A professional teaching video in just a few clicks - this is possible in the new teaching video studio at the Central Institute for Education. Equipped with modern video and audio technology, teachers can now record videos there.
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E-learning made easy: New studio opens for the production of high-quality instructional videos
Watching lectures in the comfort of your own home instead of sitting in the lecture hall is something that students at TU Ilmenau have been keen to do, especially since the corona pandemic. Lecturers often make lectures, seminars or exercises available digitally on the Moodle learning platform so that their students can watch the content again after the lecture or work through new material on their own.
Until now, lecturers have mostly produced their teaching videos as recordings of classroom or hybrid events in lecture halls and seminar rooms, often under difficult live conditions, or with setups in the office or at home, some of which they have improvised themselves. This is now to be possible with just a few clicks in high quality and in a trouble-free environment - namely in the new teaching video studio in the Central Institute for Education, which was ceremoniously inaugurated together with the President of the TU and other guests on July 10, 2023.
The studio has been set up specifically for recording high-quality short instructional videos that can be incorporated into e-learning offerings without further post-processing. It features modern technology that is easy to operate via a touch panel on a desk with start and stop buttons. An interactive whiteboard functions both as a blackboard and as a presentation screen with touch function and built-in PC with standard software installed and Internet access. Teachers can also connect their own laptop with special software if required. A document camera and a freely positionable small camera the size of a lipstick ("lipstick camera") make it possible to record documents, smaller objects or entire experimental setups in detail. After finishing the recording, the video can be taken along on a USB stick.
On the wall opposite the whiteboard is a camera that records the instructional video. To the right and left of it are two monitors on which the image of the currently active source and the image of the later teaching video can be tracked. The studio is professionally lit and equipped with blackout blinds on the windows, ensuring consistent lighting at all times. A wireless headset in conjunction with an audio processor ensures high-quality sound recording without distracting background noise.
No special prior technical knowledge is required for use; even after a brief introduction, the technology can be operated independently, explains Veit Henkel, employee at the Central Institute for Education and project manager for the studio.
We have created a way to easily produce high-quality educational videos that do not have to be edited afterwards. In the new studio, these can be recorded in peace and quiet
explains Veit Henkel. The same settings for image, sound and lighting also create uniformity and thus recognition of the videos produced, especially for instructional video series. Compared to the recording concepts used in the TU's teaching rooms, the teaching video studio takes a different approach by directly recording the interaction of the teachers with the whiteboard. Also, the development of the operating concept focused on the methodical recording scenarios and less on the technology. The Studio is seen as a complementary offering to instructors to the systems already in place.
The studio can be booked by all employees of the university via an Outlook calendar. Students can also use the studio in justified cases.
Claudia Haaßengier, executive director of the Central Institute for Education, would like to support teachers with the new teaching video studio:
The teaching video studio enables the production of high-quality teaching videos and enriches e-learning at the TU Ilmenau. We are looking forward to many university employees taking advantage of this opportunity and finding their way to the studio.
Impressions of the opening of the educational video studio
