Scott Riddle of Northwestern University Prosthetics-Orthotics Center Creates 'Individual Classroom Experience' with Mediasite

Picture this classroom -- desks and chairs line the room and a white board and podium are front and center. Sounds pretty typical, right?

But Scott Riddle, a student in the Orthotics graduate certificate program at Northwestern University in Chicago says that is a classroom of the past, because that’s not catered to students’ individual needs. The classroom of the future, he says, is his home, a coffee shop or a restaurant – basically anywhere he can learn online at a time and pace that suits his needs. Mediasite makes that possible for him.  

With Mediasite, he can create an individual classroom experience by pausing, fast forwarding, skipping or re-watching specific parts of the lecture. Plus, because he can determine the time he watches the lectures, he can still keep his job that gives him valuable real-life experiences in orthotics. 

Scott’s graduate program consists of six months of online learning via Mediasite followed by three months of onsite labs and clinicals in Chicago. 

“First and perhaps foremost, Mediasite fits not only my needs as a student but also fits my responsibilities as a husband and a family man,” he said.

His wife currently is a graduate student at Duke University in North Carolina, and with Mediasite, she’s been able to study at the university of her choosing without him having to compromise on his education. And most importantly, it’s allowed both of them to spend time on their family and relationship, which Scott says has been, simply put -- “awesome.” 

“The bottom line is that the classroom of the future is exactly where the student wants it to be,” Scott said. “Rich media through Mediasite provides the perfect opportunity for the classroom of the future to become the classroom of now.”