Learning in the Future

I’ve been facing this problem for years:  I can’t record all the parts of my presentations with any clarity.

To capture myself presenting, I can use a digital video camera.  Okay, so far, so good.  I set the camera on a tripod, point it at where I’m standing (most of the time), then edit the digital video later in Final Cut Pro.

Audio captured with consumer digital video cameras generally stinks, however.   Since the camera is positioned far enough away to see you, it records room ambience, audience fidgeting, coughing, etc.  I’ve tried a variety of microphones for digital video cameras…and so far they all work pretty poorly.

Okay, I bought a fancy standalone portable recorder to capture high quality audio.  I love it.  I bought a Zoom H2 and the quality is amazing.  Although the four built-in microphones work incredibly well for concerts and interviews, I bought a lapel microphone to capture just me.  I stuff the recorder in my pocket and run the lapel microphone under my shirt.

Alright, I transfer the audio to my computer, import the file into Final Cut Pro and sync it up with my video.  So far so good.

Sadly, I’m stuck on the last part.  I want to record what I’m doing onscreen so I can cut it into my video.  After all, no one wants to just hear me talking about something.  They want to see what I’m doing or what I’m talking *about.*

I’ve tried a variety of techniques and software.  I’ve tried Camtasia,  Snapz Pro, CamStudio, and many more.  So far, they all have the same problem:  they either choke and give up after a few minutes of capture, they slow down my computer so I can’t present naturally or they’re so obtrusive while recording (flashing screens, flashing cursors, etc.) as to be distracting during my presentation.

At least CamStudio is open source.  I’m going to give it another chance in hopes that it can suit my needs without dying.  Apparently there’s both a Windows version *and* an Apple version.  I’m crossing my fingers.

I’m not giving up.  I’ll find something sooner or later that can capture my screen without bogging down the whole system.  I shall be very happy when that happens.  Any suggestions?

One of our recent goals at the Teaching and Learning Center has been to reach out to faculty and other agencies on campus in order to learn and establish new connections.  The more we’re in touch with people, the better we’ll be able to serve the educational needs of the University.

I’m really enjoying this opportunity.  I’m able to go out and meet some very intelligent people and learn what new techniques/strategies they’re using to support education.For example, Dr. Kendall Hartley ( http://ci.unlv.edu/faculty/hartley ) in the UNLV Curriculum & Instruction department showed me how he’s using audio/video screen capture combined with online video sharing to grade student assignments quickly and easily.

As I understand it, here’s how he’s accomplishing this:

1.  First, students send their assignments digitally to the instructor.  These could be research papers, presentations, graphic design projects, Web sites, photographs, etc.

2.  Next, the instructor opens the assignment in the native application (Word, PowerPoint, InDesign, Firefox, Photoshop, etc.).

3.  The instructor turns on his or her favorite video screen capture application (such as Camtasia Studio or the open source CamStudio), then provides verbal critique using a microphone.  Using a mouse to highlight a section or zooming in on an area, the educator can focus on specific parts of the assignment.4.  Lastly, the instructor saves the resulting video (with audio) to a favorite video sharing site such as YouTube or Vimeo and provides a link to the video back to the student (such as embedded in a private area of a Web site, in e-mail, etc.).  To provide privacy, a video sharing site can be password protected.

Naturally, this process would require some set up and practice, but after a few tries this method might be faster (and perhaps more enlightening) than scribbling marginal notes or using Word editing methods.  Turn on the microphone and screen capture software, provide sagely wisdom and send it on!

Dr. Hartley also makes creative use of wiki permissions to allow only specific students to see specific content.  I recent found a nice resource on wiki organization and access here.