The resources in this section provide guidance regarding options for creating multimedia presentations.
If you do not find what you are looking for in this section, please contact coursehelp@viterbo.edu.
As indicated in the previous section, the key to effectively using multimedia in your teaching is to start small... and make sure your tools work! Before you start recording your voice or use a camera or webcam, be sure to make sure your tools work and they are set up correctly.
Your computer may have a microphone on it, or you may have an external microphone, headset, or webcam that includes a microphone. Regardless, when you actually record yourself, be sure to do a test recording to make sure that the volume levels are high enough. If you cannot hear yourself or the volume is too low to hear well, check your recording volume settings to make sure that you have selected the correct recording device and that the volume is turned up.
The same rules of using a microphone apply to using a video camera. You may have a webcam on your computer, external webcam, or separate video camera. When you get started, be sure to run a test to make sure the camera is capturing what you intend it to capture. If you are capturing yourself (so your students can see you), make sure the lighting is appropriate and that any other aspects of your environment are not distracting to the viewers.
Echo360: If you need help, help is available! Viterbo uses an online video management tool called Echo360 to record, upload, and share videos. This tool, available via Moodle or https://www.echo360.org (access using your Viterbo email and password) allows you to upload and share video files privately to your courses. It even integrates with Moodle, so sharing the videos stored in Echo360 only takes a few clicks. Click here for information on how to use Echo360.
Technical Resources: There are also resources for trying these options for multimedia. We have the following resources available for instructors:
People: If you would like someone to walk you through the process, no problem. Please contact coursehelp@viterbo.edu.
| Echo360 | Zoom | Teams | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video Input | Yes or no (audio only) | Yes or no (audio only) | Yes or no (audio only) |
| Screen Share |
Universal Capture (software) = Share screen only Browser Capture (Chrome browser) = share screen, window, or Chrome tab |
Basic Tab = Share screen, window, whiteboard, iOS device Advanced Tab = PPT as virtual background, share portion of screen, share computer audio, share video, share content from 2nd camera (document camera, etc.) Files Tab = Share cloud storage files (OneDrive, Google, Dropbox, Box, MS Sharepoint) Options for sharing computer audio and optimizing video clip (recommended for YouTube video, etc.) |
Share Screen, window, whiteboard, content from camera, PPT Live, Excel Live, OneDrive files, Local computer files Option for including computer audio with recording |
| Picture in Picture | Side by Side (50%/50%) |
Small camera image with large shared screen image Camera image can be moved around |
4 Presenter Modes: Content only, Standout, Side by Side, Reporter Add Background option |
| Notes |
Recordings automatically save to Echo360 Library for managing, editing, sharing, posting to Moodle Simple editing options for recordings |
Zoom cloud recordings automatically sent to Echo360 Library for managing, editing, sharing, posting to Moodle Zoom cloud recordings saved at Zoom for 120 days "Record on this computer" option |
Recordings saved in Stream and Recordings folder in OneDrive from which recordings can be shared OneDrive files can be uploaded into Echo360 Library for managing, editing, sharing, posting to Moodle |
When teaching online, it's easy to feel removed from your students, as it is easy for your students to feel removed from each other. In order to engage and retain students, social presence is key to foster instructor-to-student interaction as well as student-to-student interaction. Creating an instructor social presence helps students get to know you better during your online course, and forming learning communities allows students to get to know each other.
See this article on the three types of interaction that foster student engagement to learn more.
Creating an instructor social presence is an important aspect of online courses where students will not interact with you on a regular basis in a face-to-face setting. It is important to intentionally build a social presence and social aspects into your online course that will help engage students, reduce feelings of isolation, and foster social community building among students and the instructor.
There are many easy ways to increase social presence in your online course:
Note: Instructions are included via hyperlinked text.
introduce themselves to their peers.Strategies to get students engaged in the course:
Using multimedia (images, video and audio) are easy ways to inject your presence into a course. The following sections include strategies and tools for using audio, video, and recorded presentations in your online classes. When you try out these strategies, keep the following in mind:
The following sections identify easy, intermediate, and advanced ways to increase your social presence.
Viterbo University does not recommend uploading a "voiceover PowerPoint" directly to Moodle. There is no way for students to view the presentation without downloading it, which takes time and a version of PowerPoint that corresponds to the way it was recorded. Students can also modify/change raw, narrated PowerPoint files.
Please consider and use the following options for recording and sharing a PowerPoint Presentation with students:
If you have already recorded within PowerPoint:
Instead of just posting the course items for the week in the News forum, you can share a quick video to give your students a flavor of the week ahead. These don't have to be polished, and can give your students a sense for your teaching style and personality. You can also choose to share short video lectures, especially if there are visuals you'd like to use to explain concepts.
A few options:
Echo360's Universal Capture allows instructors and students to record videos, screencasts, and audio at their computer. Echo360 is also convenient to store and share videos, since it is integrated with Moodle and does not take up file space. Click here for instructions on how to upload videos to Echo360 and add them to Moodle.
Echo360 is also accessible via https://www.echo360.org. Bookmark this site so you can easily log on when you have a video to upload.
To record, go to https://www.echo360.org and log in using your Viterbo email and Password. If you have difficulty logging in, contact helpdesk@viterbo.edu.
Viterbo users who already use MS Teams for web conferencing might want to consider Microsoft Teams for recording presentations as well. In addition to web conferencing, Microsoft Teams can also be used to record webcam, capture your screen (such as a document or presentation), or both. Recorded videos are saved in and can be shared via Microsoft Stream. Click here for more information on Microsoft Teams.
Viterbo users also already use Zoom for web conferencing, but it also works well for recording presentations. User the Share Screen option and then record; the same as if in a web conference with others. Zoom recordings are saved to Documents --> Zoom. Share your video by uploading to Echo360. Contact the helpdesk@viterbo.edu if you have issues logging into Echo360.
Note: If you record to the cloud and you already have an Echo360 account, your Zoom video will automatically go to Echo360.
ScreenPal is free and quite flexible. It can record your face (webcam), your screen (screencast), or both together (picture-in-picture). Recording is as simple as going to https://screenpal.com/ and clicking "Start Recording" on the home page.
When recording, you can select what you want to record (screen, webcam, or both). There is a 15 minute time limit for recording using the free version. When finished, select how you want to publish the video. You can publish to YouTube or download an MP4 of the video that you can use to upload to Echo360.
For more information on how to use ScreenPal, see the following tutorial:
Capture is a free tool from Techsmith, the folks who make SnagIt and Camtasia. It lets you record five minutes of on-screen video, and takes screenshots too. You can either save files or upload them to Techsmith's site Screencast.com.