Teaching in a Classroom Studio

Both Engineering Online and DELTA have equipped several classrooms on campus with lecture capture technologies that are used to record classes that are posted for online students. In addition to the standard presentation equipment that is found in most classrooms, these rooms have cameras, microphones, recorders, and annotation equipment. For the most part, the instructor can teach the class just as they would for on-campus students and the EOL or DELTA staff take care of all of the other operations in the room.

There are two video streams captured during class; video of the instructor and video of whatever content source the instructor is using to present. These content sources can include the desktop computer that is integrated into the teaching desk, an instructor’s laptop computer or tablet, or a document camera. The desktop computer in each room has some mechanism that will allow the instructor to annotate or draw freehand on the board or podium available in the classroom. In addition to capturing video of the content, we also typically capture the annotated content and make it available to students as a pdf file.

At the beginning of the semester, the operator will work with the instructor to set up a communication scheme so that the instructor knows when the recording has begun and therefore when they should begin teaching the class. For classes that are captured for later online viewing, the confidence monitors in the room usually show the content that is being presented and recorded. For classes that are being broadcast live to other locations, the confidence monitors usually show the students participating in the class at the remote locations. Two way audio and video conferencing is available for these synchronous classes.

The audio quality is typically the most important element of any classroom recording. The local operator will make sure that you understand the microphone procedures and that you have the microphone positioned correctly for good audio capture. There are also microphones in the room to record students’ questions and comments during the class. Even with these microphones, it is still important to restate the student question to ensure that both the in-class participants and online participants can both hear exactly what question has been asked.

It is often challenging for the camera to see the details of what you are pointing to on a presentation screen or electronic whiteboard. For that reason, you are strongly encouraged to use the annotation equipment provided in the classroom to highlight the item on the screen that you are referring to. In all classrooms there is a podium that supports annotation and in most classrooms there is also a wall mounted smartboard that will support annotation.

In addition to the standard classroom studios, there are several mini-studios located across both NC State campuses. These rooms are the size of an office, but incorporate the same presentation and recording equipment that is available in the larger classrooms. If you need to pre or post record a lecture due to missing a classroom session, the mini-studio is a great solution to stay on schedule with your course. These mini-studios use the same recording technology and provide the same quality of recording that is captured in the standard classroom. Recordings made in the mini-studio will post directly to the lecture catalog where your classroom recordings are posted, so they will all be conveniently located and easily accessible for your students. On Main Campus, please contact Eva Boyce to arrange for mini-studio time. On Centennial Campus, please contact Charles Dawson to arrange for mini-studio time.