The tools for capturing video keep getting cheaper and cheaper. The Flip video camera is a new cell phone sized device that allows you to capture up to an hour of decent-quality digital video. The camera can then be directly plugged into a computer for uploading and editing video clips. The are several models of Flip cameras in the $100-200 range. JC and I have been experimenting with Flip cameras, and although the quality isn’t the best, the convenience, size, and price are hard to beat. As these tools get friendlier and more available, we’re looking forward to the new ways instructors will make use of these tools in the classroom. There will always be technology hurdles in the process of recording and posting video, but tools like the Flip certainly make things a little easier.
Herman Fong, a lecturer in the Isenberg School of Management Business Communications program told us about his experience capturing student presentations in SOM 310: Management Communication with the Flip video camera. By recording their presentations, students get the opportunity to review their own performance and improve their oral presentations skills. Flip cameras are the latest technology that they have used to this end:
In the past, SOM has provided VHS video recorders. Students would bring in a VHS tape, their presentations would be recorded, and the students would watch their performance at home and critique themselves. But with the videotape recorder going the way of the dinosaur and fewer and fewer students having access to VCRs, we’ve looked for alternatives. About a year ago, some of the faculty used videodisc cameras, but that had logistical problems involving the finalizing of discs so that they could be viewed, having an efficient system by which students could take the disc, watch them, and return them for others to watch their own presentations, and so forth.
Last spring, SOM purchased a couple of the Flip cameras, and they seem to work well. The video quality isn’t great, but it’s sufficient for our purposes. After presentations have been recorded, [instructors then post the recordinsg online for student playback.] This was much more convenient for students, since they could just go online to view their presentations.
Herman Fong experimented with posting the video of student presentations both via SPARK and Google Video. SPARK was convenient for immediately giving students access to their files, while Google Video provided faster upload speeds. UMass Amherst instructors have been experimenting with a variety of tools for posting videos such as SPARK, UDrive, Google Video, YouTube, and Flickr Video. If you have technical questions about the best way to post videos online we always encourage you to contact our Instructional Media Lab at 545-2823 for advice.
Photo credit: DanPerry.com via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons attribution license.