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I. Introduction: WebCampus Studios

I. Introduction: WebCampus Studios.….………….…

II. Process: Steps to Creating a Podcast…………..….……0

III. Post-Production: Deployment of Videos...…………..…0

IV. Examples: Different Ways to Use the Studio…………………………

V. The Stevens TaLK Group and Business Continuity…….……………

WebCampus Studios, located on the 5th floor ofthe Altorfer Academic Complex at 610 River Street,is the academic recording center of Stevens Instituteof Technology. At WebCampus Studios, faculty andstaff members work together to create a wide varietyof videos to enhance course content.

WebCampus Studios consists of two mainproduction areas. The first is the AcademicRecording Studio for Stevens, also known as thePodcasting Studio, which is equipped with a SMARTBoard and high definition cameras that are hookedinto the EDUcast recording system. This setupallows faculty members to create podcasts oflectures and presentations that can be easily linkedto their Canvas course shells.

The second production area is referred to asthe SmartClassRoom (Altorfer 501.) This spaceserves as a test bed for lecture capture technologiesthat may eventually be built into other classroomsaround campus. The SmartClassRoom is also usedto test procedures for conducting specializedacademic operations such as hybrid classes andlive-stream events. It has a capacity of 25 seats andis equipped with advanced audio and videoequipment.

Table of Contents

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II. Process: Steps to Creating a Podcast

STEP 2: Determine the Layout

With your input, we’ll design a layout that bestsuits your needs. You may choose a one-, two-,or three-screen format as shown below:

STEP 1: Generate the Idea

The first step to creating a podcast is decidingwhat you want to accomplish with your recording.Even if you don’t have a project in mind, visiting thestudio or the SmartClassRoom might help yougenerate ideas.

Besides capturing lecture content, you mightwant to create a welcome message for yourstudents, film interviews with guest speakers, recorda homework review, or prep for finals. You mighteven have existing Blackboard Collaborate sessionsor webinars that you held that you want to splicetogether with your new podcasts.

Not only do videos make content moreengaging, but recorded videos can make on-campus classes more resilient: in the event ofcampus closings due to inclement weather or otheremergency, faculty can still hold class by simplyuploading content to be covered that day.

Other departments on-campus might considerusing the studio to create marketing materials fortheir web sites.

Whatever the purpose, WebCampus can guideyou through the process. We can offer examples ofprevious video projects and provide advice for whatmight work best in your class. (See Section IV forproject examples.)

One Screen Layout

Two Screen Layouts

Three Screen Layout

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We will use your chosen layout to create yourpersonalized USB “key.” This key will recognize yourspecs and produce each recording with yourone-screen, two-screen, or three-screen layout.

Illustrated below is the two-screen layout andthe various ways you can configure each podcast towork best for what you are trying to achieve.(Figures 4A and 4B).

Fig.4A - Professor Rouse opted for a PowerPoint slide in onescreen with his image in the next.

Fig. 4B - Professor Besser chose to show his image in the firstscreen and use the second camera as a doc-cam.

When you are ready to record, please give us aweek’s notice. The best way to contact us is listedbelow:

E-MAIL: webcampus@stevens.eduPHONE: (201)216-5602

The material needed for the podcast can eitherbe brought in the day of the recording (with a USB)or sent to us beforehand. The EDUcast recordingsystem accepts all PC and MAC laptops.

If the content you want to show requires aspecific program that we might not have; it would bebest to bring in your laptop on the day of therecording.

While in the studio, we will find a comfortablelocation, lighting scheme and backdrop that worksbest for you. We’ll equip you with the microphonesand setup your layout with the appropriate feeds.

Now you are ready for your presentation.Presenters are encouraged to use as many takesas needed since editing can occur in post-production.

Once you’ve finished your lecture, follow-up withus regarding any parts you might want removed oredited. We can then discuss the various ways youcan receive your video (as shown in Section III.)

STEP 4: Schedule theRecording Date

STEP 3: Create thePersonalized USB Key

STEP 5: Send in thePresentation Material

STEP 6: Record thePresentation

Fig. 4C - The personalized USB key that we mentioned inSTEP 3 will be plugged into a port on the podium. As soonas you are ready to record, you’d insert the key as shownin the image above. This will activate the recording. Inorder to stop filming, you’d simply remove the key fromthe port.

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III. Post-Production: Deployment of Videos

Once you remove the key to end the recording,the recording is sent to an Internet server. Severalthings could happen at this point:

Option A: The podcasts you create can show up inan RSS feed. This feed can then be plugged directlyinto your Canvas course (Figure 5A). This meansthat the recording will automatically post to yourcourse shell and be instantly available for yourstudents to view.

Fig. 5A - The RSS feed can be placed within a page in Canvas. Thisway, students have instant access to videos as soon as you finishmaking the recording.

Option B: WebCampus can assist if basic editsneed to be made to the final podcast. Once theproduct is finalized, we can deliver you the video inseveral ways:

● B-1. You can save a copy of the MP4 on a USBfor future use.

● B-2. We can send you the direct link to therecording from the EDUcast’s server site to addto your Canvas shell. Students can click on thatlink and view your recording as a simple HTMLpage (Figure 5B).

Fig. 5B - This is what the students will see when they click on thelink mentioned in Option B-2.

