By Kathy Lewis, Assistant Director of User Support
If you’re using Moodle for your Marywood courses you might also want to consider using Panopto, our course-capture system. Panopto is a platform that will record audio, video and your computer screen. Faculty can record class lectures and students can view them at any time. Panopto is web-based so all you need is a computer (both Mac and PC), a mic or webcam, and an Internet connection to get started.
Panopto is integrated with our Moodle site so you can add the Panopto block to your course. Once you click “provision course” a folder is created on the Panopto server to store your videos. You can also download the recorder from the Panopto block—and there’s not limit—you can download it to your office computer, your home computer and there are apps for the iPhone/iPad and Droids as well.
To make a recording, plug in a mic or webcam. If you don’t have your own you can make arrangements with Academic Computing to sign one out, or you can reserve a Recording Room in the Learning Commons and meet with one of our staff members to get you started. Choose your course folder, check your mic levels and/or video and then click the red Record button. You are now recording! You can bring up your PowerPoint presentation or a Word doc or go to a website. Panopto will record whatever is on your screen. When you are finished, click “stop” and the recording will finish and begin the upload process. Finished recordings appear in the Panopto block in your Moodle course.
So the recording process seems simple, but why should you use it? You can record your class lectures so that you students have access to review at their own pace at a time that is convenient for them. They can skip forward or backwards to view short clips or even do a keyword search to find topics that weren’t clear to them during the class lecture. Or you can record a short tutorial to review for an exam. Students who are absent due to illness can view the full lecture from home and won’t get behind in their coursework. Student athletes can benefit for the same reason as well—when they are away from the classroom for a game they can view the recording to stay on track. And with winter arriving quickly, imagine recording your course lecture from the comfort and safety of your home so that students don’t miss out on class time when the University closes for a snow day.
Another great feature of Panopto is the ability to have a student “drop-box.” Faculty can give students access to record a class project in Panopto. They can download the recorder or the phone app. If they need assistance they can reserve a Recording room in the Learning Commons and our Academic Computing staff will help with the recording setup.
So, when do you want to make your first recording? Let’s get started! Contact the Help Desk at helpdesk@marywood.edu or 570-340-6070 to set up an appointment with Academic Computing.
The Marywood Learning Commons 