1. Why Video Presentations?
Today, presentation applications are increasing in popularity and providing powerful tools for creation of instructional materials and accessible information in audio-visual formats. When used appropriately, these tools can support and extend traditional presentations in valuable ways. In classroom settings, MS PowerPoint, in particular, has become the dominant presentation tool because it is both readily available and easy-to-use by instructors. It allows instructors to create and manipulate presentations in a wide variety of contexts that can enhance student’s interest and engagement. In addition, it helps instructors clearly identify the main points of a topic or activity while still providing the details through presentation. Instructors can incorporate multiple types of media formats (e.g., diagram, photo, drawing, sound and video) that cannot be easily integrated together into one single medium. Learners are also attracted to PowerPoint because of graphical, transactional, aesthetic and interactive features it provides.
However, in order to be successful, a presenter needs to guide the audience through the presentation, keep their interest, and attract their attention. Although there is interest in online slide sharing applications (like SlideShare & Prezi), they should be presented by a teacher inside the classroom. In other words, slide content and visual features (such as zooming, transition effects, etc.) are not substitute for guidance a teacher should deliver. If the students are not seeing and listening to the teacher, then learning from the slides in isolation will be less valuable or impossible. Video presentations are increasing interest in providing learners with actual presentations and video is demonstrated to be an expanding channel for presentation. Providing video presentations on demand to students is used to support facet-to-face, online, or blended learning. Students can choose when and where to use the video presentation and can spend as long or as little time on each learning activity.
2. Features of PresentationTube
1. Unlimited video storage space, and unlimited video delivery bandwidth with no ads or banners.
2. No need for developing new presentation materials. PresentationTube uses your own existing PowerPoint slides.
3. No need for using third-party tool to record your presentation. PresentationTube provides a smart and free desktop video presentation recorder to produce your video presentations. The Recorder synchronizes presenter's video, PowerPoint slides, drawing board, and whiteboard.
4. Easy-to-navigate video slide thumbnail allowing the audience to move to the respective video content and control both the time and progress of video without the need to watch or download the entire video.
5. Interactive components, including Facebook comments, allowing the audience to be heard, involved, and tracked.
6. Video presentations are accessible via any operating system, standard browser, or mobile
device.
7. Can be used in ordinary classrooms, home revisions, e-learning and blended learning
environments, distance education settings, virtual conferences, and business orientations.
8. Videos are hosted on YouTube's high-speed media streaming servers to provide a rich experience.
3. How Does PresentationTube Work?
PresentationTube Recorder is a simple tool designed to help you record PowerPoint video presentations from the comfort of your home or office, and without the need to have Internet connection while recording. It synchronizes presenter's video, PowerPoint slides, drawing board, and whiteboard and generate videos ready for uploading to PresentationTube network. With visual aids, like the drawing board, presenters can draw lines, curves, graphs, and shapes on the screen to emphasize or clarify their ideas, so the demonstration can be clearer. The whiteboard also allows the presenter to type text while presenting using the keyboard making it an ideal tool to add more details, or explain equations using words, numbers, and symbols.
An uploaded online video presentation employs scrollable slide thumbnail allowing the audience to move to the respective video content and control both the time and progress of video. A video presentation also allows interactivity via Facebook comments and self-assessment allowing the audience to be heard and involved.
Today, presentation applications are increasing in popularity and providing powerful tools for creation of instructional materials and accessible information in audio-visual formats. When used appropriately, these tools can support and extend traditional presentations in valuable ways. In classroom settings, MS PowerPoint, in particular, has become the dominant presentation tool because it is both readily available and easy-to-use by instructors. It allows instructors to create and manipulate presentations in a wide variety of contexts that can enhance student’s interest and engagement. In addition, it helps instructors clearly identify the main points of a topic or activity while still providing the details through presentation. Instructors can incorporate multiple types of media formats (e.g., diagram, photo, drawing, sound and video) that cannot be easily integrated together into one single medium. Learners are also attracted to PowerPoint because of graphical, transactional, aesthetic and interactive features it provides.
However, in order to be successful, a presenter needs to guide the audience through the presentation, keep their interest, and attract their attention. Although there is interest in online slide sharing applications (like SlideShare & Prezi), they should be presented by a teacher inside the classroom. In other words, slide content and visual features (such as zooming, transition effects, etc.) are not substitute for guidance a teacher should deliver. If the students are not seeing and listening to the teacher, then learning from the slides in isolation will be less valuable or impossible. Video presentations are increasing interest in providing learners with actual presentations and video is demonstrated to be an expanding channel for presentation. Providing video presentations on demand to students is used to support facet-to-face, online, or blended learning. Students can choose when and where to use the video presentation and can spend as long or as little time on each learning activity.