● B-3. We edit your recording and upload the MP4into our *NJVID service (Figure 5C). Everyonehas access to NJVID through their MyStevensaccount or can use the NJVID Video Browserwithin their Canvas course (Figure 5D). As soonas you upload this MP4 into your Canvas shell,a security setting gets placed on that video soonly those students in your course can view yourpodcast.

*NJVID is a repository service like YouTube, but wascreated specifically for preserving academic videosfor higher education.

You’ve Recorded YourVideo... Now What?

Fig. 5C -The NJVIDweb siteinterface.

Fig. 5D -The NJVIDVideo Browserinterfacewithin Canvas.

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IV. Examples:Different Ways to Use the Studio

First, introduce your content face-to-face; then switch to voice-over format. This way, you can appear onscreen, but you don’t have to be filmed the entire time. You can appear at the end to provide any closingcomments (Figure 6A), or at any other point in the recording.

The voice-over feature will capture anything projecting from your computer. If you prefer not to be on camera,

A secondary studio camera provides additional optionsto record content. You can use it to show worksheetsor perform demonstrations.

This approach is especially useful for instructors whowish to manually write out and talk throughequations (Figure 6B).

Filming the whiteboard allows instructors to emulatehow they’d teach in traditional classroom settings(Figure 6C).

This approach is also useful for professors who want toreview complex problems that were discussed in class.

Fig. 6A - As seen above, Professor Pennotti chose to appear at thebeginning and end of his lecture.

Fig. 6B - The document camera provides a clearimage of any equations that need to be writtenout.

Fig 6C - The whiteboard space allows instructorsthe ability to re-enact a live classroom setting.

The SMART Board technology lets you annotate slidesduring the presentation, highlighting key points to makethe discussion interactive (Figure 6D).

If you’d like a product key to test out this SMART Boardoption, please e-mail us.

Fig. 6D - The SMART Board makes presentationsmore interactive.

1. Record Lecture Content

2. Use a Document Camera

3. Capture the Whiteboard Space

4. Create Interactive Content withSMART Board Technology

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Professors can introduce themselves with a welcomemessage and a brief description of the course. They canadd this recording on the home page of their Canvascourse (Figure 7A).

Program directors can use this same method forinstitutional sites to provide in-depth information abouttheir programs.

Academic and staff departments can create messagesor marketing materials to use on their departmental websites (Figure 7B).

They can bring in guest speakers to record interviews,record student testimonials for marketing purposes, andgo over programs and procedures in greater detail.

The SmartClassRoom is ready to go with built-incameras and microphones. It is great for lecture capture,live streaming, or real-time web conferences.

Whether you are holding on-campus events or giving alecture, filming an event will allow you to provide a linkto the recording to those who were not able to attendon-campus (Figure 7D).

Fig. 7A. - A welcome message on a web page or withinthe Canvas learning management system provides thestudent a more personal experience.

Fig. 7B - Podcasts can be created for course contentor used for marketing purposes on institutional sites.

Figure 7D. This is how the final recording will appear.

The existing EDUcast system used for podcasts cannow also be used to stream live events.

This is ideal for events occurring in theSmartClassRoom (Figure 7C). The same equipmentused to record instructor presentations is used here, butstreaming gives a large group of remote participants theability to attend in real-time.

Although there is no chat box available on the landingpage, a Twitter feed can be setup so those online canstill send in comments.

Fig. 7C - Remote participants will see a descriptionof the event with the video stream of the live event.

5. Make a PersonalizedWelcome Video for Students

6. Build Rich Media Content forDepartmental Web Sites

7. Stream Live Events

8. Record Meetings or Class Lectures

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Enhancing the Teaching Skills of Faculty:The Stevens TaLK Group

Several divisions within Stevens that conduct orsponsor professional development opportunities forfaculty members are now coordinating their effortsthrough the Teaching and Learning Knowledge(TaLK) committee. Training faculty to excel in theuse of educational technologies is a core part of theTaLK mission. Other TaLK initiatives include:

● Engaging faculty members to investigate,innovate and experiment with research--based instructional tools and practices.

● Providing professional development oppor-tunities to enable new and current facultymembers to maximize the effectiveness oftheir teaching.

● Supporting recognition of successfulteaching and learning scholarship andpractices.

● Fostering a university-wide culture and in-frastructure to support effective teaching,learning and assessment.

● Promoting Stevens as an innovation leaderin teaching, learning and assessment.

To learn more about the activitiescoordinated through TaLK, visit the website at:www.stevens.edu/sit/talk.

TaLK’s Core Teaching Modules

The core teaching and learning professionaldevelopment modules to be held annually by theTaLK group cover: How People Learn, LectureClasses, Blended Learning, Online Learning andAssessment.

Using Blackboard Collaborate andPodcasting for Business Continuity

When Hurricane Sandy struck in October 2012,it flooded half the city of Hoboken, forced theevacuation of hundreds of residents, and haltedon-campus operations at Stevens for 10 days.

The lesson from the Sandy experience wasclear: Courses with online resources were moreresilient than those taught by instructors who werenot. This guide is not only intended for instructorswho teach online courses, but also for on-campusfaculty in the event of another emergency.

The key for on-campus instructors - many ofwhom will never teach a fully online class - is to learnhow to use basic online teaching tools, such asBlackboard Collaborate, at the new WebCampusStudios before the next campus emergency. Thebest and most productive way to do this is for eachinstructor to explore how online teaching tools canbe used to enhance on-campus classes.

V. The Stevens TaLK Groupand Business Continuity