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Khan Tablet Capture style

Guide to creating your own videos MOOC’s: Khan Tablet Capture style

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Considering that video is the main method of content delivery in MOOCs, we are going to provide you an overview of one of the most frequently requested type of videos: Khan-Style Tablet Capture.

Khan Tablet Capture styleThis article forms integral part of the on line MOOC course Videos for teaching, learning and communication, created by The University of Manchester. It will end the 4th of December.

Salman Amin “Sal” Khan is an American educator who founded the Khan Academy, a free on-line education platform and an organization with which he has produced over 6,500 video lessons teaching a wide spectrum of academic subjects, mainly focusing on mathematics and sciences.

Khan was motivated even at a young age to help other people learn.In late 2003, Khan began tutoring his cousin, Nadia, in mathematics over the internet using Yahoo!’s Doodle notepad. When other relatives and friends sought his tutoring, he moved his tutorials to YouTube where he created an account on November 16, 2006.

The popularity of his educational videos on the video-sharing website prompted Khan to quit his job as a financial analyst in late 2009.

He moved his focus to developing his YouTube channel, Khan Academy, full-time with the aid of close friend Josh Gefner.
Khan consequently received sponsorship from Ann Doerr, the wife of John Doerr.
His videos received worldwide interest from both students and non-students, with more than 458 million views in the first number of years.

Khan outlined his mission as to “accelerate learning for students of all ages. With this in mind, we want to share our content with whoever may find it useful”.  Khan plans to extend the “free school” to cover topics such as English. Khan’s videos are also used to educate rural areas of Africa and Asia.

Khan published a book about Khan Academy and education goals titled The One World Schoolhouse: Education Re imagined.

Khan Academy, initially a tool for students, added the Coach feature in 2012, promoting the connection of teachers with students through videos and monitor tools.

As an educator, this handy guide to creating your own lectures in Khan Academy style will hep you:

  • First, an overview of what is needed:
  • A program to record your screen, and make a video out of it.
  • A program to “draw” on.
  • Any drawing program could be used for this. Even PowerPoint if you don’t care for the handwritten look. This is the actual content being recorded.
  • A tablet. This is optional. If you want the “handwritten” look of Sal’s videos you will need to buy a pressure-sensitive tablet. This allows for very natural looking handwriting.
  • A microphone. Assuming you want to use your voice in the video, you will need a microphone of some sort.

If you use a Mac, you can use the following programs:

  • If you have Photoshop, use that.
  • If you have Microsoft Office, PowerPoint and Word have drawing functions.
  • Otherwise: search for a free drawing program.
  • Mac has screen recording software built in with QuickTime.
  • Just run QuickTime, and then go file -> new screen recording.

How can you improve your handwriting?

  • Make sure that the tablet is set straight in front of you, on a table. Having it slanted will produce slanted writing.
  • Write slowly.
  • Write small. It seems necessary to write really big, but if you write as if you were using college-rule paper, it will look better.

If you want to work with layers, and / or  import pictures, you could check some video tutorial.

  • If you don’t have sound.
  • If you are using FrontCam, go to Options -> Video,
  • Then click the audio tab, and check “Record Sound”.
  • Otherwise, make sure your microphone is plugged in and that your speakers are up.

We can’t wait to see what you filmed after completed “Videos for teaching, learning, and communication”. You can still enrol! – Team UoMan.

Note: Article idea and some texts are taken from:

Step by step designing a sMOOC

Designing a Social Massive Open Online Course (sMOOC)

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“sMOOC Step by Step” is a free Massive Open Online Course – MOOC is being made available by ECO, which is a European project based on Open Educational Resources (OER), that gives free access to a list of MOOCs in 6 languages, in most languages via Closed Captions (via YouTube subtitles).
Step by step designing a sMOOC

This article forms integral part of that course. Our fourth edition has been already launched so you enrol!

This course offers a practical and theoretical approach in the learning process, as well as, help you create your own sMOOC (social MOOC) in a step by step way.In this course you will have the opportunity to learn more about:

  • How to build a sMOOC?
  • How to design a sMOOC?
  • How to support a sMOOC?
  • How to make an accessible and popular sMOOC?
  • How to evaluate a sMOOC and use data?

The following tips and recommendations are based on our experience and on the research we conducted to prepare our MOOCs.

Participate in a MOOC
The best way to learn about MOOCs is to take one. This will help you learn about what it is like to be a MOOC student and give you ideas for how to design one. You can check our catalogue:  for inspiration.

MOOCs cover a wide variety of topics. Find a course that is similar to the content you want to teach or choose a topic that is outside of your field but interests you. Since most MOOCs are free to take, the only investment is a few hours of your time each week. In fact, it would be even better to sign up for several MOOCs, to see the variety of approaches.

Learn from colleagues at other institutions who have already created a MOOC
Their experience will help you be informed about the time, effort, and rewards of teaching a MOOC.

