Vince Petronio is a part-time professor for the Harrington School of Communication and Media here at URI. Vince started his teaching career in 1977 in Communication Studies, however from 1996 through 2005, Vince had also been the Manager of IT for the Feinstein Providence Campus and was a Program Coordinator for COM. He eventually came back to teaching full-time in January 2006 and maintained his role as Program Coordinator for COM at URI/FPC. Throughout his teaching career, he has taught many courses, including Interpersonal Communication, The Art of Storytelling, Orality in Ancient Greece, Orality in Ancient Rome and Directing Group Performance of Non-Dramatic Literature/Advanced Storytelling. Although now retired, Vince still teaches one of his courses, COM230: The Art of Storytelling as an online asynchronous course.

When teaching The Art of Storytelling, he had gone through three trials on what would work for his course over the years. During the pandemic, initially, with the shift to remote lectures, Vince had his students upload their performance videos to YouTube, setting the videos to “People with the link access.” The students would share these links with Vince, who would then share them within the Zoom call, facilitating a virtual classroom environment. In the second phase, despite a return to face-to-face classes, the necessity for masks posed a challenge for performances. Vince decided to retain the video submission format, where students recorded their performances and shared them in the classroom setting. The third trial involved transitioning to asynchronous classes, where Vince integrated Panopto. This platform allowed Vince to post his lectures through Panopto as well as have students submit their video presentation through Panopto, which gave him the opportunity to view student engagement through Panopto Analytics and make producing an asynchronous course a simpler process.

For Vince, Panopto became an invaluable resource in his course. Panopto is a versatile video platform designed to enhance the educational experience by seamlessly integrating into courses and facilitating the recording, management, and streaming of video content. Instructors can capture lectures, presentations, and demonstrations, ensuring students have access to learning materials. Panopto supports interactive features such as quizzes and discussion prompts within videos, promoting active learning and engagement. The platform’s advanced search functionality allows users to find specific content within videos, making it easier for students to review and study key concepts. Its integration with learning management systems enables streamlined access and distribution of content, making it a powerful tool for both in-person and online courses. Panopto’s robust tracking features and analytics provide valuable insights into student engagement and performance, helping educators tailor their instruction and improve learning outcomes. Additionally, Panopto includes tools for closed captioning and a built-in editor for making adjustments to recordings before publishing. It also supports student video submissions, enabling a comprehensive view of class participation and engagement.

Within Vince’s course of The Art of Storytelling, he effectively utilizes Panopto to evaluate student engagement and performance analysis. He leverages Panopto’s comprehensive analytics function to monitor student interactions with both lectures and critiques of student performances. By tracking detailed metrics, such as the duration and frequency of video views, Vince can incorporate these insights into the graded rubric, ensuring students are held accountable for their engagement. Students submit their performance videos through Panopto, allowing Vince to seamlessly integrate these submissions into Brightspace for easy access. Panopto tracks whether students watch the entire lecture, providing Vince with data on who watched, when they watched, and how much they watched. This information is recorded in a spreadsheet, offering a clear overview of class participation and engagement. This tool enables professors to monitor student activity comprehensively, ensuring that all students are staying on track with their coursework. Furthermore, Panopto’s closed captioning feature enhances accessibility, ensuring that all students, regardless of hearing ability, can benefit from the course content. Additionally, this closed captioning feature can allow viewers to watch the videos even if they are in a noisy environment or are working in a quiet zone. Through these functionalities, Vince can maintain a high level of interaction and accountability in his course, even in an online, asynchronous setting.

Panopto offers several significant advantages for both instructors and students. One of the primary benefits is its ability to track whether students have watched entire lectures, providing instructors with valuable insights into student engagement. The platform also generates spreadsheets that document who has watched the videos, which can be particularly useful for keeping track of participation and engagement. Professors have used Panopto for gathering statistics on student viewing habits, including when and how much of the videos students watched. This detailed tracking can help identify students who may need additional support or encouragement. Furthermore, Panopto supports closed captioning and video editing, enhancing accessibility and allowing instructors to create polished and professional lecture recordings. However, there are some drawbacks to using Panopto. At least one student reported issues with video playback due to Wi-Fi bandwidth problems, which can be a significant barrier to accessing the content. Additionally, for accurate statistics tracking, both instructors and students need to be logged into Panopto, which may not always be feasible. Finally, there is some uncertainty regarding the accuracy of the statistics tracking, making it difficult to rely entirely on this data for assessing student engagement. Despite these challenges, Panopto remains a valuable tool for enhancing the online learning experience.

Student Experience & Feedback

Students have reported positive feedback and experiences using Panopto in Vince Petronio’s course. The platform fosters increased engagement by placing responsibility on the students, requiring them to focus more intently on lectures and performances. This has proven especially beneficial for those with performance anxiety or nerves when speaking in a group setting, as they can record their submissions in a more comfortable environment. Many students appreciate the ease of use, as they only need to upload their videos to Panopto and submit the link in Brightspace. However, some students have encountered challenges with the sharing options within Panopto, needing to ensure they select the proper settings to make their videos viewable. Despite this minor issue, the overall student experience with Panopto has been overwhelmingly positive, with many finding it a convenient and effective tool for their coursework.