In August and September 2020, we traveled to the University of St.Gallen, where we helped to produce and create video lectures for the university’s MBA program. Within eight weeks, we had produced over 100 video lectures.

The benefits of blended learning

Blended learning combines traditional face-to-face education with online, asynchronous learning. It has become increasingly popular in educational institutions over the years. In fact, 77% of academic leaders claim that online education is either the same or superior to face-to-face education and can be executed for a fraction of the cost.

In our experience producing video content for schools around the world, we see the following benefits:

  • Video learning allows students to learn with more flexibility and enhanced retention, as videos give them the ability to playback the parts they didn’t fully understand, pause to better process the information, and go back and rewatch when studying for exams.
  • Blended learning gives students the autonomy to take charge of their own learning, which enables them to become self-driven and responsible (both valuable skills that translate into important life skills).
  • The creation and use of video lectures forces professors to revisit their course content. Reviewing and deciding on what is critical to include in a video helps courses remain relevant. It also ensures the most important information is presented in a clear, concise way.
  • Video lectures provide professors with content they can bring to all the schools where they teach. This means visibly bringing your university brand into the classrooms of other schools, similar to the way that case studies already do. It’s great intellectual property that will help schools strengthen their reputation and visibility wherever the content travels.

The future of classrooms is digital

It is important to note that video learning does not eliminate the classroom experience; instead, it serves to uplift real-time classroom discussions where the application of learning comes into play.

Blended learning will not only test schools’ ability to adapt, but it will also test teachers and professors alike. Educators who are unable to bring their lectures to video will become obsolete. The professors who are able to adapt and create video content that is equally, if not more, valuable for students than traditional learning content, are the educators of the future.

In an article on Research Matters, a publication from the Cambridge Assessment, the authors argue that blended learning is effective because unlike the traditional lecture-based teaching model, blended learning opens classroom time to focus on more active and meaningful activities which can lead to improved effectiveness.

All in all, we are proud that we were able to react quickly and support the University of St.Gallen in producing hundreds of video lectures for their MBA students and demonstrating creative leadership and entrepreneurship in navigating these ever-changing times – not simply offering an alternative, but improving the overall MBA experience for their learners.

These lectures are just a first step to developing more e-learning assets that schools can use later on in different types of education programs. While this crisis has prompted schools to develop video content for their current students, this content can also be used and repurposed in future e-learning offerings.

We are excited to be a part of this new era of MBA education and the modernization of the “classroom.” The future is already here!