Technology for Online Teaching: A Guide for Educators

Education is migrating online at warp speed. Preparing your virtual classroom is a relatively new topic that many educators need to spend time on. A virtual classroom is a term used to describe everything students interact with online, including the videos they watch and the online tests that they take. For many teachers their virtual classroom encompasses the background scene for their recorded videos, and the engagement strategies that they use to encourage students to learn.

The idea of a virtual classroom, spans beyond your regularly scheduled virtual office hours and therefore it includes each touchpoint students interact with in your online learning offering. Teachers who can transform the best parts of their classroom into a virtual environment will be able to give students new and improved ways of learning. Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind while planning your virtual classroom.

What is your consistent theme?

Consistency is key to creating a cohesive virtual classroom experience for students. Consider the elements of your classroom that make it special and different. How can these translate into a virtual classroom? Perhaps you can take a picture of your physical classroom and use it as a virtual background.

Have you ever considered the power of colors in education? Colors can be used to imply deeper meaning to students and support your lessons in ways that other forms of communication cannot.

Here is a list of colors and the emotions that they can be used to invoke.

1. Blue: Blue is a color that can be used to set a calm and serene stage for your students. Blue is the color of the sky and it can be associated with a sense of tranquility. Warm blue tones can be used in your lessons theme to create calmness which can offset stressful situations or content.

2. Orange: Orange is an exciting color. It can be used in energetic ways to convey new ideas and information. Orange is generally associated with citrus fruits and therefore can convey health and energy. Orange is a great color to use to help spark creativity and give your lessons a sense of adventure.

3. Yellow: Yellow is a joyous color that is fun and happy. Yellow is the color of the sun and it’s therefore friendly and comforting. Yellow can be used to convey happy thoughts but be careful about using it too frequently. Some shades of yellow are used for caution signs because it can be alarming.

4. Red: Red is a very powerful and emotional color. Red is used for stop signs because it grabs your attention with a sense of urgency. Some shades of red are great for labeling warnings, or areas of your lessons that require immediate attention. Red is a bold color, so make sure to use it sparingly, and avoid uses that could cause frustration or anger.

5. Brown: Brown is a stable and earthy color. Brown is the color of the earth and therefore it’s associated with simplicity and honesty. Brown is a great color because it’s unlikely to distract from your lessons core message.

6. Pink: Pink is a color that represents peace and love. It’s a color associated with friendliness and femininity. Like blue, pink can be used to convey a sense of openness. In general, darker shades of pink can be more emotions and lighter shades of pink are more soothing and peaceful.

7. Purple: Purple is a color that is bold yet not overpowering. Purple is associated with royalty and spirituality. The color is attractive without being overly attention grabbing. Therefore purple is a great color when used as an accent.

8. Green: Green is the color of growth. Green can be used very powerfully when used in association with money. Green also represents nature and life in the world outdoors. In general, green is a color that stimulates movement and energy. There are many shades of green which can vary in meaning. Light shades of green are youthful and they can bring a sense of energy to your lessons. Darker shades of green can convey a sense of wellbeing and permanency.

Perhaps you can find a few images or color schemes that can be used consistently throughout your online materials. There is a great website called colorcombos.com that you can use to find exciting color combinations to use in your classroom. Take some time to plan out your theme so that it will be instantly recognizable toyour students. You can include these colors and themes in your virtual backgrounds, on slides, quizzes, assessments, and video content.

Fun Backgrounds

Whether it is a virtual or real background, make it fun and creative. The more vibrant your background is, the easier it will be for your students to stay engaged and connected. Check out what some of the top YouTubers are doing, and see just how easy it is to position yourself against a fun background. Consider putting pictures on the wall, using a colored light, or a green screen. Maybe you can even place a living thing in your background like a fish bowl or a plant. Imagine how fun it would be to refer to your pet fish at the start of each class.

Your background does not have to be spectacular or extravagant, but something as simple as a dash of color, some interesting props or a virtual classroom background will do the trick to set the tone of the class. Paying attention to your background shows that you care, and it can become a topic of casual conversation as you upgrade, rotate, and change your background. You can use physical objects in your background as ice-breakers and conversation starters.

