The Need
There arose a challenge with faculty to be able to share with students more fluid content in their teaching through an online delivery mechanism. Through Blackboard, students collaborate in the discussion boards, faculty teach, but delivering an interactive rich media experience still has a large learning curve.
A few months ago, we had a faculty come in that is teaching a education course. He had a system set up on the face to face side, lectures whiteboard material, and powerpoint presentations to demonstrate to the students. To bring this into an online context, we first listened to what the course is about, learning outcomes, as well as his teaching style. We then experimented and came up with a system to record both the video of the instructor as well as provide them a tool they could draw/write/demonstrate which could be recorded as well. After succeeding in proof of concept, we put it into action.
The Set Up
Set up is pretty simple. We have a standard 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo iMac with 1 GB RAM and 350 GB HD. For this application we use seven items:
- Quicktime Pro for the Mac.
- Snapz Pro
- M-Audio Microphone connected via USB (the built-in mic will work adequately)
- Elluminate Live
- Final Cut (Pro or Express)
- Adobe Photoshop (CS3 or Express)
- iTunes
The Process
Set Up Quicktime for Video
We set up the M-Audio mic to connect to Quicktime Pro with the following preferences:
We then test the audio levels to make sure we have appropriate sound.
Choose “File -> New Movie Recording”, and create a sample test movie. Troubleshoot until you have good audio and video. You will also want to make sure you have good lighting on the subject. We have some lights in the studio we use, but augment it with a simple Ikea lamp.
Set Up Elluminate Live
Through Blackboard, we create an Elluminate Live session, add 1 hour on to the beginning and ending of the session for bleed over, and start the Elluminate session. Faculty can then load in pre-made slides or prepare slides from within the application.
Set Up Snapz Pro
Snaps can be configured to record any part or all of your desktop. We tested this extensively, and found that we could give Snapz a specific area on the desktop where we would put the Elluminate application. Knowing we would be importing into Final Cut Pro (FCP) and editing for Web, we used 800×600 for file size.
Record Session
Once both Quicktime and Snapz have tested and are working, simply bring the faculty into the chair, line them up, give them some brief instructions on the tools (they probably should have prior), and let them teach. The goal is to take the technology out of the way and allow them to sit, talk, draw, browse, click “next slide”, and communicate the learning objectives for the session. Once the session is over, stop the Quicktime recording. It should automatically appear on your desktop as “Movie.mov”. Then stop the Snapz capture. When before it processes, it asks for some preferences. Make sure you have audio checked. If you are using the standard built-in Mac mic, make sure the “Include Audio Track” is checked. If you used an external device, make sure “Include Microphone Track” is selected. This makes sure you have two copies of the audio in case one fails or the quality level is off. It also helps in post production lining up the timelines. Snapz will create a file on the desktop with a default name of “FirefoxScreenSnapz001.mov” or “SafariScreenSnapz001.mov”. If it is “InternetExplorerScreenSnapz001.mov”, we would like you to stop reading this blog and head to Microsoft’s Vista Site for “inspiration”. 
Finishing Up
Upon saving and organizing both video files, you will now be ready for post-production. The beauty is that the faculty only had to show up to your studio, sit down, and teach. The rest is up to you. I will document the post-production process next week as well as show you a finished product. Feel free to post comments or contact me if you have questions. We’re feeling like we have a great workflow to accommodate these requests. But more importantly, we’re getting feedback from students that this type of teaching is enhancing their learning.