The Workflows

If you’re reading this, you already know there are a myriad of ways you can create workflows for moving content.  I’ve spoken to several other schools that serve content many ways.  Some push the video into an FTP space where students push the files to iTunes U.  Some use other media servers and push the files to the Web.  Some stream.  Some use Woolamaloo to push to iTunes U.  Some use Automator.  Some Podcast Producer.  There’s also the OpenCast project and enterprise YouTube as options.  If you want to spend some more money, Tegrity is a solution we were very impressed with.  TechSmith just released Camtasia Relay which looks promising as well.  Whether it’s fully-automated like Berkley with cameras in classrooms that automatically turn on, record, and post with no interaction of faculty, to full-service models that use tape, workflows are definitely not one size fits all.  But in our business, they are necessary evils.

Putting the Pieces Together

Not only to we have to create workflows, we have to consider the UI for students, experience for faculty to get academic buy-in to get content to students, and make sure that it integrates with whatever back-end systems and infrastructure your campus has.  Oh, then there’s the budget issue.  If you can get the stars to align, you MAY be able to make things work.  Here is what we have set up in the “server room”:

• Active Directory
• Blackboard 7 (upgrading to 9 this summer)
• Vanderbuilt Bb Building Block for iTunes U customized by our software team
• Hosted iTunes U
• Leopard Server with PCP integration
• New Intel iMac lab and one 8-core Mac Pro

#1  Tape to iMovie/FCP to iTunes U

This scenario we import the Mini-DV tape into either iMovie (quick and dirty) or Final Cut Pro.  We create titles in Photoshop, export them as .jpg, and insert them into the timeline.  Either way, we export to m4v and upload the file to iTunes U.

Screencast Example

Classroom Capture from a classroom from our YouTube Channel:

#2:  Podcast Capture

We’ve tried this scenario and tested it with minimal success.  In a controlled enviornment, we’ve hooked up a MacBook via Firewire to the camera rig and hard-wired the MacBook to the network.  Then connected Podcast Capture to the rig, selected a class from an already existing workflow, and recorded using the naitive app.  It worked for recordings less than 5 minutes.  Posted directly to iTunes U.  However, it has not worked in a longer lecture scenario.  The problem with this is if the file doesn’t upload properly, the recording is lost.  We learned this the hard way.  So we always back up everything with tape.  This was mildly successful with speech classes in our COM department for students doing 3-5 minute speeches.  Mildly.  I’ll explain in scenario #3.

#3  Quicktime Pro with PCP

With Podcast Capture not reliable for us at this stage, we tried using the Firewire scenario hooked up to the camera rig (tape backup), and recording directly to QT pro.  This provides a .mov file on the desktop that can be uploaded to PCP.  This gave us a better success rate with short 5 minute speeches.

Uploading Options

We use a variety of uploading options.  None of them reliable.

• Woolamaloo |  Download Mac |  Download PC
  
• Woolamaloo Automator Actions for iTunes U |  Download
  
• Podcast Producer native app
• Podcast Producer Web app [was a free download but apparently Apple bought it and it's not available any longer for free]
• iTunes U Web interface

I’ll spend some time writing later about the iTunes U upload problems we’ve had.  Any of you who use iTunes U are more than welcome and encouraged to share your successes and failures.  So, these are what we’re doing at a high level.  I can provide anyone more details and open our house to all.  We want to partner with anyone who desires to share and provide the best tools for our students to learn.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a huge shout-out to Rich Wolf from University of Illinois at Chicago for writing these great apps and providing them free.  Thanks a bunch, Rich.  Keep up the great work.  Now that I’ve provided an overview of our process and workflow, what is yours?  Am I behind, or should I be presenting to you?  Let the conversation begin.

Walking You Through Our Process

This piece is pretty elementary.  but it explains in detail what we use and how we use these pieces to record a classroom lecture or activity.

Pre-Production

Right now we use a full-service model whereby either myself or our student staff will go to a classroom and capture the event.  We use a Web site with a form they fill out or call/email us directly.  We then use a shared calendar in Exchange where we schedule the event, contact the faculty member, and confirm that we’ll be there.  The students then will go to the classroom, record, and post-produce it in our video studios.

Post-Production

They either edit in iMovie ‘08 or Final Cut Pro.  We have several standard titles and slides they use to create custom intros and extros.  With Leopard Server integration and Podcast Producer configured to Active Directory, we are also using it to push video after creating some standard in/out movies for Quartz Composer to render in the workflows.  I’ll speak more to the workflow/uploading process in the next post.  Once the audio/video files are in iTunes U, the student contacts the faculty to let them know.  The faculty then creates a link in the Blackboard course to the media files.  We created video tutorials for faculty to use in order to understand the process as well.  This is still a work in progress.  Our workflow to Blackboard is explained in an earlier post as we were developing the infrastructure.  Feel free to post comments on how your process works.

A Brief Overview

Many schools have asked what gear we use for media capture scenarios at Spring Arbor University.  Knowing every school does media capture differently, we decided to make a three-part video series on what we do for media capture, how we configure the gear, and what workflows we use to migrate content from the classroom to the Web.  We hope this helps get some of you an idea of where you can start.  This is part one of three.  In this tutorial, I show you exactly what contents are in our full-service media capture bag and how we store it.  Part two will demonstrate how we set up the rig in the classroom.  Finally part three will show you a couple of delivery options we use.  Keep in mind this is what we developed on our own and is subject to change.  We’d value lots of feedback on what you do and what’s worked.  Let’s get the comments flowing.

