Case study
How Red Rocks Community College Expanded Use of YuJa Beyond the Classroom
Systemwide RFP
Red Rocks Community College Opted In to System Wide Solution
Red Rocks Community College is one of 14 unique colleges in the Colorado Community College System. The system was seeking an enterprise video platform that would enable lecture capture and storage that wasn’t cost prohibitive.
A selection committee submitted a comprehensive RFP that outlined the system’s needs, and YuJa was selected for its robust set of features, including lecture capture, auto captioning, media management, accessibility features, as well as compliance to standards such as WCAG 2.0.
Each college in the system was able to opt in to using the Video Platform, and Red Rock Community College implemented YuJa in 2018. “YuJa has been a great addition to our technology toolkit,” said Jon Johnson, Dean of Digital Learning for Red Rocks Online.
150
Programs
14,000+
Students
1969
Founded
2
Campuses
“YuJa has been a great addition to our technology toolkit.”
About the Client
About Red Rocks Community College
Located at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Lakewood, Colorado, Red Rocks Community College (RRCC) offers more than 150 programs and 650 courses leading to two-year degrees or professional certificates. Part of the Colorado Community College System, RRCC has campuses in Lakewood and Arvada.
Use Cases
YuJa is Used Extensively Throughout the College
Instructors at Red Rock Community College are using the YuJa Video Platform “extensively,” Johnson said, noting that teachers use it as a communication tool. “What we encourage for all courses, whether they’re online, face-to-face or hybrid, is that instructors create a walkthrough of the LMS,” Johnson shared, adding that the college uses D2L. “They can create a welcome video and show students how to navigate to the syllabus, where to find course videos, and other important content they’ll need for class.”
Deans at the institution also use YuJa to communicate throughout their departments. An instructor himself, Johnson uses the Video Platform to create weekly summary videos to keep students up to date on the happenings of his class.
Johnson also said he enjoys inserting “Easter eggs” in his videos as a way to create engagement in his discussion forums. Hiding a message, image, or feature and challenging students to find it and post in the discussion forum has been an enjoyable addition to his courses. “Video is so much more powerful than just a visual,” he stated. “It connects students in another way, adding a personal touch through rich media.”
Unique Use Case
Students Use YuJa to Broadcast Radio Station
Red Rocks has adopted Yuja across the campus with innovative results, including the development of a college-wide radio station. Karen Neville, Director of Library Services and Sara Fall, English faculty wanted to create a radio station that would “stream diverse content produced by students, staff, and faculty that informs, entertains, and provokes, serving Red Rocks Community College and beyond.”
Students, staff and instructors all work together to produce radio shows for the campus internet radio station, Radio Red Rocks. Students pitch story ideas – from those on art, to campus updates, ask a professor, and more – and then are coached through the process of refining their focus and taught the basic technical skills they need to get their story on the air. Neville lauded the flexibility of using YuJa to meet a variety of needs. “YuJa not only supports our stream of live and pre-recorded content, but it also enables us to host our archive of past shows,” she noted.
“When we adopted YuJa, we had no idea the students would develop a radio station and use this technology to stream to the college community, which was well out of the scope of expectations,” Johnson added. “They expanded the usage of technology to meet their needs in an innovative way. It’s a great success story.”
Moving Online
YuJa Helped Instructors Maintain Connection to Students During the Pandemic
When the pandemic forced all classes to become remote, YuJa was critical to the continuation of lectures. Not only did it allow students to attend class, but it enabled instructors to stay connected in a more meaningful way. “Faculty members were the students’ connection to the college,” Johnson remarked. “The campus was closed, but instructors still wanted to have a personal touch.”
Many instructors used Zoom to connect, and then imported their recordings to YuJa, as well as created lectures, recorded powerpoints and used the whiteboard to demonstrate skills. Recording adds a layer of explanation to complex topics. “If I can create a YuJa video of a complex multi-step process, like installing and setting up a CMS, this adds a rich visual process critical for student learning and success,” Johnson explained. “Video recordings are a much better medium than printed instructions for complex tasks, and they add immense value for online, face-to-face and hyflex courses.”
“They can create a welcome video and show students how to navigate to the syllabus, where to find course videos, and other important content they’ll need for class.”
Training and Support
RRCC Uses YuJa Training and Support
YuJa is consistently adding and updating features to support users and their needs. Johnson said YuJa’s training is a big differentiator among technology companies. “I cannot express how appreciative we’ve been that YuJa provides training. They have done presentations at our summer institute, Teaching With Technology, and we’ve had numerous other training sessions. Very few companies offer this type of support,” Johnson stated.
Johnson said that over the years, continuous feature updates have made YuJa even more useful for both instructors and students. The institution also has requested updates, which Johnson said the YuJa team has been responsive to. “Thank you for listening and providing updates,” he concluded. “We love the support.”
I cannot express how appreciative we’ve been that YuJa provides training. They have done presentations at our summer institute, Teaching With Technology, and we’ve had numerous other training sessions. Very few companies offer this type of support.”
Highlights
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02.
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Red Rocks Community College is part of the Colorado Community College System, which selected YuJa as a systemwide Video Platform.
02.
Students and instructors use YuJa to broadcast their online radio station, Radio Red Rocks.
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Administrators and faculty appreciate training and support offered by the YuJa team.
“Video is so much more powerful than just a visual. It connects students in another way, adding a personal touch through rich media.”
Jon Johnson, Dean of Digital Learning
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