Animations with Camtasia
Synopsis
Stuart finds Camtasia gives his off-campus video-editing students a better learning experience
Description
Stuart is trialling Camtasia along with other colleges from around the university, which allows him to show video lectures, whiteboard, video demonstrations of animations and a chat room for the students.
Stuart was also the first person to produce a DVD for students which contained step by step instructions for multimedia presentations. He uses webcams to talk directly with external students and is involved with the dissemination of student work on YouTube. Students also receive and submit work via DVD.
Target audience
The students from MMS1002 (Video Editing) trialling Camtasia are 11 off-campus students in countries such as Singapore, Britain and Dubai. In the near future Stuart hopes to use it with his other courses. It is not currently used for on-campus students, and is being trialled with.
Learning goals and objectives
The goal is to give the off-campus students an experience that's as close as possible to the on-campus experience. Through the Camtasia, video and audio presentations students learn how to develop the skills they need to operate the relevant programs and equipment. Because the 15 weeks each build upon previous weeks, it's very important that students are clear at each step of the way.
Roles
Stuart would like to see a room set aside somewhere at USQ for the purpose of getting together with other people who are interested in using technology-enhanced learning, and for testing or trialling products such as the SNAPZ Pro and Media Works programs. A facility like this would help those already using these types of technologies to communicate with one another and learn from one another, as well as providing a starting point for staff who are just beginning to use technology-enhanced learning tools.
Another idea of Stuart's is to set up a kind of "mini YouTube" web portal which could link USQ and local schools and show the rest of Australia (and the world) what is being produced by students and teachers in this area. This would be an ideal environment for students to share their videos and multimedia work in a monitored environment. Stuart is also aware that the technologies to be used must be practical and affordable for the students, which is why pursuing the idea of allowing iPod downloads of course materials and lectures is an appealing one.
Additional comments
Stuart says it's important that the teaching controls the type of technology used, and not to have a situation where the technology is controlling the teaching.