The Importance of Good Lighting

Good lighting is vital when it comes to planning your virtual classroom. You want students to see you easily and you want to avoid looking scary. Yes, the software and equipment you use can dictate the output. Lighting is a key ingredient for making your video content successful.

Try testing your video to ensure that your face is not too light or too dark. Position yourself near a window, or move the lighting around in your room. A few simple adjustments can make a big difference. Record a few sample video clips from different angles and play them back. Which one looked the best? You can try adjusting the angle of your webcam or tilting your laptop screen if your webcam is built-in. Simple adjustments make a big difference.

No Outside Distractions

Be mindful of outside distractions during your time online. If you happen to live on a busy street where traffic is constantly driving by, those noises (beeps and vrooms) can really take away from your lesson. Outside noises are distracting, and they can break the attention of your students. To fix this, make sure you set up your virtual classroom in a quiet space where you can close windows and doors to reduce unwanted noise. You may want to put a sign on your door that lets your family and friends know when you are recording a video.

Create Interactive Learning Activities

In a traditional classroom, it’s relatively easy to plan a learning activity and tell students to push their desks together and collaborate on an assignment. But in a virtual setting, you will need to learn how to use new tools for small group collaboration. Consider coming up with a few ideas that are relevant to your lesson and that will genuinely promote genuine interaction. For example, you can start with some classic ice-breaker exercises such as “if you were stranded on an island, what would be one thing you would bring?” You can adapt classic ice-breaker exercises to fit your classroom. For example, “If you had to take the mid-term exam tomorrow, what is one book you would bring?” This will help encourage conversation between students and helps them to feel more involved, even at a distance.

During your first couple of interactive learning exercises consider starting with icebreaker questions that will allow your class to get to know each other. Then you can use small group breakout rooms and take a large classroom and divide students into smaller groups. In small breakout groups, you can decide to randomly assign students into a specific group size, or manually place students into small groups of your choosing. As the teacher, you can broadcast questions to all small groups in order to give them questions to work on together.

Pro Tip: If you are using Zoom and you do not see the “Breakout” rooms option, you need to ask your Zoom moderator to turn this feature on. If the feature is on, you should see an icon that looks like four squares.

Conclusion

Planning a virtual classroom takes time and effort.But once you have the formula nailed down, you can repeat it with each class of students. Not all teachers take the time to plan their virtual classroom experience and it can make a big difference from the student perspective. Remember that most virtual classrooms are a work in progress, and they will become more engaging and interactive with each session. It is important to establish a core foundation for a new semester or marking period and start off with a good first impression. Creating a powerful virtual classroom will give your students a great learning environment for online education.

Key Takeaways:

1. Learn to set up and build a dynamic virtual classroom. Make your virtual classroom an engaging, fun, and collaborative space. Create an environment where students want to participate and engage with one another and with you.

Having a plan in place for your online course is essential. Start with an outline and complete it with detailed information for each major lesson. Planning an online course requires a focus on digital assets that will enrich your presentations. These assets will be recorded and uploaded to your learning management system. Therefore, the way you think about preparing your online course will include a variety of media and use some of the technology we have talked about in this book.

Think about flipping your classroom when you are planning an online course. In a traditional classroom, students would listen to the lecture or presentation, and then do the homework at home. But with a flipped classroom, it’s the other way around for reasons that we have already explained. In a nutshell, this is an instructional method that combines both student engagement and active learning styles with online learning. As a result, it gives students the ability to digest your online course content at their own pace. Your online course should be presented in such a way that students receive clear guidance and clarity about the learning objectives.

Considerations for Online Courses

1. Provide Students With the Benefits: At the very beginning of your online course, share what your students will learn from the course. Review the learning outcomes and let students know how their investment in learning will positively impact them. You can enrich your storytelling capabilities with success stories, short video clips, and images that resemble the successful outcomes that you want students to visualize. In the end, they should be excited about learning and see a logical, sequenced flow for the course.

