The creation of multimedia content as part of your online delivery will help students engage with your content. It is easier than ever to produce Audio and Video content to enhance your online teaching.

Record a video outlining the changes to online delivery

An introductory video explaining the changes that have been made to your unit is a simple and effective way to engage students, answer many of their questions, and reduce their concerns.

A successful video:

• introduces students to their unit convenor/s
• provides a quick overview of the approach you will take to online delivery
• outlines any changes to assessments
• states general rules and expectations
• is short and succinct.

The video should include the unit convenor/s speaking directly to the camera (in effect, to the student) and ideally placed at the very top of the content in your iLearn unit.

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Steps to recording video content

1 – Prepare a summarised script

Experience has shown that for videos to be viewed in their entirety, they should be no longer than 3 minutes. (This applies to explanatory videos rather than lecture captures.) You can script your video (400-450 words), however a dot point summary may work better to reference rather than read from.

2 – Record your video

The simplest way to record your video is to use your desktop / laptop computer, or your smartphone. Try the techniques outlined in this blog post to increase the production quality of your recording.

Alternatively, you can record your video using a video camera attached to a tripod.

If required, you can edit your footage using free video software such as iMovie or the Windows 10 Photos app. Once exported from this software, you can publish to your unit.

3 – Publish your video

Once your video has been recorded it will need to be uploaded through the iShare platform within iLearn, and then embedded where it is required in iLearn. Further instructions on how to do this will follow shortly.

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Top tips

Be personable

Your students want to be able to connect with you as a person, so speak into the camera as if you were talking to a single student or a small group of students.

Be enthusiastic

As a convenor, you know your content and are confident in teaching it. Convey your enthusiasm for your subject matter, so your students will be enthusiastic about it too.

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Consider recording audio instead of video

Using audio can provide great value for students. Combine a short audio recording with a picture of yourself on iLearn to engage with your students. Audio is also less complicated to edit than video.

This online resource: https://www.wikihow.com/Record-Audio-on-a-Mobile-Phone offers clear instructions on 3 simple approaches to record audio on your phone. However, the general approach is the same:

• Use (or download) a voice recording app (note: the majority of smart phones have a built-in voice recorder app)
• Prepare your script
• Find a quiet room/close your door
• Record yourself reading your script.
• When preparing the script, take into account:
  • Information about assessment tasks – when they are due, how students’ learning will contribute to successfully completing assessment tasks and any other information that you think students might ask at the beginning of the session about assessment/s;
  • Any other key information that students need to know to be successful.

The average speaking speed is around 150 words per minute. If you want your audio file to be 5 minutes, you have 750 words to cover all four topics.

Once you have the audio file, get it into iLearn by emailing the file to yourself and uploading it from a computer (see attached instructions). (This method is easiest because uploading files from a phone works differently depending on the phone, and the file structure of the phone might make it difficult to locate the voice recording you want to upload.)