Adding a Camtasia Project to Blackboard Vista Tip

Marcia Williams just sent me this message with an important tip on adding projects to Blackboard Vista:

I created a Camtasia Theater project with 5 parts. There were a total of 11 files, some flash, one html, and something else. To upload them I put them in a folder, zipped it, uploaded the zipped file, extracted it within Blackboard Vista, and pointed to the html file. Nothing. Hmm.

Marika and I did some troubleshooting and decided the unknown was that unzipping utility in Blackboard Vista. So - I deleted the files from inside Vista, and uploaded each individually. Voila! It works!

Grrr.

Adding a Camtasia Project to WebCT

Vici McLaughlin, faculty member from Peninsula College who attended the Summer Institute last August, recently sent me step by step instructions for adding a Camtasia project to WebCT. With her permission, I've added them to the Camtasia Track Blog.

Thanks, Vici!

P.S. I followed them myself was they work.

Marcia and Debbie's Project

Here is a link to Marcia and Debbie's joint project.

Jim's Project

Here is a link to Jim's project.

Ron's Project

Here is a link to Ron's project.

Connie's Project

Here is a link to Connie's project.

Tanya's Project

Here is a link to Tanya's project.

Vici's Project

Here is a link to Vici's project.

Tom's Project

Here is a link to Tom's project.

Kandee's Project

Here is a link to Kandee's project.

Peggi's Project

Here is a link to Peggi's project for the week.

Workflow Steps

1. Determine goals/learning outcomes.
2. Create a plan
> Storyboard
> Create script/detailed outline (take a break after scripting)
3. Rehearse
> Revise storyboard/script if necessary.
4. Prepare to record
> Check mic level
> Configure recorder (16 bit color, 5 frames/second)
5. Record
6. Save project
7. Edit
> Delete unwanted portions
> Re-narrate parts if necessary
8. Enhance
> Callouts, zoom-n-pan, titles, etc.
> Add music if desired (this should be last step)
9. Produce

Moving Projects Safely

When you move your project from one computer to another, you must follow these steps:

1. From the Camtasia File menu select Export Project as Zip.... Save the file on your flash drive.



2. To open your project on another computer, open Camtasia and from the file menu select Import Zipped Project....

Closed Caption Instructions

I submitted my question to the TechSmith Support discussion board and received this answer a few minutes ago:

In the Captions options you have the Overlay and the Display options enabled. Here is a screen-shot of that.http://screencast.com/t/Xussqc1hF5

Also in the Production Wizard use the Custom productions setting-> SWF/FLV Flash output then click Next. Click the Flash Options-> Control tab check "Captions initially visible" if you would like the Captions visible when you start the video.Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Thank You,Travis

Web Theater

I've created three short Flash movies on RSS feeds to use for the Web Theater Demo. In the Files section to the right, right click on each link then select "Save Target As..." to save them to your computer.

The TechSmith tutorial shows you how to group the files, create the navigation and save the project.

Here is the finished Camtasia Theater project on RSS Feeds that we worked on this morning.

On Thursday, you'll have lots of lab time, too.

Last but not least, if you want more practice with captions, I've placed a copy of the script we used for narrating the VARK movie (not the PowerPoint) in the files section to the right. To save it to your computer, right click and select "Save Target As...." See if you can add captions to your first Camtasia project.

Tips

Here are some tips that our group has come up with:

1. Remind students they can use their iPod ear buds with a computer to listen to your Camtasia projects.
2. When downloading music clips, add the length to the file name so you know at a glance how long the clips last.
3. Before you begin a project, create a folder for all the files which will also include the source files. For example, if you are narrating PowerPoint, add the ppt file along with all the project files.
4. When working with captions, you will probably need to make hard breaks in the preview panel so you can sync the audio with captions.
5. This is an observation. I couldn't get the caption panel to close even if the project was saved as Flash. I'll contact TechSmith to see if there's something I'm doing wrong.
6. If you're using Office 2007, you can get a free pdf plug-in. Convert handouts to PDF to significantly reduce file size. To find the plug-in, click the Office button and select Save As.... Then select Find Add-in for other file formats. A Word Help dialogn box will open and you'll need to scroll down till you find the text "Go to the Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS Add-in for 2007 Microsoft Office programs and follow the instructions on that page. " Click on the link to download and install the Add-in.
7. You can copy symbols from Word into Camtasia. For example, if you want to add the copyright symbol into your project info, type (c) in Word and then you'll be able to copy the symbol to Camtasia.
8. Remind your students that they'll need the Acrobat Reader and Flash Player in order to view all your course content. And, provide links to the web sites where they can easily find and download the software.