Choose a topic you are passionate about and one that will be appealing to MOOC students
If you believe in your content, that enthusiasm will be visible to your students. A MOOC may be an opportunity for you to teach about something that is too narrow for a course or is outside of the primary focus for your field. You should also consider whether the topic will attract MOOC students. Based on your experience, or on a more formal needs analysis, try to determine whether there is a demand for the topic, and whether other MOOCs or resources exist on the topic.

Determine your targeted audience, and design the course to meet the needs of that audience
The entire design of the course, from content to language, teaching strategies to assessment, should be designed according to the needs and prior knowledge of your primary audience.
It is important to remember that in many MOOCs a substantial percentage of participants are from different countries, and so English may not be their native language. Age, educational background, and prior knowledge may also vary among MOOC participants; therefore it is a good idea to clearly articulate prerequisites or provide supplementary resources.

Build a team
Many faculties who have taught MOOCs recommend using a team approach for the design, development, and delivery. Rather than working alone, consider co-teaching with a colleague. Find students or colleagues who can provide feedback on the design. Identify at least one person who can test the course before thousands of students are trying to use it.

Plan the development process
Unlike planning a course on your own, a MOOC has more complexities. Begin the project by creating a time line for design and development tasks, like writing objectives, creating lectures, recording videos, designing assessments, and building the course. It is important to leave time for testing the course before potentially thousands of students access it.

Establish learning outcomes for the course before you begin selecting or creating materials
This is, in fact, no different from our recommended practice for any course design. First, establish what students will learn in the course. Then it is possible to design learning activities to support those outcomes and create assessments that measure whether students achieved the desired outcomes. It is also important that the number of outcomes is appropriate for the length of the course.

Design communication plan and community development strategies
Given the potential size of a MOOC, it is time consuming to manage communication with everyone. It can be helpful to encourage discussion and community development among students, so that you are not the central figure in the course. Discourage contacting you via email by creating discussion forums or using social media. Also, plan how and when the MOOC team will monitor the community and who is responsible for responding to the group or individuals, should it become necessary.

Create assessments for a massive audience
Assessment is not a required element for a MOOC – many focus on forming networks and discussing content rather than formal assessment through tests or written work. If assessments are used, the scale of MOOCs makes many assessment techniques impractical. Consider using automated grading, like multiple choice exams or programmed response activities, or “grading” on effort and contribution rather than performance. In many cases, MOOCs offer certificates of completion to participants who submit assessments or contribute to the MOOC community.

Other sMOOC Considerations:

• Length and timing of the course
Traditionally, courses follow the academic calendar, but that is not necessary for a MOOC. Courses can begin and end at any time. Currently, there is not any research into the ideal length of a MOOC, but most seem to be between 4 and 8 weeks long, with a few as long as 10 to 12 weeks.

Once you completed “sMOOC Step by Step” course, we will provide you with a space in one of our ECO’s platforms to host – for free – the SMOOC you create. We will provide you with the necessary on line space in our platforms to create your own MOOC for free.  But first, we need you to commit yourself to follow ECO sMOOC pedagogical model, that is, the pedagogical model you can learn by taking the MOOC “sMOOC Step by Step”. According to it, your MOOC shouldn’t be longer than 4 weeks, a period of time during which we will provide you with a free online MOOC space. After the 4 weeks we provide, you will have to pay for the hosting service of the platform.

• Funding
It is possible to offer a MOOC without significant financial investment. If, however, the MOOC requires special technology, paid staff to monitor it, or additional services, it may be necessary to seek out funding for development or delivery. The ECO Project offers a portal where teachers or teaching have access to a new methodology based on the MOOC concept, thus enabling them a lifelong learning objective in a time-efficient manner at little or no cost.

• Promotion
Promotion and marketing are necessary to attract students to a MOOC. This will likely utilize social media and professional networks to advertise the course and gain attention. Consider emailing professional associations, colleagues at other institutions, and other groups that may be interested in the content. It may also help to share information via Twitter or other social networks.
ECO content can be visualized on computers, tablets and/or Smart phones.
You can check our social media sites where we promote our MOOCS:

Legal
MOOCs require caution regarding legal concerns, particularly copyright of any materials created for the MOOC or used from other sources and the privacy of student data and contributions. These concerns are just the beginning, however. It is important to be aware of the many legal issues that impact MOOCs.

The ones who are interested in creating a MOOC are encouraged to enrol sMOOC Step by Stepand after completed you can apply to “Become an e-teacher”.
We can’t wait to see what you create. – Team UoMan.

Note: Article idea and some texts are taken from: Richter, S. http://facdevblog.niu.edu/tips-for-designing-a-massive-open-online-course-mooc

Umar with several video devices. Interview

Filming MOOCs: The perfect “Talking Heads Interview”

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Considering that video is the main method of content delivery in MOOCs, we are going to provide you an overview of one of the most frequently requested type of videos: the interview videos. Also known as “Talking Heads”. There are relatively straight forward to produce.