2. Features of PresentationTube
1. Unlimited video storage space, and unlimited video delivery bandwidth with no ads or banners.
2. No need for developing new presentation materials. PresentationTube uses your own existing PowerPoint slides.
3. No need for using third-party tool to record your presentation. PresentationTube provides a smart and free desktop video presentation recorder to produce your video presentations. The Recorder synchronizes presenter's video, PowerPoint slides, drawing board, and whiteboard.
4. Easy-to-navigate video slide thumbnail allowing the audience to move to the respective video content and control both the time and progress of video without the need to watch or download the entire video.
5. Interactive components, including Facebook comments, allowing the audience to be heard, involved, and tracked.
6. Video presentations are accessible via any operating system, standard browser, or mobile
device.
7. Can be used in ordinary classrooms, home revisions, e-learning and blended learning
environments, distance education settings, virtual conferences, and business orientations.
8. Videos are hosted on YouTube's high-speed media streaming servers to provide a rich experience.
3. How Does PresentationTube Work?
PresentationTube Recorder is a simple tool designed to help you record PowerPoint video presentations from the comfort of your home or office, and without the need to have Internet connection while recording. It synchronizes presenter's video, PowerPoint slides, drawing board, and whiteboard and generate videos ready for uploading to PresentationTube network. With visual aids, like the drawing board, presenters can draw lines, curves, graphs, and shapes on the screen to emphasize or clarify their ideas, so the demonstration can be clearer. The whiteboard also allows the presenter to type text while presenting using the keyboard making it an ideal tool to add more details, or explain equations using words, numbers, and symbols.
An uploaded online video presentation employs scrollable slide thumbnail allowing the audience to move to the respective video content and control both the time and progress of video. A video presentation also allows interactivity via Facebook comments and self-assessment allowing the audience to be heard and involved.
To start using PresentationTube:
- Record presentation: Download PresentationTube Recorder and start recording and narrating your presentation using PowerPoint slides, webcam, whiteboard, drawing board, and web content.
- Upload video: Upload your video (wmv/avi) and presentation data file (zip) via PresentationTube website and enjoy the new and interactive features of video presentations.
- Share online presentation: Share your PowerPoint video presentation via email and social networks, or embed the video presentation in your course pages, website, or blog.
4. Recording Requirements
Before using PresentationTube recorder ensure that you have:
a. Windows XP/Vista/7/8 and MS PowerPoint (2003/2007/2010/2013).
b. Your PowerPoint presentation saved in your local or mobile drive in PPT, PPTX or PPS format.
c. A Webcam driver and camera connected to your computer.
Just open your presentation and start present and everything in your presentation will be recorded, including transitions, animations, slide timing, sound effects, mouse movement, embedded video & audio, compelling elements of live presentation, on-the-fly pen annotation, and cursor highlights.
5. Using PresentationTube Recorder
To record your presentation run the recorder to find your webcam activated and started automatically, then:
a. Click the "Open" toolbar button to load your PowerPoint presentation into the recorder display window.
b. Adjust your camera and microphone devices and video format settings from "Camera Settings" in the left-hand explorer bar. Click on "Camera Device" drop-down menu to select your webcam.
c. Click "Config" button to adjust your audio, video and recording options.
d. When ready, click the "Record" button and select the desired video format (WMV, or AVI) and destination folder to start recording. The WMV format is much recommended.
e. Use the slide controls toolbar buttons (First, Previous, Next, Last) to navigate forward and back through the presentation.
f. Toggle (switch) between presenter's webcam, slides, text, drawing, and web browser while recording using Cam, Slides, text, Draw, and Web toolbar buttons.
g. You can also annotate on your slides by clicking on the annotation tool and then using any mouse device or graphic tablet to draw or write with.
h. Use the whitebeard to explain using text, or the drawing board (similar to MS Paint) to draft out or explain an idea using the drawing tools in the Draw pane or the simple text editor in the Text pane.
i. Use the camera position control at the right-bottom of the screen to change the camera view and position. Click the active position (red color) again to hide the camera view.
j. Click "Pause" to stop recording temporarily and click again "Resume" to continue recording.
k. Click "Stop" to end recording and get your video file (e.g., myvideo.wmv) and video data file (myvideo.zip) saved in your destination folder.
