NM Media Industry Talk: Re: [MISP] Online teaching equipment and software

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Hi,

I teach the beginning and advanced animation courses at UNM, CS, MA, Arts
394,494 and 594 cross-listings. I have been offering the class as a hybrid
course where the lecture material is provided as screencast recorded
lectures hosted on my site and delivered through the web-ct platform UNM has
setup. I have been doing this for about 2 years now and have received an
overwhelmingly positive reaction from my students. It allows for them to
review the material multiple times to truly understand it, they can watch
and digest it at a time when they are comfortable and able to learn, and
they have the ability to refer back to the material at a later date for
review. All of these things are impossible with an in-person lecturing
setup. Unless one takes really good notes, but even then it is impossible
do so when teaching concepts and software like 3D animation and Maya.

As for screen casting software, I have used SnapZ in the past, but was not
happy with the encoding times it required. I am currently using Screenium
which has turned out to be a very fast encoder and very affordable. I have
heard a lot of good things about Screen Flow and have tried out a demo. I
may be switching to it eventually but for now Screenium is working great for
me. Oh, and all of these are for OS X. If you are on Windows I would
recommend Camtasia Studio as I have heard a lot of good things about it.

As for hardware it is always beneficial to get a decent microphone to ensure
clear and well produced audio. However, I have found that many middle ground
headsets under $60.00 work fine if you can record in a quiet room free of
many of the ambient noises we all learn to drowned out. As always, if you
have the money, it doesn't hurt to get something nice, just be sure to
research things and make sure you aren't spending money on something that
doesn't offer its equal weight in quality.

In my opinion though the best training doesn't just come from having good
software or top-of-the-line equipment. Something that looks and sounds great
but is confusing or not taught very well has far less value than a great
presentation recorded at a low resolution with a built in laptop microphone
and a high video compression. Focus more energy on the material then
equipment.

I hope this is helpful for you!

Best Regards,

Brad Swardson

On 4/27/09 11:50 PM, "Mark McKee" <mark@unm.edu> wrote:

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> Hi Doug,
>
> I would say Elluminate and Wimba are pretty exciting tools for web
> conferencing, they aren't exactly brand new, but they are being adopted at a
> high rate. Also, many faculty seem to be having good results narrating
> powerpoint presentations with Camtasia and Adobe Captivate, which also isn't
> so new. Audio messages are also proving to be quite effective. It's very
> rare that the latest is ever the greatest in this field. I believe the
> heart of the matter is what one does with the tools to enhance quality
> learning. Does it actually facilitate learning? If so it's great, whether
> it's new or not so new.
>
> Of course, in my highly prejudiced opinion, UNM is the clear leader in
> quality online learning, because we offer, by far, the most pedagogical
> support to faculty, which allows them to use the appropriate tools to offer
> quality courses that reflect the teaching style of the individual faculty.
> Each faculty gets a course designer, to help them build their course,
> consult on pedagogy, and help select the proper tools for their particular
> discipline. From what I've seen, this level of support is not the norm,
> either in NM or the rest of the country.
>
> We also provide all of our streaming media on disc to any student who may be
> limited by dial up, which is a major issue for students in many parts of the
> state.
>
> Obviously I'm very proud to create and process media content for UNM, and
> I'm constantly amazed by our course designers, our faculty and they courses
> they produce together.
>
> So there, I said it.
>
> All the best,
> Mark McKee
>
> Mark
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Doug Bocaz-Larson" <dbocaz@NMSU.EDU>
> To: <MISP-L@LIST.UNM.EDU>
> Sent: Monday, April 27, 2009 8:13 PM
> Subject: [MISP] Online teaching equipment and software
>
>
>> ***This is a MISP Listserv message. Responses are sent to the list by
>> default.***
>> ***For more info about MISP and the listserv, scroll to the bottom of the
>> page***
>> *
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I was wondering what innovative online teaching tools you've encountered
>> out there? What is the latest, greatest equipment/software? Who in New
>> Mexico (and the nation) do you see as the leader in quality online
>> learning?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> --
>> Doug Bocaz-Larson
>> Program Manager: Computer Science and Creative Media
>> New Mexico State University - Grants
>> 1500 3rd St.
>> Grants, NM 87020
>> 505-287-6656 office
>> 505-290-1331 cell
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/nmsugrants
>> http://www.bocaz.com
>> http://www.pocolocos.com
>>
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