2. Videos vs. Live Sessions: Go through your lessons and separate them into two different categories: lower-order targets, and higher-order objectives. As a rule of thumb, the things that will require more exploration, demonstration, and discussion should be live sessions. Use your pre-recorded video lessons to review core concepts and fundamentals. Think about your videos as time spent with students, where they can pause what they are learning and do research. Therefore, you can cover a lot of ground and cover in-depth research assignments inside your videos. Then you can use upcoming sessions to further review the content students learned from the recorded videos they watched.
   
   

3. Nailing Down Activities: Take some time to research activities you can do with students to keep them interested and connected. For instance, for a science topic, would experiments be better, or a group project? Think about activities having multiple starting points. Perhaps you talk about an upcoming activity in your recorded videos and share some successful outcomes from a previous class. Then you can try the activities in a virtual classroom setting, and take things further in small breakout groups.
   
   

4. Collaboration and Feedback: How will you and your students collaborate? Will it be via live Zoom sessions or a specific journaling exercise? Consider asking students if they enjoyed or found the activity helpful. Ask your students to provide non-verbal feedback with a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Assign students projects to collaborate on using your LMS system. Students may also suggest their own online collaboration methods and submit their progress each week.
   
   

5. Keep it Colorful: No one, especially students, want to watch a dull, boring, and lifeless video. Make your slides colorful, and be creative to keep students’ attention. This is especially helpful for visual learners. Consider including popular memes and slides with a joke or two to make students laugh.
   
   

6. Don’t Forget About Parents: Incorporate time to update parents in your plan. Having the support and input of parents is critical for a successful online course. s Parents need to know what their children are learning and how they’re learning.

Conclusion

Most teachers, especially those who are partaking in online education for the first time, will go through trial and error stages. You may have to re-record videos or remake old presentations until you are satisfied with their quality. For instance, you might find that you enjoy Zoom for live class sessions much more than Google Meet even though Google Meet is integrated into your Google Classroom workspace. You may realize that off-the-cuff informal video updates really “click” for your students’ learning journey. An example of an “off-the-cuff” video would be a recording you make in an informal manner with your cell phone. You may find that short video clips recorded outside of the classroom, help show off your human side to students. You will easily be able to tell the type of video content that is working based on student engagement. The best thing you can do is move forward, tweak your methods where you see fit, and continue towards creating a plan that works for everyone.

Key Takeaways:

1. Learn the importance of creating a course outline and content creation plan for your online classroom. Clarify how the lesson and course outcomes apply to students’ lives. Understand when to make videos vs. when to do live demos and presentations.

2. Learn how to use the online classroom for inquiry- and project-based work. Create collaborative projects for students and encourage commenting in the learning management system. Learn how breakout sessions/rooms can be used. Think about how students will demonstrate they are learning.

3. Keep parents in the loop. Communicate regularly with them and solicit their feedback and input. Remember that distance learning is likely a new concept for them.

As an educator, you probably never thought you would be editing photos as part of your everyday routine. Yes, teachers are being asked to become more technologically advanced, and yes, it requires some new skills. But the good news is that editing photos is now easier than ever with cloud-based tools. In this chapter, and using the basic and advanced PIXLR online tutorial videos which I’ve included, you will learn how to edit photos and create beautiful images for your online courses.

PIXLR, is a free online photo editing software that you can use with any online web browser. The tool is so easy to use that you will likely find hundreds of uses for it as your work becomes more digitally focused. PIXLR comes with a huge library of free stock images that will help you bring your presentations to life. Use PIXLR ito customize the media (video clips, digital images, etc.) that you want to incorporate into your virtual classroom, along with the colors and themes you want to maintain in your materials. For example, if you are teaching a lesson on Africa, you can quickly import images of life in Africa. PIXLR enables you to customize these images before you download them for use in your online videos or Google slides.

In the online course, you are given a sample PNG file that is used to integrate your webcam video source with another source of media. This is an advanced use of PIXLR but it uses a simple process for video content creation. In an upcoming tutorial video, you will learn how to use this image overlay process to mix your webcam video source with document cameras and/or Google Slides presentations to make visually engaging video presentations for your students.

