Friday, June 26, 2009

DOTS: Best Practices for Using Video


This presentation accompanies the "DOTS Best Practices for Using Video" session and is available in three formats:



Ooyala You can view the Ooyala video version by pressing the play button above.
Presentation in iPod Format Alternatively, you can download the video as a M4V file. This version will play in iTunes, QuickTime and on iPods, iPhones and Apple TVs.

iTunes is a free download that will work on both Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X.

Presentation in 3G Format Lastly, you can download the presentation as a 3GP file. This file will play on mobile devices that support the Third-Generation Platform standard for mobile devices.

In this short presentation I presented fourteen suggestions for best practices. I also used this opportunity to test some hardware and software - the material presented on the projector was recorded with ScreenFlow, and a BT-1 Bluetooth Webcam was used to stream live video from the back of the room. The test did not go exactly to plan, I lost the feed from the BT-1 about 10 minutes into the presentation. I will continue to refine my testing to see if the BT-1 is suitable for faculty use.


Fourteen Suggestions



  1. Don’t Replicate the Mundane

    • Don’t attempt to slavishly copy the classroom experience. Your learning objectives may be the same, but the way you achieve this must be different.

    • Be aware of non-verbal communication.




  2. Brevity


    • 7 minutes or less.


  3. Chunk Your Content


    • Break content into discreet topics.


  4. Avoid Numbering



    • The structure of your course content will change in the future. Plan for revisions and reorganization.



  5. Provide a Transcript



    • Be aware of ADA (Americans with Disabilities)/Section 508 recommendations.


  6. Multiple Methods To View Video



    • Technology fails. Build in contingency plans and redundancy.



  7. Streaming Vs. Download



    • Be aware of of the advantages and disadvantages. Ideally you should provide content in both formats.



  8. Entwine Video with Assignment



    • Are students able to complete the assignment without watching the video?



  9. Look For Feedback

    Each week I ask six basic questions in my online and blended courses. The feedback helps me understand what I am doing right, and what I need to improve upon:



    1. What was the most useful thing that you learnt this week?


    2. What was the least useful thing that you learnt this week?


    3. Is there anything that you did not understand?


    4. Did you experience any technical difficulties?


    5. Is there anything you want to tell me?


    6. How useful to you were the videos?




  10. Archive Intelligently



    • You will need to revise material in the future. Make sure you know where your production files are kept.



  11. Inspiration and Pedagogy: Richard E. Mayer

    Richard Mayer has published widely, I would suggest reading Multimedia Learning:


  12. Inspiration and Pedagogy: Edward Tufte

    The four texts I would recommend are:

    1. The Visual Display of Quantitative Information


    2. Envisioning Information


    3. Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative


    4. The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint




  13. Inspiration and Pedagogy: Honda Accord Cog


  14. Inspiration and Pedagogy: Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us


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DOTS: ScreenFlow


This presentation accompanies the DOTS ScreenFlow session and is available in three formats:



Ooyala You can view the Ooyala video version by pressing the play button above.
Presentation in iPod Format Alternatively, you can download the video as a M4V file. This version will play in iTunes, QuickTime and on iPods, iPhones and Apple TVs.

iTunes is a free download that will work on both Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X.

Presentation in 3G Format Lastly, you can download the presentation as a 3GP file. This file will play on mobile devices that support the Third-Generation Platform standard for mobile devices.

You are recommended to download and print the accompanying presentation handout (PDF).

Summary


ScreenFlow is a screencasting tool that captures live desktop video, microphone and computer audio, and video camera input (internal or external) and then allows for editing after you have finished recording. There are other similar products out there in the marketplace, but I have found ScreenFlow to be the best option for these reasons:



  1. Affordable price. ScreenFlow has a “street” price of $99, and is available with a 10% educational discount.

  2. Quick and easy recording. Unlike competing applications, ScreenFlow does not need to encode video immediately after recording.

  3. Sophisticated editing. ScreenFlows editing options include zoom, panning, callouts, overlays and titling. Everything that I might need is there.



ScreenFlow runs only on OS X Leopard (and above). You can download and purchase ScreenFlow from Telestream. DOTS participants - you should speak to your IDD consultant about getting ScreenFlow installed and licensed.


Distribution Options


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Thursday, May 28, 2009

Technology Tuesday: ScreenFlow


This presentation is available in three formats:


Ooyala You can view the Ooyala video version by pressing the play button above.
Presentation in iPod Format Alternatively, you can download the video as a M4V file. This version will play in iTunes, QuickTime and on iPods, iPhones and Apple TVs.

iTunes is a free download that will work on both Microsoft Windows and Apple OS X.

Presentation in 3G Format Lastly, you can download the presentation as a 3GP file. This file will play on mobile devices that support the Third-Generation Platform standard for mobile devices.

You are recommended to download and print the accompanying presentation handout (PDF).

Summary


ScreenFlow is a screencasting tool that captures live desktop video, microphone and computer audio, and video camera input (internal or external) and then allows for editing after you have finished recording. There are other similar products out there in the marketplace, but I have found ScreenFlow to be the best tool for ad-hoc lecture capture as well as creating video content for blended and online learning.


ScreenFlow is Mac OS X (Leopard) only. I consider the application to be sufficient cause to migrate from Microsoft Windows to the Apple platform.


The video and session handout presents quick and easy way to create streaming and downloadable video.

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Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Vodcasting in the classroom


I was lucky enough to present at the 14th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning this year. My presentation (Vodcasting in the Classroom) explains how I use simple hardware and software to podcast and vodcast classroom lectures. An M4V version of the presentation (which plays in/on iTunes, QuickTime, iPods and iPhones) can be downloaded here.

There are two PDFs that accompany the presentation:

  1. Presentation Handout
  2. Presentation Supplement

I have provided links to the hardware and software that I use to record my classes (and convert to podcasts/vodcasts):

Software

Hardware

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