Lecture Webcasts
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What is webcasting? Class webcasts How to get setup FAQs What is webcasting? Webcasting is the broadcasting of an audio/video presentation over the internet, usually in a streaming format. Streaming means that information is quickly transmitted in small chunks, in a transient manner, never to be downloaded and stored on the recipient’s viewing device (personal computer, PDA, etc). A streaming format ensures that a large file of 30 minutes or more can be delivered immediately and continuously for the duration of the presentation. Presentations can be broadcast live and recorded and archived on a server for on-demand viewing. Once a presentation is recorded, it is compressed, encoded, and transferred to a server that provides streaming. The webcast is viewed using a media player such as Quicktime, Real, or Windows Media. Class webcasts The course offers archived webcasts of each lecture accessible only through Blackboard. Viewing the past lectures can re-emphasize and refresh topics covered in class. A recent study of lecture webcasting in large enrollment courses at UT indicates that the ability for students to review lectures is a positive experience for both students and faculty. For more information, see the section on DIIA’s webcasting impact study. How to get setup You MUST be on LAN or DSL/cable to be able to experience webcasts at satisfactory quality. Modem users will experience poor quality video and sluggish performance. You must have Windows Media Player installed. Download Windows Media Player 10 for PC, and Media Player 9 for Macintosh. Webcasts are accessible through Blackboard ONLY! ***If you are using a new Intel Mac, you will have to further configure your system. Download the special instructions now. Frequently Asked Questions Who can I call for technical help? Call the ITS Help Desk at 475-9400 Can I enlarge the video or slides? You can click on the “x “at the bottom of the slide window or video to enlarge the dimensions of the window. It is recommended that you enlarge the slide window to see the slides more clearly. Enlarging the video window will not improve quality very much. How do I increase volume? Use headphones when viewing webcasts, and set your computer’s sound output volume to maximum. How can I skip around the presentation? You can use the slider bar under the video window to move forward or back, or you can select the slide list button on top of the slide window and see thumbnails of all the slides. You can then select and play the lecture from a specific slide. Can I speed up or slow down the presentation? Only if you are on a PC. You can play the webcast at 2X speed or 1/2 speed by right-clicking in the middle of the video window and selecting playback speed. Why can’t I hear the other students’ questions or comments? Only the lecturers have microphones, we do not have microphones set up in the lecture hall, so student voices cannot be heard very well, if at all. Please remind the professor during class to repeat questions asked by students. Why can’t I see the laser pointer? The laser pointer is not recorded onto the slide during the lecture, so you will have to remember where the professor was pointing during lecture. |