How Lake Superior State University Encourages Classroom Engagement with the Whiteboard Owl

Lake Superior State University (LSSU) has been looking for new ways to implement synchronous learning since 2018. LSSU wanted more than just a camera that would live-stream classes for remote viewing — they wanted a collaborative tool that would allow all students to actively participate, no matter where they were learning from.

For the past few years, Marc Boucher and his team have been tasked with piloting different strategies to enable hybrid learning. As Director of Library and Academic Services, Marc’s focus has been on working with faculty members to utilize different in-room technologies to engage remote and in-person students.

In some classes, professors use the Meeting Owl Pro to provide an immersive learning experience for remote students. While faculty members have appreciated how the Meeting Owl Pro tracks classroom conversations, some professors felt that their whiteboards weren’t being fully captured on camera. “All of our classrooms have whiteboards. If students can’t see the whiteboard, they’re missing out on a lot,” says Marc.

A math professor approached Marc asking for a dedicated content camera that could pick up every detail on the whiteboard. The professor’s class hinged on students being able to clearly see problems written on the board. The professor didn’t want to have to give up his Owl, but he needed a product that would more clearly show the whiteboard to remote students. 

Marc initially tried to solve this problem by purchasing an external webcam that stood on a tripod in front of the whiteboard. Having a camera always on the whiteboard was helpful, but the professor felt like the camera wasn’t enhancing the writing enough to make it legible for remote students. While researching other solutions, Marc came across the Whiteboard Owl, and felt that it would be the perfect solution to his problem.

Marc is thrilled that students will now be able to see the writing on the whiteboard.

“Content on the whiteboard is so important to both our teachers and students. With the Whiteboard Owl, remote students can now truly engage with that content.”

Marc is looking forward to growing his Whiteboard Owl fleet across campus. With the addition of the Whiteboard Owl, Marc feels confident that LSSU can deliver a higher quality educational experience to in-person and remote students alike.

“The Whiteboard Owl allows us to integrate the whiteboard into our synchronous distance learning. We can now confidently give remote students a high-quality way to engage with the whiteboard. We’re thrilled to be able to offer that."

The Whiteboard Owl supports virtual learning by incorporating the whiteboard into hybrid classes.