As an exercise, customize this PNG file to fit an upcoming lesson and use it to make a customized video. PNG files are unique because they can have transparent areas unlike JPG files. The PNG file you create will have space for a title at the top, an area for a webcam, and a main area for media, such as document cameras, videos, and presentations. You can use the transparent areas of PNG files to layer media in video software. For example, you may want to put a colored border around an image to fit into your lesson’s theme. You may decide to use multiple layers to create your final image which could include a top border layer, a title layer, and a logo. Plus, once it’s completed, you can use it over and over again without much additional work.

Start using PIXLR by visiting PIXLR.com with any web browser. PIXLR comes in two options: choose from PIXLR X, which is the easy version and PIXLR E, which is the advanced version. For simple edits such as adding text on top of an existing image, use PIXLR X. For more advanced features such as cutting out images and layering them together, use PIXLR E.

For your first project, open PIXLR X and you will see the main dashboard. You can choose to search through your history, which is handy for pulling up past projects. You can also create a new image based on custom requirements or standard sizes, choose from a large selection of stock photos, or simply open an image that you already have on your computer. Finally, you can also open up an image available via any URL on the internet.

(This is the main PIXLR X workspace with the PNG file from above open).

Pro Tip: Right click just about any image on the internet and select “open image in new tab.” The URL in the address bar is the URL that you use to import that image directly into PIXLR.

The Menu Bar Options

Take some time to familiarize yourself with the menu bar selections.

Below is a list of menu bar functions:

• File: Save, open, close, and print

• Edit: Home to the cut, paste, select all, and undo options

• Image: Flip, resize, and crop images

• Layer: Manage different layers for your project; you can have one photo open on top of another (two layers)

• Adjustment: Alter the image's composition and appearance (color balance, levels, and exposure)

• Filter: Add lighting filters to images(give thema glow or sharpen)

• View: Zoom in or out

• Language: Select your language

• Font: Select a font if you want to type over your image

• Help: Assistance for your questions

• Freebies: Discover fun backgrounds, vector images, and other creative resources.

Once you select an option to get started, you will enter the main PIXLR editing area. For this tutorial, click the “OPEN IMAGE” button and select the PNG file included with the course. If you do not have this file from the online course, choose any file that you would like to learn about PIXLR with. OPEN IMAGE will open up the selected image and launch the PIXLR editor. In the center, you will see your main working area with your selected image. On the left hand side, you will see the main toolbar. On the right side, you will see the layering system which allows you to select the layer you would like to work on. As you select tools from the toolbar, new sidebars will appear and offer you additional options. For example, if you choose the text tool, a sidebar will open up giving you options to change the font, text color, and other options. On the right side, each layer has unique options as well which are available from the dropdown menu. Use the up and down arrows to arrange each layer on top of the other.

For the purposes of our basic PIXLR tutorial, you can add some text to the image. When you add text, PIXLR will create a layer which is placed above the base layer. Once you have created a layer of text, you can customize the text by clicking on it and writing the text you want to display. You will see the option to choose a font, color, and text size in the sidebar next to the tool menu. Once you have entered your text,select the “Arrange” tool at the top of the toolbar to move the font to the location you would like.

Once you have done this, click the “SAVE” button at the bottom right side of the screen. Once you click the SAVE button you will be asked about the file type you would like to save. Make sure to select the PNG button and click “DOWNLOAD.” Congratulations, you have just edited a photo and saved it to your computer! Next, you will learn how to use the layering system by customizing the entire overlay image to align with the theme of your next lesson.

Advanced PIXLR Tutorial

For this advanced PIXLR tutorial, you will use PIXLR E. You can open PIXLR E from the homepage of PIXRL.com and open up your PNG file the same way you did in the basic tutorial. You will notice that PIXLR E has twice as many tools as PIXLR X. Don’t worry, there are just a couple of new tools you will need to learn about.

