Introducing the Award-Winning In-House Technology: RapidMooc from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

We recently won the Best In-House Technology award at the annual Academic Venue Awards, hosted in London, for our RapidMooc video platform solution.

The One-Touch Video Recording Studio Service allows anybody to record an educational or promotional video without any on-site technical support or without the need for later editing. The role of video in education has increased exponentially in the last few years. This system allows us to produce high quality videos to support courses and other events without the necessity of external media specialists.

The Studio was implemented using a new technology integration provided by RapidMooc, establishing effective support policies with the AV support team. The studio is set up in such a way that it can be used autonomously. The process for recording a video consists of three simple steps:

Turn on system and lights

Connect laptop with presentation to serve as a background

Record video by pushing a single button. The presenter can see themselves in front of their presentation as video is being recorded, giving them an accurate presentation of the final product. The presenter can also use the built-in autocue/teleprompter.

The recorded video is copied to a USB key to be shared via Vimeo, YouTube or other internal systems. The video can be edited later but this is not necessary in most cases.

The system was deployed in early 2019 and has subsequently been used to produce over 200 videos. This represents close to £100,000 in savings compared to using an external video production provider. In reality, it enabled us to produce videos that would not otherwise be possible due to budgeting restrictions. It also freed up internal AV support from recording and editing videos.

The conference team recently used the technology to produce videos regarding health and safety information, which can be sent to the event organiser prior to the event as well as playing on-screen upon arrival for all delegates. The videos are bite-sized and easy to digest rather than word-heavy PDF instruction guides.

We are looking to provide more how to guides in the future as well.

RapidMooc is available to hire as part of our conference package so please do get in touch if you would like further information.
As part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability and reducing the need for physical show arounds with clients, we have recently completed a virtual tour for the Park End Street main venue. The Thatcher Business Education Centre (TBEC) was completed last year so we are delighted the portfolio is now complete. The virtual platform allows prospective clients, as well returning clients to view our facilities, floor plans, individual rooms and layout styles as well as links to download the conference and hospitality brochures and room capacities.

The unique ‘doll’s house’ feature demonstrates the true sense of the scale of the space and how each area is linked with communal areas, restaurants and meeting rooms. Studies show users spend three times longer on websites with virtual tours, giving us the opportunity to stand out from our competitors. The virtual tours are available to view via our website.

Our award-winning facilities also include a dedicated audio-visual (AV) production team, fluent with state-of-the-art in-house presentation systems.

All lecture theatres feature user-friendly touch panel controls allowing dual-screen projection of media along with radio microphones and interactive podiums.

By prior arrangement, our production team will video-record your event or live-stream via multiple lecture theatres.

The Oxford HIVE (Hub for International Virtual Education) is one of the UK’s first immersive virtual meeting and presentation experiences, seamlessly connecting people across the world in a virtual learning experience.

For more information on all our services please do contact us below:

Why Use RapidMooc?

Rapidmooc has been used to create successful videos for a variety of purposes including

• Mini lectures presenting academic content
• Short summaries of academic papers
• Pitches for elective lectures
• Staff training and induction videos
• Presentations of student projects
• Video CVs summary

The technology contains the following highlights:

• Easy to use, no technical skills required, no post-production needed
• Real time chroma key recording monitored live on a large TV screen: what you see is what you get.
• Video background captured from your own device using a simple HDMI cable or Apple Airplay
• Customizable teleprompter (text size, speed) including a text editor
• Auto generated closed captions for accessibility
• Integrated tools for video post-production
• Videos can be exported to USB Key, YouTube, and Vimeo

Our virtual classroom can be utilised for the following types of events:

• In-house training
• Public lectures to a global audience
• Presentations to boards and committees
• Team meetings

Benefits include:

• Engaging and interactive for the participants
• Increase engagement and interaction with attendees over traditional webinar methods
• Reduce cost of travel, accommodation and carbon footprint
• Connectivity across the world