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[melba_frilkins]

To what degree do you use audio or video clips in your online class? Stuff you've created or pulled in from other sources?

Currently I only use text/image based stuff and am feeling rather behind the times. How much multi-media do you think is standard fare in online classes today?

I'm wondering if it's worth my time and effort to find some low-budget ways to create audio/video for my class. I'm thinking of things like Jing or Xtranormal. My campus supports none of this sort of thing, so I'd be on my own. Or if the campus is not adequately supporting the online environment, maybe it's time for me to go back to the classroom full time.

[zuzu_]

Tip #1: Don't reinvent the wheel. The world wide web is your classroom. See previous thread on this subject: http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,63654.0.html

I too am just getting started with creating some of my own stuff. I have Camtasia, although I haven't really done too much with it yet. I plan to record some mini-lectures, and I am going to start with showing students how to conduct research in our library databases.

[bone_gal]

I would like to incorporate more but don't have a ton of time to create new things. I had ideas of pieces I needed to create but then looked and found the exact thing on YouTube. So I agree not to reinvent the wheel. I'd spend some time first looking at what's available online before creating your own. Another thing hampering me is that it's harder to update, as you need to re-do the whole thing instead of just fixing a section, so I've been hesitant to create a ton of materials that won't last for a while.

Also, think of your student body... do they have the latest computers and fast internet connections? I teach for a state school and a CC and I hear from students that they have totally different computers to access. So I'd be wary of doing a ton of multimedia for people still on dial up, or ancient computers, or who only access from the library or from work.

And also think of disability issues, if you have a hearing and visually impaired person you need to provide them the same info in another format.

[melba_frilkins]

I would like to incorporate more but don't have a ton of time to create new things. I had ideas of pieces I needed to create but then looked and found the exact thing on YouTube. So I agree not to reinvent the wheel. I'd spend some time first looking at what's available online before creating your own. Another thing hampering me is that it's harder to update, as you need to re-do the whole thing instead of just fixing a section, so I've been hesitant to create a ton of materials that won't last for a while.

Also, think of your student body... do they have the latest computers and fast internet connections? I teach for a state school and a CC and I hear from students that they have totally different computers to access. So I'd be wary of doing a ton of multimedia for people still on dial up, or ancient computers, or who only access from the library or from work.

And also think of disability issues, if you have a hearing and visually impaired person you need to provide them the same info in another format.

Thanks so much, I hadn't thought of those issues of audio-visual stuff being harder to update and the student access (yes, some of my students are still stuck with dial up).

Maybe I'll just put together a couple narrated screen-shot videos, to give the students the feeling that there's a real person behind the scenes (that would be me) and call it good. Eh, but that would mean shopping for a microphone. I hate shopping for stuff like that.

[johnr]

I would like to incorporate more but don't have a ton of time to create new things.

I've recently hired some students to help me with this.  I pay them from the earnings from the summer course.  Some students are amazingly creative and technically adept when it comes to making movies. I am not, but I can serve as the "technical advisor" as they create clips for my class under my direction.

[melba_frilkins]

I would like to incorporate more but don't have a ton of time to create new things.

I've recently hired some students to help me with this.  I pay them from the earnings from the summer course.  Some students are amazingly creative and technically adept when it comes to making movies. I am not, but I can serve as the "technical advisor" as they create clips for my class under my direction.

Wow! Are those former students from your classes, so that they are familiar with the content? I have access to hours from a work-study student who is very technically savvy, but he's not familiar with the course content, so I'd have to give him very specific scripts to work with.

[dept_geek]

I would like to incorporate more but don't have a ton of time to create new things.

I've recently hired some students to help me with this.  I pay them from the earnings from the summer course.  Some students are amazingly creative and technically adept when it comes to making movies. I am not, but I can serve as the "technical advisor" as they create clips for my class under my direction.

Wow! Are those former students from your classes, so that they are familiar with the content? I have access to hours from a work-study student who is very technically savvy, but he's not familiar with the course content, so I'd have to give him very specific scripts to work with.

You might have your work study student do the captioning for the audio portions of your videos. Or consider having them create short videos for the "how do I do...?" portion of your site.  How do I turn in homework? How does the discussion forum work? How do I do <some very specific skill or skill set>?  That way they don't have to be intimate with the course content, nor do they have to be confined to a single course. 

Captioning is tedious, but straightforward enough in tools like Camtasia.

[kohelet]

I do some narrated powerpoints (easy) and use iSpring to turn them into really sharp (I think) flash movies.  It's how I deliver content that I really want to lecture on.  I've also found some great podcasts that were right on target--maybe that's something you could hunt for, too.

[johnr]

I would like to incorporate more but don't have a ton of time to create new things.

I've recently hired some students to help me with this.  I pay them from the earnings from the summer course.  Some students are amazingly creative and technically adept when it comes to making movies. I am not, but I can serve as the "technical advisor" as they create clips for my class under my direction.

Wow! Are those former students from your classes, so that they are familiar with the content? I have access to hours from a work-study student who is very technically savvy, but he's not familiar with the course content, so I'd have to give him very specific scripts to work with.

Yes...former students.  I have an extra credit in that class in which student can create a short 5 - 10 minute video on selected topics.  Every once in a while we get a real gem.  I ask those students to work for me.

[bone_gal]

Re-reading my post I realized I came across as pretty negative. One of my favorite things I did was to use Jing (a free screen recording software) to record me introducing myself and the class shell for the first weeks of class (I had it on the course home page). That way they heard my voice and saw my mouse move around the screen to open the areas they needed to see (announcements, dropbox, gradebook, etc.).

I record short weekly (or every few weeks) pieces where I say hello to everyone and talk about what's coming up in class. Voki or Animoto can be fun for these. Or even embed a fun YouTube video that pertains to the week's topic. I like to do things like this because they are easy, fun and they remind students I'm there. And they don't have the "pressure" of being a lecture that I know will be out of date within a year.

[zuzu_]

I would like to incorporate more but don't have a ton of time to create new things. I had ideas of pieces I needed to create but then looked and found the exact thing on YouTube. So I agree not to reinvent the wheel. I'd spend some time first looking at what's available online before creating your own. Another thing hampering me is that it's harder to update, as you need to re-do the whole thing instead of just fixing a section, so I've been hesitant to create a ton of materials that won't last for a while.

Also, think of your student body... do they have the latest computers and fast internet connections? I teach for a state school and a CC and I hear from students that they have totally different computers to access. So I'd be wary of doing a ton of multimedia for people still on dial up, or ancient computers, or who only access from the library or from work.

And also think of disability issues, if you have a hearing and visually impaired person you need to provide them the same info in another format.

Thanks so much, I hadn't thought of those issues of audio-visual stuff being harder to update and the student access (yes, some of my students are still stuck with dial up).

Maybe I'll just put together a couple narrated screen-shot videos, to give the students the feeling that there's a real person behind the scenes (that would be me) and call it good. Eh, but that would mean shopping for a microphone. I hate shopping for stuff like that.

Just talk to someone in your IT department. I guarantee they have a microphone laying in drawer somewhere. Those things are super cheap. I bet you could even get a used one on eBay for <$10.