Tutor guide to recording lectures using smartboards

Transcription

1 Tutor guide to recording lectures using smartboards This guide includes: An introduction to recording lectures with smartboards An overview of how to prepare the smartboards for recording Guidance on how to convert the recording into a weblink Some frequently asked questions about recording with smartboards Sep 2010 Centre for Academic Practice Queen Margaret University 1

2 Table of Contents 1. Recording using the smartboard Equipment PC Settings The microphone Setting up the smartboard Recording and saving the file To start recording To stop recording To pause the recording Saving the recording Sharing the recording with your students FAQs Why does the recording quality sound so poor? Copyright What is the difference between a narrated PowerPoint and a recorded lecture with smartboard? Why does the QMU crest appear in the bottom right-hand corner of the recording? Why don t my students listen to the recording? Who might view my recording?

3 1. Recording using the smartboard The smartboard which is available in all teaching rooms at QMU (as well as the sympodium panels in the lecture theatres) can be used to make a recording of your lectures, seminars or tutorials. Such recordings offer many advantages for learners including: improved accessibility to lecture materials whenever and wherever and as often as required; opportunities to re-visit student questions and tutor responses in the lecture; a revision tool; increased concentration in understanding rather than note-taking in lectures; supporting different learning styles. Emerging research has indicated that learners for whom English is not their first language and students who are experiencing difficulties with the subject benefit most from recorded lectures (Carter et al, 2009). After you have made the recording, you will need to copy it to a central area where it is converted into a.m4v file. You can then create a weblink which can be added to your WebCT area. It is advisable that your students access the weblink in WebCT directly through the web rather than through thin client. Audio quality through thin client can be variable. If you are going to make recordings including students, it is a legal requirement to ask their permission to be included on the recording. You will need to advise all students before the class begins that it is going to be recorded and make sure there are no objections. This could be advertised in your WebCT area. It is also advisable to check with your disability co-ordinator if you need to make special arrangements for any of your students. 2. Equipment 2.1 PC Settings Log into the computer in a seminar or tutorial room and make sure that the PC and Power on/off buttons on the display panel on the desk are switched on. It is important to check that the settings on the PC are correct for recording to take place: Double-click the loudspeaker icon in the system tray. This will open the Playback / Volume Controls. 3

4 If the microphone settings are not visible click on Options then Properties and select Microphone from the list. Click OK. Make sure that the microphone is not muted and that the level is at maximum Make sure that the volume is not muted and is set to maximum Close the Playback Control panel. For Hewlett Packard PCs on Level 3 of Musselburgh Campus On level 3, the HP PCs have a different configuration to the DELL PCs in the rest of the institution and two further settings need to be checked. The HP computers have inputs for microphones in the rear panel and the front panel and it is necessary to ensure that this is set to the front panel. To do this, go to Start / Control Panel / Sounds & Audio Devices. Under the heading for Audio/Sound recording, make sure the setting is set to HD Audio Front mic and click OK. 4

5 Also in the control panel is an icon for SoundMAX. Click on the tab for Microphone and ensure that this is set to Voice Recording. Click OK. 2.2 The microphone Every teaching room is equipped with a small boundary microphone which is located on the top of the AV unit and is permanently connected to the PC. This microphone will pick up the voice of both the tutor standing at the front of the class and also any questions from students. Voices at the very back of the class will be picked up but will be substantially quieter on the recording. It is recommended that when students ask questions that the tutor repeats the question to ensure that they have been recorded. 2.3 Setting up the smartboard To open the SMART recorder window click on the Smartboard icon in the Windows Notification area in the bottom right of the screen; This will open the Smartboard menu where you should select Recorder. 5

6 The SMART Recorder window will then open. The red button starts the recording and the middle button pauses the recording. 1.3 To enable quality audio, the smartboards need to be set to high sound quality in the Recording Quality tab. To check this setting click Menu on the Smartboard recorder and choose Options/Recording Quality. If for any reason this is not set to High choose that option and click OK. 6

7 2.3 It is also necessary to change the video file type from the Video Format tab ensure this is set to SMART recorder Video (*.avi) and click OK. 3. Recording and saving the file The recording will capture everything that is visible on the Smartboard. To avoid the Smartboard recording window being included in the recording click on Menu / Hide to System Tray and you can then use the computer keyboard to start and stop recording. 3.1 To start recording Click on F8 on the keyboard to start recording. Whatever is displayed visually on the smartboard is recorded together with your voice as an.avi movie file. For example, if you open a website or another program such as Word or Excel as part of your lecture, this will be captured in the recording. 3.2 To stop recording To stop the recording click on F8 on the keyboard again. 3.3 To pause the recording The pause button is only accessible from the Smartboard recorder window. If you do not hide the Recording window to the system tray, the pause button will be accessible but the recorder window will be visible in the recording. The F8 key will start and stop recording but there is no special key to pause recording therefore if you wish to make use of the pause function you will need to leave the menu visible. There are two alternatives: 1. When you want to pause a recording, click on F8. You will be asked if you would like to save the recording. Click on Cancel and you will be asked if you want to delete the recording or continue recording. Click on No when you are ready to start recording: 7