This article forms integral part of the on line MOOC course Videos for teaching, learning and communication,created by The University of Manchester. It will end the 4th of December. You can still enrol!

Our top tips for filming the perfect talking heads interview are:

Prepping your subject
It is useful to tell them exactly what will happen in the interview process, without letting them know the questions you are going to ask. You want to capture natural, authentic answers and that tends to be hampered by giving the subject a list of questions prior to the interview. Tell the subject the general topics, that there won’t be any difficult questions and for how long you will interview them. Let them know whether if you will need to film any cutaways of them doing things that they talk about during the interview.

Wearing the right clothes
As well as the time and place of the interview, inform about which clothes they need to wear. Ask them to dress in their normal clothes but avoiding close repeating patterns as that can play havoc with cameras and clothes with logos in order to avoid any copyright issues.
It can be tempting for subjects to put on a nice dress or their best suit if they know they are going to appear on camera but this may clash with the portrait of the person that you are trying to paint in the video, it’s important to mention whether you want them to be casually dressed or not.

Umar with several video devices. Interview• Keep accurate notes
Makes a note of anything that the subject mentions that might require clarification. This can be covered either by asking them to explain further or by using a cutaway to give the audience context.

Selecting the right location
The best location for a talking heads interview is usually one which gives the audience some information about the person being interviewed. Each frame of the video is an opportunity for the filmmaker to communicate information.

Very often the background will be out of focus in order to give the feeling of depth and to concentrate the eye on the subject so the information available might be quite minimal and may just be a subliminal message that the audience pick up on due to the color pallet of the background or the type of environment we see the person in.

Position the subject correctly for natural light
If windows are behind the subject you may see unwanted reflections of lights and camera equipment. If the sun is shining through it can silhouette the subject and combating daylight with film lights is difficult and may create a lot of heat.

If the window is in front of the subject then you may get varying light levels coming through as the sun goes in and out of clouds or shifts position in the sky. The amount of daylight will also change throughout the course of a day as the sun rises and falls so if you expect the interview to last a long time you may find a jump in light levels if you were to cut a clip from the beginning and middle of the interview together.

Setup for sound
When location scouting it’s important to listen out for any sounds that may interfere with filming there. Usual culprits are air conditioning, traffic noise and co-workers.

When considering the sound within an interview it’s essential to have a consistent approach as you may find that the editor wants to cut back-to-back clips from several different interviews, either with the same subject or different people. If there’s a significant difference in the audio gathered the audience will find it jarring and will distract them from the narrative.

The audio recorder should always be setup from scratch to ensure that all settings are correct for the situation you are trying to capture.

Light your subject correctly
There is a traditional lighting setup used for interviews called three point lighting. This setup involves a key light which is the main source of light pointing at the subject. If you have the luxury of seeing the person before the interview you can choose which side of the face to put the key light. You can complement their features by looking at the subject’s face and casting shadows to compensate for any asymmetry.

You may also use a fill light to balance out the amount of light falling on one side of the face and a back light which will help them to stand out from the background. Once you have mastered this technique it is possible to innovate, experiment and chop and change lighting setups to get across the desired tone for the interview.

Avoid overheating your subject
Heat coming from the lights is also a factor to consider. In small offices, especially in the heat of the summer or foreign locations, you don’t want your subject to feel uncomfortable or to sweat profusely, so choosing a location and lighting setup to suit will be essential. Before filming make sure that you are aware of the availability of power sockets and the amount of current that can be drawn from them (film lights often draw a lot of current and may blow a normal ring main if too many are on at once).

Position your camera /s
Typically you will use a two camera setup for interview filming. This allows you to cut from a wide shot to a close up during the edit. The advantage of this is it lets you edit the dialogue without the subject jumping position within the frame.

Sometimes you can position the cameras so they are filming the subject from the same angle and other times it will make more sense to position them roughly 30 degrees apart so one gives you a portrait shot and the other gives a three quarter angle view of the subject.

Produce the key message/s
Deliver key message/s within the interview. There are two approaches that can help ensure that they deliver the appropriate dialogue, each with pros and cons.

Approach one is to use an auto cue. This allows the subject to read from a screen whilst looking into camera. The eye line will remain correct as they are looking through a piece of mirrored glass. The downside to this approach is that unless the interviewee is a seasoned professional, it may come across as stilted or fake as the person will cleat be reading lines.

The second approach allows you to get around this problem by giving the person bullet points that remind them of the key messages. Their dialogue will remain natural but the downside is that their eyes may be seen to flick to one side of the camera as they read the bullet point which may be held up on a sheet of paper by an assistant.

This is also distracting for the audience so the best overall approach is to keep the message short and for the subject to memories the dialogue and key messages – this easier said than done, which is why we stay firmly behind the camera!

You can still enrol! We can’t wait to see what you filmed after completed “Videos for teaching, learning, and communication– Team UoMan.

Note: Article idea and some texts are taken from: http://boldcontentvideo.com/2015/03/06/10-tips-filming-perfect-talking-heads-interview/