Lecture recordings: Slide-by-slide
These tools assume you will be using a slide-based format like PowerPoint. They enable you to record your lecture audio one slide at a time and then deliver the content to students in some fashion via your course web site. (Click to expand)
Built from individual images, audio and video files, Word documents, and PPT files, etc., into a sequence of web-based slides, a VoiceThread enables you to add narration to each slide. Moreover, students can leave comments about each slide using a format most comfortable to them, whether that's video, audio, or even text.
Resources:
Use VoiceThread in your course when:
- You want students to engage with your content and make comments or ask questions in close proximity to the content.
- You have a variety of media types and you want to add narration to each one individually.
Cost: FREE. Stan State has a site license for VoiceThread. It is free for instructors and students to create unlimited VoiceThreads. More info...
Captivate is a powerful desktop application that combines the features of many of the other tools on this page. The lectures you create with Captivate are typially slide-by-slide presentations of information but the content of each slide can contain all manner of text, animation and builds, audio narration, as well as video. Captivate can also record activity of an open application on your computer, such as a web browser, and incorporate that into the presentation. Quizzes are also possible in Captivate.
Captivate probably has the steepest learning curve of all the applications here, but its approach is actually very similar to PowerPoint in terms of how you put content onto a slide. Captivate just gives you more control over what that content does once it's on-screen.
Like the other applications, Captivate produces video content that you insert into your course web site.
Use Captivate in your course when:
- You want to create sophisticated presentations with a great deal of visual "accent" to the lesson content (fade-in/fade-out, builds of individual elements, etc.)
- You want to include comprehension quizzes integrated to your visual content (and optionally scored in the Blackboard or Moodle gradebook)
- You're comfortable learning a slightly more intensive application than PowerPoint.
Captivate is available for Mac and Windows. More information is available at Adobe's Captivate web page.
Cost: $400 (educational price)
Lecture recordings: All-at-once
These options assume you want an easy way to narrate a "flow" of ideas and visual content without starting and stopping the recording. (Click to expand)
Panopto Recorder is the desktop screen recording software for the Panopto cloud video system. Use Panopto Recoder to capture your screen while you give a PowerPoint lecture or are demonstrating something on your computer. Panopto can even capture static images of your slides for later reference by the students. Because it's part of the Panopto system, Panopto Recorder can record directly into a Canvas course folder for easy access by students. The recording can also be enhanced with a gradable quiz and students can add comments along the timeline of the video.
Use Panopto Recorder in your course when:
- You want an easy way to make compelling screencasts of course content.
- You want to embed a quiz (graded or not) into the timeline of a video.
Panopto Recorder is available for Windows and Macs and can be downloaded from your personal Panopto homepage.
Cost: FREE
» Zoom
Yes, Zoom is a good tool for recording lectures! Zoom is a bit simpler to use than Panopto Recorder for this task. After recording, you can simply share the cloud recording URL with your students in Canvas. You can also transfer the recording file to Panopto to take advantage of its features, such as quizzes and commenting.
More information about Zoom recordings
Use Zoom to record when:
- You want an easy way to make compelling screencasts of course content.
- You don't need any of the features of Panopto Recorder
- You don't wish to do any editing of the recording
Cost: FREE
» Camtasia
Camtasia is a full-featured screen recorder. In addition to recording your full desktop or a section of it, and recording your webcam, Camtasia lets you do a great deal of sophisticated editing of the recorded content. For example, you can create a freezeframe effect, zoom and pan effects, add text bubbles and arrows, and just about anything else!
Camtasia includes tools for creating quizzes inside your video.
Use Camtasia in your course when:
- You want an easy way to make compelling screencasts of course content.
- You're comfortable uploading and dealing with HTML files in order to link to your content in Canvas.
Camtasia is available for Windows and Macs.
Cost: FREE (CSUStan faculty and staff only; Contact the OIT Help Desk for details)
Screencast-O-Matic (ScOM) is one of a slew of tools that will record a portion of your screen in realtime while you narrate. Its level of sophistication and features, and its free price make it easy to recommend.
When you launch ScOM from the web, a small helper application downloads to help you set up the area of your screen to record. ScOM can also record your webcam at the same time as your desktop. The recorder records in realtime, so anything inside the frame will be captured. (Note: PowerPoint files are not recorded in "show" mode with access to full animations and transitions. Rather, PowerPoint files are recorded in PowerPoint's editing mode.)
Under the free account, recordings can't be longer than 15 minutes, which is actually a good limit in terms of online pedagogy. The paid account lets you record presentations without preset time limits. A headset mic is the preferred way to record audio narration.
ScOM recordings can be streamed or embedded from the ScOM website, uploaded to your YouTube account, or exported as a standalone MP4 video file.
Use ScOM in your course when:
- You want a simple way to demonstrate course content in "real time"
- You want to include a talking head web cam alongside your demonstration
URL: www.screencast-o-matic.com
Cost: Free ($15/year (OMG, cheap!) for additional features such as longer recordings, editing tools, and closed captions)
» USB headset microphone for audio narration
Most of the lecture delivery methods discussed on this page use some sort of spoken audio to enhance the visual content of the presentation. So, how do you accomplish the audio part of that?
Use a USB headset microphone. These devices combine headphones with a small "boom" mic that rotates into a position directly in front of your mouth. Since it's physically connected to the headphones, the mic will stay in the perfect position no matter how you turn your head. The entire thing connects to your computer using a USB connection and they're usually recognized automatically by the computer without any additional software having to be installed.
There are dozens of headset mics on the market at various price points. A good mid-point price range is $35-$50 retail.
Recommended: Logitech USB ClearChat Pro. Cost: $
Collaboration Tools
» Flipgrid
Created initially for the K-12 market, Flipgrid is a great tool for Higher Ed classes as well. Flipgrid offers an easy way for students to participate in online discussions on a topic that you create. Flipgrid topics can also be graded assignments in Canvas.
More information about Flipgrid
Use Flipgrid in your course when:
- You want students to engage with your content and make comments or ask questions in close proximity to the content.
- You want to use video for course interactions without the need for a multislide presentation or separate student groups.
Cost: FREE
Zoom is the university's online meeting and conferencing service (more info). Users create virtual meeting rooms and set a starting and ending date for the room's availability. Then, participants join the room whenever a session needs to be held by clicking on a link that has been posted by the owner on Blackboard or sent out via email.
The owner of a room typically shares their screen to give a presentation, such as as PowerPoint. Attendees can use headset mics and webcams, in addition to chat, to communicate during a session. Sessions can be recorded as .mp4 video files for later access as well.
Zoom sessions can be created using Blackboard or Moodle's built-in tools.
Use Zoom in your course when you want to:
- Hold real-time online office hours at a scheduled time
- Give a lecture at a scheduled time
- Have students meet in groups to work on class projects (students have their own Zoom accounts and can host their own meetings!)
- Make recordings of any sessions available to students for later use
- The sessions can also be made "portable" for use on iPods and iPhones!
Cost: free for Stan State users
More information
When you create a VoiceThread you start a web-based discussion that is centered - literally - around your course content. Built from individual images, mp3s, Word, and PPT files, etc., into a sequence of web-based "slides," a VoiceThread enables students to leave comments about each slide using a format most comfortable to them, whether that's video, audio, or text.
Example: View a sample VoiceThread
More information about group projects and VoiceThread
Use VoiceThread in your course when:
- You want students to engage with your content and make comments or ask questions in close proximity to the content.
- You have a variety of media types and you want to add narration to each one individually.
Cost: Free for instructors and students to create unlimited VoiceThreads.
Next: Video Production 101