At the last Educational Multimedia Group we introduced our brand new MILL (Media and Innovation Learning Lab) facilities which can be found next to the new LEaD office on the 3rd floor of the University building. These include a soundproofed digital production studio with two 4K cameras, autocue and a control booth (and will soon have a green screen too!), two multimedia production booths, an iMac training room, as well as new equipment such as our iPad kits.
During the session, the group were also introduced to some new video features and enhancements by Mo Pamplin, which you will now find on Moodle.
We showed the group around our digital production studio, and demonstrated one of the ways it can be used by setting up and filming a mock interview. We used one of our new Sony 4K cameras to capture the interview.
We also demonstrated the new iPad kits which come with a stand and high quality microphone. These are available to loan to staff, to use themselves or with a group of students, to create videos using the regular iPad video camera. The videos can then be easily uploaded to Mediaspace, which is the University’s video hosting site.
As part of the session we asked the group about multimedia creation or development currently being undertaken in their department or school and how the new facilities and Mediaspace features may help them enhance their content. The group indicated that the features would be useful, especially the new video quiz feature which would allow them to check students’ knowledge and provide interactivity when viewing a video. Other mini projects that staff were undertaking were short “how to” guides as well as bite size subject guides. These staff felt that the new editing features such as chaptering, clipping and trimming would help them collate and organise their videos effectively.
We also looked at the role of educational video to spark ideas for the new academic year, some ideas we looked at were:
- Building rapport with students by establishing an emotional connection with students via personal messages.
- Virtual field trips – providing access to people and places by visiting a place and sharing this with students, or filming a guest lecturer or expert.
- Manipulating time – e.g. slow motion video, slow down a process that is difficult to see or analyse with the naked eye, or using timelapse to speed up a slow process.
- Telling stories – captivating students and taking them on a journey.
- Motivating learners – stimulating learners by conveying enthusiasm for a subject via video.
- Demonstrating experiments.
You can read more about The MILL here, the page also has a link to request MILL facilities and equipment via the IT Service Desk. The same link will take you to the Multimedia-Enhanced Teaching Approaches (META) form which you can complete if you are looking for ways to enhance your modules with multimedia, or make better use of audio, video and rich media on your modules. A member of the multimedia team will take a look at your module and be in touch with recommendations.
To join the Educational Multimedia Group and receive an invite to the next meeting, please self-enrol onto our Moodle module here. We meet once a term, the next meeting is likely to take place in October 2016.
