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Mcasting Research
I'm following up on my research about podcasting, videocasting, and screencasting in higher education. The focus is on creating two mobile workstations that can be easily used by educators to create mcasts (multimediacasts). There has to be a balance between quality and ease of use. Here are some prelimary questions:
- What is the most appropriate hardware (e.g. computer, microphone, headphone, mixer, ...) to buy? I'm contemplating issues like usb headphones versus a mixer and mic setup. Flip video camera over more advanced video cameras.
- What software is good for novice users that will only want to do basic editing?
Here is a link to the research I've completed so far: http://me2u.athabascau.ca/elgg/thomassh/presentations/233/clean
I'm looking for both PC and Mac options (I'm not interested in debate about the two since I am already familiar with the arguments).
I will be creating support materials and how-to screencasts to help users create various types of mcasts. It is important to keep this a simle process so that people are not intimidated by the technology and have resources available to help them. This must also be a solution for using this in distance education so I would also like to hear solutions and recommendations for doing this at a distance (e.g. Skype).
The final thing to consider is the requirement to host this on Athabasca University servers so if you have any ideas about server-side solutions please fill me in.
So, please let me know what you think would be the best solution for a mcasting solution.
Thomas Sheppard
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Hi Thomas, I love what you are doing about the m-casting toolkit for educators. I have some questions for you about the preliminary collect/capture activities and the most effective devices that can be used:Here is a rough idea of what I thought might be useful for collecting and digitizing content in remote conditions, before m-casting technologies are applied:flypensEePC notebooksdigital sound recorderHDD video recorder (I love the idea of having the HDD built in to the machine.)Are you interested in evaluating devices for how they operate in remote locations?I am thinking of using powerful, portable devices for recording stories and digitizing photos, for example, within remote First Nations communities, a toolkit of devices (and software)that can be easily moved from location to location. For myself, these are factors to consider:portability (how heavy, how easy to pack and unpack, how would it be prepared for shipment)convenience (easy to assemble, as few wires as possible)battery power (how much time before device gives out? can it even work with generator, if needed?) durability (for bumps on seaplanes, ferries, loading and uinloading transport, resistant to rain, heat, sunlight) Would these devices serve to provide a learning experience for learners within classrooms and outside in more rugged conditions? Are they easy to use?I would really appreciate your feedback.regards,Glenn
Glenn,
The research I'm doing is focusing on a mobile station setup at AU for professors, tutors and other AU personnel to use. The focus is on creating mcast content to support AU courses and I would be creating support materials to show how to create podcast, screencast, and vidcast. The main objective is to keep it simple right now.
I think the second part will involve looking at more advanced capabilities like using Skype to record conversations. I'll be providing some info on this but I don't want to overwhelm users.
Hi Angela,
Thanks for the comment. My setup will not involve the type of motion sensor adaption you are interested in, but it sounds interesting. I use sensors when I teach LEGO robotics.
Ian,
Thanks for the link to your blog postings about screencasting. It is an excellent resource and will help me out a lot. I must admit that I like CamStudio as a free app because I can save my screencasts as a file in mpeg format to be uploaded later where ever I want.