The main tool that you will use in the advanced tutorial is the selection “Marquee Select” tool. This tool allows you to select sections of images which is helpful for image editing. For example, perhaps you just want to copy and paste a section of one image into a layer. Or perhaps, you only want to paint one portion of an image yellow. You can use the Marquee Select tool to select the area you want to use, and then select the paint tool to fill it in. The Marquee Select tool is located in the top right section of the main toolbar. This tool will allow you to make a selection from images to copy and paste on top of your overlay to effectively “rebrand” it. In the tutorial example, there is a map of the USA that is used to rebrand the overlay image. The process of rebranding this image is simple. You can use the Marquee select tool to copy and paste the portions of images that you want to overlay on top of the original.

You can search the internet for images, use one of your own, or even use the free PIXLR stock images to find an image that will work for the branding of your next lesson. You can even include a logo or image file that you use frequently by pressing the plus button and uploading it as a new layer in your project. Once you have chosen a photo you can upload it to PIXLR using the layers section by clicking on the plus button.

When you add a layer into PIXLR, you will be asked if you want to add an empty layer, an image, or a text layer. You should select “Image” and choose the file that you want to use. Next, select the layer you have uploaded by clicking it in the right-hand side layer area. Then use the “Marquee Selection” tool to select a section that you want to cut out. Once you have an area selected, simply press “Control” + “C” on Windows or “⌘” “C” on a Mac. Once your selection has been copied, you will see a confirmation message. You can then press “Control” + “V” on Windows or “⌘” “V” on a Mac to paste a new layer of your selection into PIXLR.

You may need to adjust the size of your images using the “Arrange” tool so that they fit.

Pro Tip: You can adjust the opacity of an image so you can see the image below it in the layering system. Do this by clicking the three little dots on the layer and using the transparency slider to adjust the opacity. Then use the “Marquee Select” tool to cut out only the parts of your image that you want to put into the top and bottom of this overlay file.

Once you have done so, save the image as a PNG file. In the next chapter, you will learn how to use this image with video sources that will customize your video content.

Cropping and Resizing

For cropping and resizing purposes, after you upload an image, click the “Image” tool and then select “Crop.” With the crop tool open, all you have to do is click and drag the borders of your select to where you want to trim the image. Move the sides into your desired image crop and click “Apply” on the confirmation pop-up. When you do that, anything on the outside of your selection will be trimmed.

To resize a specific image, select the image on the layer menu bar, and choose “Resize”. When you do this, ensure that you select the “constrain proportions” option, so you do not accidentally warp your image (unless you want to). With the resize tool, you can drag the corners of an image to adjust the height or width. When done, click “Okay”, and your image will be a new size.

Painting, Drawing, and Using Filters

Learning how to use drawing tools is essential for adding a customized touch to your images. You can paint and draw on top of blank layers, or paint directly on to layers. It may be better to create a blank layer on top of an existing layer, or you can alter original layers as well.

• Creating A New Layer: Before you start drawing or painting, add a new layer so you can edit it easily without altering the original. To do this, either click the little sheet of paper towards the bottom of the Layers navigation panel or go to the menu bar, click “Layer”, and then “New Layer.”

• Drawing: To draw, click on the left side of the screen, where you will see a black/gray pencil tool. Just click on that when you are ready, and draw away. You can choose from various colors, line thicknesses, and opacity options. If you happen to make a mistake, use the “Undo” option from the Edit menu.

• Painting: To paint, use the same resources as the drawing tools, but click on the paintbrush instead of the pencil. The paint tool allows you to choose from a variety of brushes. Painting is more practical than drawing for many projects where you want to annotate on top of an image.

• Add a Filter: If you want to add a built-in filter, click on the filter menu and then browse the filters to find one that you want to use. Once you find the one you like, hit “Okay” to apply it. You can also change the color and brightness of the filter under the “Adjustment” option to customize the image.

Adding Text

To add text to your image, click on the Text icon at the bottom of the left-side toolbar. With the cursor on the screen, click anywhere on the image where you want to type. A text box will appear when you do this, and you can insert your text here. When you are done, you can also play around with the font, size, alignment, and color while still in this mode.

