Blended Learning Toolkit

A benjanefitness.com resource for designing blended learning resources

Screencasts

There are a number of ways of preparing Screencast Lecture Slides or including your voice in the teaching/learning experience.

Tips

  • Think about your content and where possible break it down into 10-15 min blocks of higher quality more focussed content.

  • if possible think about ways of using these smaller blocks across multiple modules/years.

  • Review the permissions on panopto if you want to post on more than one module.

  • Consider the sound quality. There is software you can download to add compression and/or noise suppression and this can make a difference. It's also worth considering getting a better microphone.

Further Reading

Mayer, R. E., Fiorella, L., & Stull, A. (2020). Five ways to increase the effectiveness of instructional video. Educational Technology Research and Development, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09749-6

Option: Panopto

Use it to: Record lecture slides with voiceover and/or face

Click here to find out how - https://sites.marjon.ac.uk/elearninghelp/2016/04/18/panopto-how-to-record-with-panopto/

Option: In Powerpoint or Google Slides

You can choose to record voice comments that sit inside your slides

Find out more - https://www.howtogeek.com/449836/how-to-record-voiceover-narration-in-powerpoint/

Option: Voice Recording in a Book

You could record a voice file and embed it on a page of a Book

Option: External Screencast Software - Easy

Apowersoft is my preferred free screencast software (Last analysed Apr 2021) https://www.apowersoft.com/free-online-screen-recorder. Requires a small download which works in conjunction with software in the browser. Quick to use, annotations possible. No time limits.

Screencastify or Screencastomatic are easy to use and free. Record a file and then upload to Panopto and embed on a page in a Book.

You can also record screencasts in Zoom - https://www.guidingtech.com/record-your-screen-with-zoom-windows-10/ Once recorded in Zoom you can download it, post it on Panopto and embed it.

Option: OBS Studio (advanced screencasting)

Set up a number of scenes and flick between them while recording.

OBS offers a way of improving the sound quality with the same microphone.

See the OBS page on this site for more.

Option: Editing Screencasts (advanced editing)

Using video editing software like OpenStudio (Free) can allow for mulitple videos to be stitched together and music added.

It is possible that some software (e.g. Filmora) will allow for live advanced screencast recording and then subsequent video editing all in the same tool. Filmora is not free but you might think it worthwhile.


More on Sound

Microphones

In-built mics are OK for casual use however the quality of your voice when recorded can impact on the degree to which viewers will engage with the content. Obtaining better quality mics can be worthwhile for recording content that you want to re-use in the future.

Two recommended mics include

ATR 2100x - https://eu.audio-technica.com/microphones/podcasting/ATR2100x-USB

Samson Q2U - http://www.samsontech.com/samson/products/microphones/usb-microphones/q2u/

Recording/Editing/Hosting

Audacity https://www.audacityteam.org/ is free open-source sound recording and editing software

Adding Music

Sometimes music can add value to a resource. One tune I use a lot was found on bensound.com (no relation!) but there's lots around. Try this site for a list (https://www.buzzsprout.com/blog/free-music-for-podcastsor) or Google "free music for podcasts".

YouTube Studio - https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music

Summary

Find a method and get used to it, then consider a different one if you want more functionality. Try not to get bogged down in the amount of choice. on this page, it's there to offer variety and a range of functionality.