6. Adjusting Video Recording Options
a. Click the "Config" toolbar button to open the Recording Options window.
b. Tick/select the "Show with Animation" box to present with the slide animation and transaction effects. Tick "Show with Narration" and "Use Slide Timing" boxes only if required.
c. WMV Bitrate is the number of bits used per unit of playback time to represent a continuous video after source coding (data compression).
d. Typically, PresentationTube Recorder records at 700 Kbps. The encoding bitrate of WMV video file is the size of a video file in bytes divided by the playback time of the recording (in seconds), multiplied by eight. A higher bit rate means that the video has more information (range 700-1500 Kbps).
e. PresentationTube Recorder records at 24 frames per second (fps) to improve the quality of video output and give the appearance of seamless movement. When increasing frame rate, we recommend that you also keep in mind how it will affect the overall recording file size (range 12 - 50 fps).
f. Tick the "Capture Mouse Cursor" and "Highlight Mouse Cursor" boxes to capture and highlight your mouse cursor movements in the video recording. Check only if you need it. Capturing and highlighting the mouse cursor uses substantial CPU resources and has lower priority than capturing the slides only.
g. Adjust camera options, including brightness, contrast, hue, and zoom using the horizontal slide bars as appropriate.
7. Uploading Your Video Presentation
After recording your presentation, you get two files; the video (e.g., Video1.wmv) and the data file (Video1.zip), which is a small file in ZIP compressed format. Please return back to PresentationTube website then:
a. Click on "Upload" link then "Select Video" button to select the video file you just recorded.
b. Wait for the uploading process then complete the publishing form. Fill-in the form fields (title, presenter's name, etc.). Select "Private" if you like not to list your video presentation or make it searchable for PresentationTube users. This form requires selecting the presentatioin data file (in zip format) generated by the recorder and saved in the same video file directory. This ZIP file has the same name of your video file (for example: file1.wmv and file1.zip). Click the "Publish" button and wait for the video presentation page link.
d. Click on the link to watch and share the video presentation.
e. Click the "Embed" or "Blackboard" buttons then copy & paste the code to embed your video presentation in your web page, blog, or course management system (e.g, Moodle). Video presentations can be used in regular classrooms, flipped classrooms, home revisions, e-learning courses, blended learning environments, distance education settings, virtual conferences, and business orientations.
8. The Benefits of Pre-recorded Video Presentations
a. Students consistently rank video presentations as an essential tool, and most often use it to review concepts and revise. The majority of students still attend classes, even when video of lecture is in place. Instructors have been experimenting with many useful techniques for integrating lecture capture into their courses.
b. Saving time giving face to face lectures. Video presentations replace repeat face to face lectures, this creates time for active learning in tutorials.
c. Recording presentations provides an opportunity to re-organize teaching time, and to rethink content delivery.
d. Students who watch an online video presentations may be better able to apply what they had learnt than students who attended the same lecture in person.
e. Audio and video capture with PowerPoint slides may be particularly useful for ‘equation heavy’ disciplines.
f. Some students rarely ask questions in lectures, particularly in large groups, and prefer to focus on the captured lecture.
g. Students are more likely to interact in an online forum where they have more time to consider and compose their question carefully.
h. Provide students with a valuable resource to complement their studies. Students can stop, start and rewind the video to address their specific needs.
i. Allow students to catch up if they miss a face-to-face lecture. This also enables them to adopt a more flexible learning pattern if they wish.
j. Can improve students’ learning and increase their overall level of satisfaction and confidence with the course.
9. Tips for Implementation
a. Divide longer presentations into three to twelve minute segments for recording. This will make the material more accessible to students, as well as help the professor prioritize and organize the topics for the students.
b. Provide presentation online before the corresponding class meeting, and hold students responsible for viewing it on their own. This frees up class time for more interactive activities and discussion.
c. Record short segments for online posts outside of classroom lectures. Use a more informal tone, as if in a tutorial session, to make the listening experience more personal for students.
d. Provide unabridged, recorded lectures for international students to review the material at their own pace once a classroom session is completed.
e. Remind students that reviewing pre-recorded lectures are a good way to prepare for tests and exams.
f. Have a student or teaching assistant take notes throughout the lecture. Post them online along with the pre-recorded video presentation so that students can fill in missing information in their own notes and have a model for note-taking in future lectures.
g. Pre-designate a time for students to participate in small group and individual discussions regarding video presentation, so that other students can access them.
h. To encourage students to come to class rather than rely on only the pre-recorded video presentations, an attendance policy and/or a class participation policy may be used.
Benefits and tips were adapted from: DeAngelis, K. (2009). Teaching Tip Sheet, Center for Teaching and Learning, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
If you have any question please leave a comment. Join our Facebook community or visit our blog to learn more about recording and sharing video presentations using PresentationTube.
If you have any question please leave a comment. Join our Facebook community or visit our blog to learn more about recording and sharing video presentations using PresentationTube.