Conclusion

If you are a teacher who has struggled with photo editing and didn’t want to spend hours navigating the complexities of Photoshop, then PIXLR is for you. It is entirely free, has diverse capabilities, and can transform any photos you choose to make lasting impressions on your students. Once you have familiarized yourself with PIXLR’s features, don't be afraid to play around with it to see just how beneficial it can be for the classroom.

Key Takeaways:

1. PIXLR is a great tech tool for education and is a free alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Learn how to use PIXLR to create customized lesson graphics, edit, and customize mages.

Now let's get a little more advanced with PIXLR. You can leverage these skills to create a branded version of this PNG overlay file. As an exercise, try to create your own as you follow along.

Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) is a free video production software that can be used with Mac, PC, or Linux computers. OBS has become the world’s most popular live video production software partly because of how powerful it is and partly because it is free. I have written a book entirely dedicated to OBS called The Unofficial Guide to Open Broadcaster Software, and included the PDF copy of the book with the UDEMY course that accompanies this book. In this chapter, you will become familiar and proficient with OBS for the purposes of recording short videos for your classes. You will learn how to use multimedia sources, including video clips, pictures, websites, overlays, webcams, document cameras, and more to create engaging videos that students will enjoy. The main reason I recommend OBS for video creation is because it does not require post-production which is a time-consuming process most educators would rather not deal with. Yes, this approach takes some up-front learning, but once you create the structure, you can use it over and over again to make customized video content for online courses.

Get started with OBS by downloading the software at OBSProject.com. Once installed, you will see an interface that features a main video area in the middle, and multiple widget areas below. The first area of interest is the scenes tab which is located in the bottom left by the default. OBS organizes your projects into scenes which you can think about as individual canvases. Each scene is made up of sources which you can organize into a cohesive scene. In this way, you can add multiple “sources” with the plus button at the bottom of the sources areas and they will be added to the scene that you have selected.

OBS offers you an in-depth list of media options you can use for sources including websites, screen captures, text, video, cameras, and more. Each scene can be transitioned in between while you record a video meaning you can start a recording in one scene and then switch between them during your recording. Therefore, you can create a scene to introduce your online lesson, a scene with a fun branded layout, and finally an “outro” or concluding scene.

In this tutorial example, you will create four scenes that include an introductory video clip, a dynamic layout where you mix together video sources with a custom PNG file, and a final outro video clip. The options for organizing scenes are truly endless, and the purpose of this tutorial is to focus on some simple workflows that will enhance your video creation opportunities in a meaningful way. For example, your intro and outro scenes might just be your webcam source in full screen mode. Yet, I challenge you to use a PNG file to add some flair to each scene in order to help students identify the beginning and final scenes for each of your lessons.

Pro Tip: Your webcam video will likely be widescreen in a 16:9 format. Therefore, create a PNG file in PIXLR with a rectangle cut out of the center to create an overlay that you can use for your intro and outro scenes. Consider starting with a stock photo or a color from your course theme. Then use the “Marquee Select” tool to select a rectangle in the middle of your image. Finally, use the “Eraser” tool to erase the selected area. When you save your PNG file, you can upload it to OBS and use it as a layer on top of your webcam.

At the top of the OBS interface you will find the main dropdown menu. In the bottom right corner, you will find the main action buttons which include the “Start Recording” button and the “Settings” button.

Pro Tip: When you first install OBS, a configuration wizard will ask you if you would like to optimize OBS for live streaming or video recordings. Choose video recordings and the software will optimize your settings for recording videos onto your computer directly.

One of the reasons educators should be excited about OBS is the fact that a simple webcam and microphone setup can actually look really good. Even at a time when students' expectations for video content have increased due to Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, your video content will stand out with a little upfront planning.

In fact, you may be surprised that more technically-inclined middle school, high school, and college students may actually know about OBS. It is quite popular with students who play esports and it is becoming more widely adopted with those interested in live streaming and video recording. Regardless, the process of customizing scenes inside of OBS should be fun and enables you to produce engaging, fresh, and visually appealing video in a few short steps.

