Category Archives: Distance Learning

Camtasia Screen Capture Problem Solved

Distance Learning, Technology

image I was having a problem when using Camtasia Studio to do a screen capture of an algebra lecture.  On my laptop, the capture works just fine but on my desktop it was very jumpy.  For those who don’t know, I use a Wacom Tablet, Microsoft OneNote and Camtasia to produce a series of videos for our online Algebra sequence. 

Whenever I would begin recording, the system would slow down enough that the writing on the screen was broken and hard to read.  The sound capture was fine, it just seemed that the CPU was not able to keep up with capturing the video on the screen and allow me to write smoothly.  The laptop, where it works fine, is a faster processor but with the same amount of memory.  I’m not certain how the video adapters compare.

I first discovered the problem several months ago and had been switching back and forth ever since.  However, today I took initiative and attempt to solve the problem one more time and came across a tip I had not considered. 

The Solution that worked for me:  Reduce the color depth from 32 bit to 16 bit.  For the types of videos I am doing, that makes makes no discernible difference and now it is as smooth on my desktop as it is on my laptop.

Some other tips for increasing the capture rate were found here: http://tinyurl.com/arua4b

Here’s a short sample:

http://content.screencast.com/users/splineguy/folders/Default/media/36fa8e10-3bbe-4c64-8bb5-336c9664ae32/bootstrap.swf

Conducting an online mathematics course

Distance Learning, Mathematics, Technology

I gave a presentation today to my colleagues at WBU in order to train them on teaching an online mathematics course.  We have offered College Algebra online for the last year and, so far, I have been the sole instructor.  I developed a series of lecture videos and notes for the students.  We are now ready to have additional instructors leading the course that was developed.

For your own edification, I have posted the presentation to AuthorStream.  I’m certainly open to any questions or critiques you may have regarding our system.

http://www.authorstream.com/player.swf?p=112729_633631661611168656
Uploaded on authorSTREAM by splineguy