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[neutralname]

I'm planning to record audio to go along with detailed powerpoint presentations for an online course next semester.

MS Powerpoint has an audio feature to do this.  I already have the program.  I've not yet used it much, but so long as I get a good mic, it seems to work ok.

There are other programs that work with Powerpoint to do the same thing.  I've heard of Camtasia Studio and ProfCast.  I expect there are others.  Right now the biggest advantages I see with these programs are that they can create mp4 files that students can play on other media, and it is possible to do some editing of the sound files to take out stumbles or other problems.   

But how much an advantage is this?  Are students really going to be playing mp4 files on their smart phones?  Do I really need to do editing of the sound files?  Can't they learn to live with my stumbles?

The disadvantages of the new software are that I would probably have to pay for it myself -- not a huge deal since it is about $100 or less -- and I'd have to learn how to use it, which could be a major investment of time.

So is it worth getting new software, and which package is best?  I'm mainly interested in simplicity of use.  If it is easier using new software than using the MS Powerpoint Record Voice feature, that would be a major factor for me.

I'd appreciate feedback from people with experience of this in online courses. 

Thanks, NN

[msmicrobe]

If you are using a Mac, you need to know there is a bug that prematurely and randomly cuts off the audio. Use Keynote instead, save as a quicktime movie, done.

Using other software may be more convenient for students, but I only have finite time resources. They get the lecture as it would be in a classroom: stumbles, stammers, and all.

[larryc]

I'll bet there is a program to convert the Powerpoint show to an MP4. Alternatively you could post your PP on Slideshare.net or a similar service and give your students the link. I have often watched narrated PPs at Slideshare.

[creamcity]

Is this just for segments of a course, or is this replacing a lot of written lectures with audio?

If the latter, it may interest you to know that colleagues teaching online at my campus who went through a lot of work to replace written lectures (with PowerPoints) with audial counterparts now wish that they had not done so.  They conducted surveys of students, and the majority greatly preferred written lectures.  It makes sense, as we read faster than we can hear, and we can go back to find information in written format faster than the time it takes to go through an audio lecture again.

The consensus on my campus now is that some audio segments are fine and appreciated by students -- segments of information not to be tested, such as instructor introductions, illustrations and elaborations of points also made in written form, etc.

[neutralname]

creamcity

That information is a bit of a spanner in the works.  Yes, the idea was to either record my lectures, or else to make special recordings just for the online course.

I'm not sure what to think.  But maybe it is pretty simple for me, since I have never prepared a written undergraduate lecture once in the last 20 years.  The last time I did that was when I was a grad student. 

I will be using textbooks that explain the primary source material, and so I will expect students to read them.  It would be strange to expect them to also read my written lecture. 

I also find that my intro students have a hard time taking in information via reading.  Why do we give lectures at all if students would do better with just reading the written version? 

But what you say creamcity makes me think it is not worth putting much effort into the audio portion, and I'd do well just to record my classroom lectures.

LarryC, you are right that there is software for ppt to mp4 conversion.  But I haven't found any freeware to do the job.  The software is about $50.  I might as well just get ProfCast then.  Your suggestion of Slideshare.net is great though, and I might well use that.  Thanks.


Another question: everyone I have asked says that students don't want video of professors lecturing, and audio is enough.  But is that true?  Maybe facial expressions and body language are important in conveying meaning.  Any experience of this?

[helpful]

Are you saying that students will look at your powerpoints on their phones? That is an awfully small screen to read off of.

[neutralname]

Helpful, that's my thought too.  I'm wondering why students would want an mp4 of a powerpoint presentation in the first place.  I know all these software companies are offering the facility, but do any students actually find it useful?  I've noticed that it's easy to spend quite a lot of time providing students with opportunities they have no interest in.

[johnr]

Another question: everyone I have asked says that students don't want video of professors lecturing, and audio is enough.  But is that true?  Maybe facial expressions and body language are important in conveying meaning.  Any experience of this?

I've used recorded audio with PowerPoint slides for two years now.  Overwhelmingly, the student evaluations have been very positive regarding that aspect of the course. That was surprising to me because it was mind-numbing and time consuming to create and I thought that the students would think that it was mind-numbing and time consuming to listen to.

Without me asking specifically, many compared the audio/PowerPoint course to other online courses in which they were provided with text only. As a rule, they preferred the audio.  Others remarked that recorded audio with PowerPoint compared favorably to videos of professors lecturing because they found the videos to be, "weird", "creepy", and difficult to follow and take notes.  

My guess is that most videos shot on campus are not of the highest quality and end up having a lot background noise, camera vibrations, light exposure problems, etc...  Plus most professors are not as pretty as me, so they probably look bad on camera, with the exception of Spork of course.

