Nancy Hoagland

1
Using Visual Communicator to Create Instructional
Videos for a Writing Class

• Nancy Hoagland
• University of Maryland
• University College

2
Why use video in an online class?

• Reinforce learning
• Address various learning styles
• Meet expectations of students
• Model all forms of communication for students

3
What is Visual Communicator?

• Low-tech software for creating videos
• Was sold as Serious Magic Visual Communicator 2
• Now sold as Adobe Visual Communicator 3
• VC3 will be available in September 07
• Educational cost estimated to be 169
• Can download free trial (expires Aug. 31)
  http//labs.adobe.com/technologies/visualcommunica
  tor3/

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What are the features of VC?

• Has an automated wizard to create a video based
  on a particular style with graphics and music
• Has a built-in teleprompter for writing and
  recording lectures
• Can record yourself with a video cam or camcorder
• Can easily integrate charts, graphs, and slides
• Has flexible recording options to allow easy
  editing

5
What are the requirements for VC3?

• Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Home
  Edition with Service Pack 2 or Windows Vista
• 933MHz Intel Pentium 4, Intel Celeron 2, AMD
  Athlon, or Athlon XP processor or equivalent
• 256MB of RAM
• DVD-ROM drive for installation
• 2.3GB of available hard-disk space for
  installation

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What are the requirements for VC3?(continued)

• Standard PC audio card with microphone
• 16MB AGP graphics card with 3D acceleration
• Webcam users Standard DirectShow-compatible
  Windows driver
• OHCI-compatible IEEE 1394 video interface card
  for DV
• Large external hard drive for storing work
  (optional)

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How have I used Visual Communicator?

• UMUC Weekly Lectures for COMM 600 Academic
  Writing for Graduate Students
• Northern Virginia Community College Unit
  Introductions for ENG 111 College Composition I

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• Conference Title Week 5 Weighing Research
  Methods Preview of the Literature Review Read
  and Write
• Mini-Lecture on Weighing Research MethodsAuthor
  Nancy L. Hoagland Created Sunday, 10/01/2006
  2018 (Modified Sunday, 2/18/2007 1801 EST)
  
• The first mini-lecture for this week is on
  Weighing Research Methods. Here is a text file of
  the script for this video. This lecture is in
  response to participants who asked about the
  kinds of research methods to use for their
  research paper in this course.
• This video is about 13 minutes so it will take a
  little longer to open and begin playing. Please
  post any questions or comments that you have
  about the video on research methods.
• This assignment is due on Monday, February 26.

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What process did I use?

• Wrote the lecture in VC on the teleprompter
• Added graphics
• Made a practice and final recording
• Published the file as a Real Media file (.rm)
• Uploaded it by FTP to the Polaris server
• Added a link to a conference posting

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What did students think?

• About 1/3 really liked the videos
• About 1/3 used both videos and lectures but
  preferred the written lectures
• About 1/3 reported problems with bandwidth and
  could use only the written lectures

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Interesting Tidbits

• For the first time, I feel comfortable in an
  online class.
• Too formal.
• Use of text distracted from listening.
• Can you make a podcast that I can play on my
  iPod?

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How did I podcast the videos?

• Used a free iPod Video Converter named Jodix
  (www.jodix.com) to convert the video files to MP4
• Used a free program RSS Builder
  (http//home.hetnet.nl/bsoft/rssbuilder/index.htm
  ) to create an XML file for the podcast
• Used an NVCC instructional video for using RSS
  Builder (http//tac.nvcc.edu/podcasts/creatingSimp
  lePodcast_Part3.mov)
• Uploaded the files to the Polaris server and
  published the link to the XML file
• Students could add the link to iTunes and
  download the files to their iPods for mobile
  learning

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• Mini-Lecture Using Feedback to Revise
  WritingAuthor Nancy L. Hoagland Created
  Sunday, 11/26/2006 1419 (Modified Sunday,
  4/22/2007 1300 EDT)
• The mini-lecture for this week is on Using
  Feedback to Revise Your Writing . Here is a text
  file of the script for this video. This
  information will help you revise the first draft
  of your academic research paper.
• NOTE I am also making the lecture available as a
  video podcast. If you paste this address in a
  podcatcher such as iTunes, you can add the video
  to your iTunes library and transfer it to your
  iPod for mobile learning.  http//polaris.umuc.edu
  /nhoaglan/media/index.xml
• Please respond to the topic by identifying one
  specific instance when feedback helped your
  revise your writing. Also, I am especially
  interested if anyone could view the video as a
  podcast.
• This work should be completed by Monday, May 7.

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What are problems with using VC?

• Have to experiment to get good sound quality
• Need to request additional server space if you
  put files on the UMUC server
• Can put files on public sites such as Google
  Video or YouTube
• Have to decide about the quality of the videos
• Can put larger files of various types on public
  sites to get better quality

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Demonstration of Visual Communicator Studio 2
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For more information, please contact me by email
or telephone at nancyhoagland2_at_comcast.net or
703-671-0670