At this morning’s Program workshop, I created a model I kind of like so I’m going to share it. It’s an approach to learning multimedia based on three areas:
Input —
For lectures, I recommended recording onsite lectures using an MP3 recorder around ones neck. You could also use a USB microphone (either free-standing Snowball type or good quality headset). To get the best quality, stand rather than sit, and make sure the environment is very quiet. Save audio files as .aiff, the largest but best quality format. For video in class, use a digital camcorder, the files of which can be easily loaded into a computer. On a PC running Windows XP, the built-in Sound Recorder can be used. On a Mac, Audacity or iMovie is best.
Output —
Sound files should be in small sections, saved in a compressed format: .mp3 is the best quality, or .mov, .wav. iTunes can import .aiff as .mp3, and other programs you might use to edit (such as Audacity) can save as .mp3 or .wav. Quicktime Pro can convert anything to .mov, Quicktime’s native format, with a wide variety of compressions. Sound Recorder can compress a file to a smaller size. 22050 Hz Mono is best for lecture. Video output should utilize the H264 codec, which provides the best quality for the lowest file size.
Integration —
For beginners, the sound or video file can simply be posted or linked in Blackboard, or a link inserted into a web page. Embedding the file into a Blackboard page or a web page is not difficult, and puts the file in a specific place. Unless you work with code, however, it will not be possible to determine whether the file will open inside the Course Management System, in the browser, or in a stand-alone player (like WindowsMedia or QuickTime).
