Jessica Kutz Fleming, College of Education, Health and Human Sciences
“Don’t be afraid to learn something new”—we ask this of our students all the time.
I teach large (>100) classes in the KRSS department. At the start of the pandemic, I quickly concluded that required live Zoom sessions might not be the most efficient and equitable option to deliver my course content so I decided to learn a new skill…video editing.
I use Camtasia video editing software which is a nice mix of beginner friendly editing software but has ample functionality to create high quality videos. The key to my videos is that I use the green screen feature. So, while my students see me in the video moving around and talking the way I would in a live class in front of my slides, I was really just in my basement filming in front of a green sheet. The production value is quite good and the key is to figure out good lighting.
Students who had me in person and then online expressed that it “felt like they were still in class.” Instead of being locked in tiny box on the screen, they get to see me in a similar context as if they had me in person.
Now I have a full bank of these videos for all my classes. With the rewind functions and closed captions my courses are more accessible than they would be in an in-person format (so I hope to keep using these videos in some capacity even when we are in person again).
Additional Resources:
- Training for Camtasia (UT Office of Information Technology)
- Recording Online Lectures with Camtasia (UT OIT)