8 2. Alternatively, when you want to pause the recording, press Esc and this will minimise your PowerPoint presentation. Click on the Smart Recorder icon at the bottom right of the screen and select Pause. To restart your recording, click again on the SmartRecorder icon and click on record. You will then need to maximise your PowerPoint presentation. 3.4 Saving the recording When you stop recording, you will be asked to save your file. Navigate to your Z: drive and My Documents and then click Save. This will be a large file and will take some time to save perhaps as long as 10 minutes - so please bear this in mind and allow time for this. You may need to stop your lecture towards the end of the session to ensure that you have sufficient time to save the file. In order to avoid any issues with the filename, it is essential that you name the saved file with the following conventions: All lower case No spaces No ampersands, hyphens or slashes The name of the module must also contain the module code eg: bm003week1introduction.avi o1111week3reflection.avi 4 Sharing the recording with your students Do not distribute the recording through ; your recording will be a large file and will be too big to be shared through . 8

9 QMU tutor guide to recording with smartboards Navigate to your My Documents and locate your recording. Copy the file to the following location: \\erc.qmu.ac.uk\smartboard For ease of access to this area, map a network drive, for example the Y: drive, so that you can navigate directly through your My Computer. To do this: 1. Open My Computer and click Tools 2. Select Map Network Drive Y: 3. Click Browse and navigate to the address by click on the relevant folders QMU / ERC / Smartboard 4. Once the mapping has been made you will be able to access the drive mapped directly from the My Computer screen: PLEASE NOTE: You must map the drive when logged into thin-client in order for the mapped drive to be saved to your profile. Every day at 12pm any.avi files in this location will be automatically converted to.m4v format to allow streaming over the internet. After 12pm, go to: and you should see the name of your recording. Click on this and check that this is the correct recording and that you wish your students to see this recording. 9

10 The file can now be accessed using the URL from the erc address, e.g.: For example the file bm003week1introduction would now accessible through the URL This URL can then be added to WebCT as a weblink (using the weblinks tool) and will then be accessible to the students on the module. The easiest way to access the URL is to navigate to and then find your file and open it. You can then easily copy the entire URL from the address bar into the weblinks tool WebCT without having to type it out. Remove the original recording from your My Documents as soon as possible. Please note the different directions of the slashes in the files storage / conversion area (\\erc.qmu.ac.uk) and the URL address ( 5 FAQs 5.1 Why does the recording quality sound so poor? Please be aware, and make your students aware, that the audio quality of the recording will be poor if the file is opened through thin-client or if connected using Citrix Remote Access. Within QMU it is recommended that recorded lectures are watched on one of the Multimedia PCs in the LRC or shared work rooms. From home, students should connect to WebCT through the external URL and not connect using Citrix remote access. If accessed through one of these methods the audio quality will be considerably better. 5.2 Copyright All materials on your PowerPoints must have copyright clearance. If you are unsure if you can use materials, contact your liaison librarian. 5.3 What is the difference between a narrated PowerPoint and a recorded lecture with smartboard? A recording of a live lecture with smartboard provides you with a spontaneous recording of a lecture. This recording will probably only be appropriate for the students that were at the event; it is unlikely that it will be useful for other groups of students across many modules. A narrated PowerPoint is a more polished and generic recording which should be useful for many years across many levels. It will have script which will make it accessible for all students. For further information and an exemplar of a narrated PowerPoint, go to 10

11 5.4 Why does the QMU crest appear in the bottom right-hand corner of the recording? The crest (which is transparent) indicates to any viewer that the recording has been made at QMU and that QMU retains the copyright of the recording. The recording cannot be copied or transferred without consent from QMU. When designing your PowerPoint prior to the recording, it is worthwhile remembering to leave the bottom right-hand corner of your PowerPoint blank. 5.5 Why don t my students listen to the recording? Don t forget to send an announcement through WebCT about where the weblink to the recording can be found in your WebCT area. 5.6Hugh.torrance@lgbryouth.org.uk 5.6 Who might view my recording? Currently we do not have the ability to store Smartboard recordings in a secure, password protected area. In theory, a recording could be found on the Internet since the recording storage area is publicly available. However, the location of the recording is not indexed and will not be found through Internet search engines such as Google. If you have a recording that does contain sensitive material or confidential patient data but you would like your students to be able to access from WebCT please contact WebCT@qmu.ac.uk. 11