We talked about creating smaller files on Tuesday and I want to share this training video from TechSmith on "Best Quality, Smallest File Size."

I'd like to rearrange the schedule a bit, too. On Wednesday, I'd like to

1. Review what we did on Tuesday.
2. Add titles and music to a project.
3. Look under the production wizard "hood" and tweak some settings.
   
4. Narrate a PowerPoint presentation.
5. Add captions to the PowerPoint.
6. Start storyboarding a project.
   

Training Room and a Few Updates

I spent some time in the our training room today getting the software installed, headsets connected, and testing, testing, testing to make sure everything will work as planned. This short movie has a preview of our room and a tip to dress in layers since the room was fairly warm today.

Earlier today, Maureen sent out a parking pass and a schedule for the week and I can vouch for the fact that preparations for the event are in full swing.

Last Spring, I gave three Camtasia workshops around the State. Ruby Butterworth and Paula Girourad, math teachers from Bellingham Technical College, attended one of them and created some impressive math tutorials. They've given me permission to show them to other workshop attendees. Percents by Paula. Fractions by Ruby.

I'll have many more examples to show you tomorrow. See you soon!

What to bring to the Institute

I've had a question already about what to bring to the Institute. Here are my initial suggestions.

1. USB drive (at least 1GB)
2. PowerPoint slides you may wish to narrate.
3. Headset with a boom microphone if you have one. We'll be supplying them for those who don't but, for budgetary reasons, we had to purchase inexpensive ones. If you want to purchase a set on your own, here is a recommendation. Plantronics .Audio 650 Stereo Headset.
4. If you have web storage space, the configuration settings for copying files to it. Typically this would be the host name (URL), your user name and password, and possibly a specific port number. If you don't have web storage space, don't worry about it.
5. There will be plenty of time to create projects you can use Fall quarter. So depending on your projects, you may need to bring other files and documents. Review the project ideas in the previous posting and if you decide to pursue one or two of them, bring the supporting files, etc. you'll need.

Feel free to add your own suggestions or questions using the Comment feature of the blog.

Camtasia Project Ideas

Marcia Williams, who is a faculty member at BCC and on the Washington Working Connections Advisory Board, just sent me a fabulous list of Camtasia project ideas that I want to share with everyone.

• Powerpoint narration
• Demo of how to do something on the computer
• Tour of my online website for my online course
• Critique of a pseudo-student paper - like a lecture on paragraph construction, etc
• Foreign Language - pronunciation practice
• Health Professions - pronunciation practice (long technical terms)
• ESL - pronunciation practice
• Review of a test - after the fact - can save class time even in a campus section
• Review of an assignment's specifications - as it is assigned. I always create an .exe of my programming assignments and walk students through the execution of the program
• Pre-submission checklist for a programming (or any) assignment - using a rubric like a checklist - or the assignment specs again - get students to find and correct their own mistakes before they submit so grading is easier (hooray!), students fix and learn from their own mistakes, and they earn a better grade. Win, Win!
• Critique of an interior design class project - so students can see what a critique looks like
• Two person dialog - perhaps acting out a historical event/conversation

Here are a few more ideas from me:

• Online orientation for a distance learning class. I've been using one for the past year and it helps students to understand how the class works.
• Math instructors (or any one teaching math for their field) showing and telling students how to solve problems using Camtasia installed on a tablet pc.
• Art instructor explaining concepts in art history.
• Critique/feedback for multimedia projects

If you'd like to add other ideas, please post a comment!