The List

• Camera
  • Cannon Zr-800
  • Extra 8-hour battery

• Microphone Options
  • Sennheiser EW100 G2 Wireless Mic/Receiver Combo
  • Audio Technica ATW-R100X (Receiver) | Audio Technica ATW-T101X (Transmitter)
• Hardware
  • Intel MacBook
• Software Options
  • Podcast Capture
  • Quicktime Pro
  • iMovie ‘08
  • Final Cut Pro
  • Screenflow
• Accessories
  • 4 AA Rechargeable Batteries (for Sennheiser unit)
  • 2 9-volt Batteries (for Audio-Technica Unit)
  • Sony MDR-V150 Headphones
  • Dynex DX-TRP60 Tripod
  • 25′ Heavy-Duty Extension Cord
  • Standard Powerstrip
  • 4-pin to 6-pin Firewire cord
  • 50′ CAT-5 Ethernet Cord

Focus

We can go into details in a future post about what tools we have decided to use for which application in the distribution of screencasts.  For now, we’re going to show you what we do and how we do it.  Then demonstrate an example.

Screencast Tutorial in Vimeo

Screencasts:  A Best Practice from Academic Technology on Vimeo.

Tools in Use

• Any Mac running Leopard
• Screenflow (v. 1.1.3)  |  http://www.flip4mac.com/screenflow.htm
• MobilePre M-Audio USB Preamp  |  http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MobilePreUSB.html
• M-Audio Nova Class A FET Mic  |  http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Nova.html

Step by Step Process

1. Resize our screen resolution to 1024×768
2. Upload the 760×420 desktop background with cross-hairs  Download Bkgd
   
3. Bring browser into the screen and center it on the desktop over the cross-hairs
4. Record screencast and end [Apple Shift 2]
5. In Screenflow, click the “crop” icon in the lower-left corner of the canvas
6. Enter 760 in the width and 420 in the height parameters.  Move the box on top of the desired recording
7. Click “Apply”
8. File -> Export -> Customize
9. In Video Settings:  Select “Framerate” drop-down and select 15 fps (frames per second)
10. Keyframes:  Automatic
11. Data Rate:  Automatic
12. Faster Encode, (single-pass)
13. Click “OK”
14. Click “Sound” and “Settings”
15. In “Channels” pulldown, change from stereo to mono
16. Target bitrate needs to be 64 kbps
17. Click “OK”
18. In “Dimensions”, make sure it is selected to “100%”
19. Click “Export”

At this point, the video will export to whatever folder you desire.  Your video should average around 1.3-1.5 mb/min, depending on what kind of screencast you are making.  Below, click on the image to see one of these screencasts in context, made exactly the way we have outlined.  It’s about three minutes long and around 3+mb.  |  Play Movie

Watch an Example

Like what you see?  Give us some feedback.  Have other ideas of systems and workflows that you have used and want to share them?  Contact us, post comments, and let us know.  We see this site as a way to collaborate and share to help take teaching and learning to the next level.

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:

1. Quicktime Pro for the Mac.
2. Snapz Pro
3. M-Audio Microphone connected via USB (the built-in mic will work adequately)
4. Elluminate Live
5. Final Cut (Pro or Express)
6. Adobe Photoshop (CS3 or Express)
7. 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.

Tunes or No Tunes?

We have Blackboard as our LMS and needed to create a way for rich media to feed into each course while being authenticated. We looked at Quicktime Streaming Server, Flash, even an enterprise type Youtube. None had a workflow that would really accommodate something that needed to scale as big as we wanted it to. Our university had been using iTunes U since its infancy with limited success. If a faculty needed a video clip in a Blackboard course, someone from IT would have to convert it and upload it using some scripts we had augmented from friends at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. In the four years we had used iTunes U, there were about 800 podcasts created. None of which were integrated with Blackboard. We needed to bring this all together. iTunes U has been a serviceable tool, but nothing earth shattering. There are many other tools that work with Blackboard. We just needed to find the right fit.

The Rumor Mill

Apple had not provided much support for iTunes U, which was a problem for us. As the buildup for WWDC ‘07 began to grow, we were hearing reports from Apple that there were going to be some significant upgrades in iTunes U and podcasting in the form of a podcasting tool that Apple was going to release to integrate with iTunes U. They unveiled Podcast Producer in conjunction with Leopard Server. The iPhone got tons of press, but the true gem of the conference was Leopard Server. Coming back from WWDC, we knew this was going to be one of two options for podcast capture and lecture capture.

Building Blocks

We worked with some other institutions and plodded through the iTunes U discussion boards to find some building blocks for Blackboard. The Baker building block and the Vanderbuilt building block. We tried implementing the Baker block first with some issues. I contacted Cindy Franco from Vandy for help in implementing their building block. She was great to work with, responsive, and helpful. Our network admin got the help he needed and we got the building block connected to our iTunes U site successfully. With the building block working, the next step was to cast vision to faculty on what iTunes U was and how it can work. Their experience with podcasting was by using the built in Blackboard podcasting tool. This bogged down our servers with tons of large files. Especially when a course was copied.

Final Verdict

iTunes U allowed us to serve up content in the cloud in an authenticated environment, with tools students are familiar with. Has it been successful? Kind of. I’ll review iTunes U in another post. Are we glad we decided to use iTunes U? Yes. But I’m not jumping for joy yet. However, Leopard Server and Podcast Producer could put me over the edge. The jury is still out.