Case Study: University of Washington achieves campus-wide lecture capture and improved student learning with Panopto

Enhancing Teaching & Learning at the University of Washington with Video

The University of Washington, a large public research university, faced a fragmented lecture‑capture landscape where departments and instructors used different, often hard‑to‑use systems. Students struggled to find and access recordings, and the IT team wanted a single, scalable solution that ensured consistent availability, strong accessibility (ADA/Section 508 support and captioning), ease of use for busy faculty, and flexible recording options across campus and devices.

After a successful pilot, UW adopted Panopto as its campus‑wide video platform — a software‑based system that centralized scheduling and management, captured multi‑camera and personal recordings, offered simple editing and captioning, and integrated with Canvas and existing AV. Usage scaled quickly (over 16,000 recordings and ~15,000 hours in two years, rising to 30,096 hours by 2018 and 60K+ total hours reported), with 98% of students saying Panopto contributed to their learning and nine in ten reporting it helped improve grades; faculty reported easier make‑ups, flipped classrooms, better analytics, and improved accessibility for diverse learners.

University of Washington

Tom Lewis

Director of Academic Experience Design & Delivery