As you can see from the picture above, most live audio and video sources that are used with OBS are connected to your computer via USB. One basic setup example is a USB microphone and a USB webcam. Another might use a USB webcam for both audio and video, with the addition of a USB-connected document camera. Using the features inside of OBS, you will be able to mix a webcam and a document camera together to create a scene that looks like the picture below.

Pro Tip: OBS has a plugin that adds NDI (Network Device Interface) functionality which allows you to use your camera as a second webcam. You can use your local area network (LAN) and wireless network (WiFi) with the NDI app on your smartphone, to use your webcam as a video source in OBS. This is demonstrated in the online course and it opens up many creative storytelling options for you. An example use might be showing your class an exercise from the perspective of your phone. Another example could be for showing content from your phone inside of your videos in real-time. Assuming that your computer is on the same network as your smartphone, you can easily use the NDI app for your smartphone to bring live video into your OBS scenes. (The NDI smartphone apps are currently only available for iOS users).

Let’s get started:

Start by creating a scene to work with. You should always name your scenes with short and memorable names. Create an intro scene. For this example, you simply need to bring your webcam into this scene. Sources can be added to a scene in the sources box next to the scenes box, by clicking the plus button. If you would like to create a custom PNG file to frame your webcam source you can do this in PIXLR and add it to your scene as a layer on top of your webcam source.

To create the scene above, you will need to add three sources. When you click the sources button you will be given a list of media types to choose from. Start with the “Image” option and upload the PNG overlay image that you created in the previous chapter with PIXLR. Notice that each time you add a source, OBS will ask you to name the source. Stay organized, and name each source something unique.

Next you can add another source called “webcam” by selecting the “Video Capture Device” option from the sources list. This will bring up a window with a dropdown selection area that will give you a list of all webcams available to your computer. Once you select your webcam you can click “OK” and the video from your webcam will show up in the scene. You should notice a red outline around any source that you have selected. There are little boxes at the corners of each source selection that you can use to click and drag to resize the source. You can also move the source around by simply clicking and dragging it. You will notice that OBS will “snap” the source to edges within the scene to make lining up sources inside of your scene easier.

Pro Tip: You will notice an eye symbol and a lock symbol next to each source in OBS. Click the eye symbol to hide or show a given source. The lock symbol can be used to lock a source in place so that you do not accidentally move it once it is in place.

You will also notice that there are up and down arrows in the sources area that can be used to layer sources inside your scene. In most scenes, you will want your PNG overlay file to appear on the top layer. Use your mouse to click individual sources and use the arrows to change the sources layer. Move your sources around until you have properly fit the webcam video source into the correct area of your overlay file.

You can also crop your webcam on either side of the image using the filters feature inside of OBS. You might want to do this in order to better fit your webcam video into the PNG overlay that you are using. To do this, right click the webcam source and select filters. This will open up a filters area where you can click a plus button to add a variety of effects on your selected source. Click the “Crop/Pad” option to open up options for cropping your webcam. For this overlay format, crop your video input up to 500 pixels from the right and left sides to center your video.

Next, bring in another source to fill the large area of the overlay with either a presentation or a document camera. To add in a presentation as your source in the scene, use the “Window Capture” option and bring that source into your scene. To bring a document camera into your scene, use the “Video Capture Device” option.

Pro Tip: Duplicate any scene you have started by right clicking it and selecting the duplicate option. This way you can have a scene that focuses on the document camera video source, and one that focuses on a presentation, but you don’t need to recreate everything.

It’s almost time to start creating a video but first, you should add an intro scene, possibly a video clip, and an outro scene to complete your workflow. An intro scene could simply be your webcam full-screen or you can create a custom overlay file to accompany your webcam. If you would like to do something a little more engaging and similar to what your students see from their favorite YouTube creators, consider capturing an introductory video clip from your smartphone in a fun and inspiring location.

Once you have that video clip recorded, upload it to your computer. You can then create a scene and add the video clip to OBS using the “Media Source” option in the sources area. You can also create a custom video clip for the outro of your video, or you can use a webcam source. Whatever you decide, create a scene using the plus button in the scenes area for your intro and outro scenes. You will use this scene to open and conclude your videos.