[neutralname]

Aye.  Spork is hot.

Thanks for that, JohnR.  It gives me back some incentive to put the work into making a good audio.

[cc_alan]

Helpful, that's my thought too.  I'm wondering why students would want an mp4 of a powerpoint presentation in the first place.  I know all these software companies are offering the facility, but do any students actually find it useful?  I've noticed that it's easy to spend quite a lot of time providing students with opportunities they have no interest in.

I use ProfCast on my Mac to turn ppts into m4v files and it works well. I've reviewed the files both on an iPod Nano and and iPod Touch and there are very readable and even with a simple USB mic it sounds fine. I find it really useful for my chemistry lectures that are heavy on "process" (ie how to determine when a reaction occurs when you mix two solutions, determination of activation energy from kinetics data, etc.). Although the files are readable on small screens (even with subscripts in chemical formulae), I recommend that students watch them on larger screens.

The students who use them say they like them.

Alan

[magistra]

Try Tegrity, which is much the same and your university may offer it for free (mine does).  I haven't had as much luck as others, but for the type of course and number of files I put online that's understandable -- it's easy to overload students.

Their reading lectures should be ok -- maybe give a handout on close reading.  I'd ask yourself if you really need to do this, even for an online course.  Do you want to do this with every lecture, or only key points?  How often will you use these, i.e. will you be teaching this course again?  Maybe you'll find that your students really respond (and I can see how they'd love to be able to go over difficult math equations over and over, for example).  But maybe they won't much care as much as you think.  I recommend doing a few and giving a midterm survey asking students what they use, what they like, how much time they spend on each feature, etc., and check usage statistics.  It'll give you an idea where to put your efforts.  They're just so time-intensive, as is online teaching, that I'd be sure it's worth it.

[wishingiwasfishing]

I use Camtasia and love it. Nice clear sound and really easy to take out your stumbles and stuff if you want. You can also use it to record your desktop if you want to show students something other than the powerpoint. I use it with Word and Excel to demonstrate things.

You can download the free trial which is a full version and try it out for 30 days without any cost before buying it, so try it out and see if you like it.

[galactic_hedgehog]

For my online course, I record sound with Audacity and then import the sound files into my presentation.  Generally, I use OpenOffice.org (soon to be LibreOffice), which has a built-in Flash converter, but the file that results has no controls.  iSpring has a free converter plugin for PowerPoint (Windows only) that has good controls in the final product.

Of course, since it's Flash, you can't watch them on iPads and iPhones...

[neutralname]

Thanks for all this advice.  It's very useful.  (Much more than I got from our IT dept, who basically said "interesting idea, good luck.")

GH

How easy is it to import a sound file into a presentation?  Does Powerpoint make this easy or do you need extra software?  Do you you embed a different sound file for each slide?  If I could get it to work fairly easily, then it would be an attractive option for me: I could record my actual lectures that I give to the f2f class with a digital recorder, and then afterwards manipulate the sound files to coordinate with the Powerpoint. 

I'm much more comfortable with the idea of recording my actual f2f lectures than I am with recording spoken lectures alone in my office.  I'm sure that my delivery would be more energetic and spontaneous.  Sitting alone in my office, my voice would be much quieter and monotone.  But maybe I could need to recall my days as a college radio DJ and liven it up. 

WIWF
Would it be possible to use Camtasia in the classroom, recording an actual lecture?  Would it require a wireless USB microphone or a microphone with a long extension chord.  I would not like to be giving my lecture while sitting at the computer talking into a microphone.

[bone_gal]

I think recordings are nice when used sparingly. It is best to use them as an introduction or highlight of the information, rather than a full 1:1 lecture of what you'd give in a face to face classroom. In addition to the ability to easier find information in written sources,  you also have to consider disabilities (i.e., if information is only available in an audio or visual format, you're setting yourself up for problems if/when you need to accommodate a student with disability), attention spans (i.e., most students take online courses because they have busy lives and they squeeze in course work where they can, they don't have an hour to sit and listen to something), and computer issues (if you have a long lecture, the file will probably be huge, which could hamper students' ability to download, do any of them use dial up, etc). Also, when you think written lecture, you don't need to post your full lecture notes. Instead, distill it down to a one page highlight document. Students in online courses have more responsibility for teaching themselves the material, and a lot of that comes from doing the reading. True, it's a weed out process and not everyone will be successful in an online course, but that's usually the way the learning works best.

Also, it sounds like you are new to online teaching and course development. If possible, I'd recommend that you try to get training not only on the platform you're using but also on good course design for online courses in general.