what platform a department uses to teach courses. Still, more than 50% of instructors use YuJa in some capacity and several departments use it exclusively. Lipnos said that as the college returns to normal operations, more instructors are likely to start exploring everything YuJa has to offer.
“Instructors are taking advantage of screen capture, recording and captioning built into YuJa, especially during the pandemic.”
Integration
Separate Zones Cater to Various Needs
Because each group has specific needs and uses, ArtCenter has two “zones,” including one for ArtCenter Online and the other for matriculated students. The two each have different learning management systems and sign-in procedures that had to be considered. “We were essentially doing two different integrations at the same time, and being able to do that under one account is amazing,” Lipnos remarked. Now, YuJa is integrated both with Moodle and an in-house LMS ArtCenter Online utilizes, as well as with the Single-Sign-On (SSO) system used at the college.
“YuJa has been alongside us every step of the way,” Lipnos commented. “The support we have received has been top-notch.” Lipnos added that during the launch and integration, YuJa staff were part of the team. But the support didn’t stop once the platform was deployed. “Every person we interface with has been so helpful in explaining things as we continue to learn and use YuJa’s tools.”
“Every person we interface with has been so helpful in explaining things as we continue to learn and use YuJa’s tools.”
Highlights
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ArtCenter College of Design selected YuJa’s Enterprise Video Platform from a field of 12 competitors, as it was the only platform that checked every requirement and could meet future needs as online offerings grow.
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Separate zones were created to support the needs of both ArtCenter Online and the matriculated students.
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Multi-camera recording and a dynamic, easy-to-use video player have set the stage for success for both matriculated and ArtCenter Online students.
“YuJa has been a great tool for us to be able to build online courses that are as close to being inside a room as possible with the multi-stream video player and capturing features. Having multiple features in a single platform makes everything quicker and easier to use for instructors and students alike, and has been key running smoothly, especially during the pandemic.”
Kevin Lipnos, Director of Media Production for ArtCenter Online.
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