The last thing you need to do before recording your video is to make sure your microphone is set up properly. To do this, click on the “Settings” button and select the “Audio” tab. Here you can select the microphone that you want OBS to use to pick up your voice throughout your video recordings. Find your microphone from the drop-down menu and click save.

The audio mixer for OBS will allow you to quickly see the audio that is being recorded for your videos. It is located in the center of OBS at the bottom. The default “Desktop Audio” will include anything that is playing on your computer, including a YouTube video, for example. Your “Mix/Aux” is your microphone input that has been selected in the OBS audio settings. You can always temporarily mute your microphone by clicking the speaker icon. You can also click the cog button to open up advanced settings for your audio sources.

Pro Audio Tip #1: You may want to add 50-100 milliseconds (less than one-tenth of second) of latency to your audio source. If you notice that your audio and video do not match up perfectly in your recorded videos this is a simple way to fix it.

Pro Audio Tip #2: Audio sources can have filters applied to them just like sources in your scenes. You can increase your audio quality by adjusting some of the available filters. For example, your voice may sound better with a little bit of compression. Open up “Advanced Audio Properties” and set up your audio source for monitoring to hear your voice and make adjustments to it.

Another quick item to check in the settings area is the “Output” tab. Here you can set up which folder you would like your recorded videos to be saved into. You can select a few different recording qualities and formats. I suggest using the MP4 file type because it provides a great quality to file size ration. Check to make sure everything is set to 1920x1080p at 30fps in the “Video” tab. You can reduce this down to 1280x720p at 30fps if your computer is not able to record full HD video. You can always monitor the CPU usage of OBS in the bottom right hand corner of OBS. If your CPU usage goes over 50-75%, you will likely need to reduce your video recording settings or check to see if other computer programs are running at the same time and competing for resources on your computer.

Pro Tip: One part of OBS that is not 100% intuitive is the video bit rate option. Video bit rates are essentially the amount of data that is used to make up the quality of your video. The higher the bit rate, the higher the quality. But high bit rates also increase video file sizes and computer processing requirements.

Ok, it’s time to create your first video in OBS. Here are a few simple steps to follow:

Step 1: Visualize the way you want your video to look and feel.

Step 2: Create the scenes necessary for your lesson.

Step 3: Add the sources necessary for each scene and lock them into place.

Step 4: Practice your flow, clicking each scene button to transition through your lesson.

Step 5: Create a practice recording. Press the record button and start your lesson.

Step 6: Watch your lesson video. Locate your video in the folder selected in the “Output” area of OBS’s settings.

Step 7: Determine if you like your video enough to use for your online course. If not, consider re-recording it.

Conclusion:

When you are using OBS you are able to create videos in a live production environment. That means once you press record, you can switch between each scene simply by clicking on the buttons available in the scenes area. Everything you see in that center video area is what is being recorded along with the microphone that you have selected.

Once you are recording, it is very easy to click the various scene buttons to switch between an intro video and scene that features your document camera, for example. As you switch between scenes you should be able to continue your lessons and teach while maintaining a presence on video with your webcam. This process will take some time to get used to but you should be able to create presentations that make students feel connected to you as a teacher. Your presence on camera can create a connection with students that can prompt them to reach out to you for advice. Remember that each student will have a personal journey with your video content as they watch. You can ask them to engage with your online lessons, comment on specific topics, or bring ideas to an upcoming collaboration session. You may find yourself creating additional scenes inside of OBS to switch between in order to make your videos more interesting.

Pro Tip: OBS feature shortcuts that can be used to switch between scenes. Therefore, you can set up keys on your keyboard to switch between scenes without having to click inside of OBS with your mouse. In this way, you can assign numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 on your keyboard to switch between scenes for you as you teach.

Key Takeaways:

1. Create compelling video clips for your students and incorporate them into your lessons and classes.

2. OBS is free and it can be used to create dynamic video for online lessons.

3. Go to OBSproject.com to download OBS. View a demo of OBS to get started using it.

4. OBS can be used for live productionso there is no need for time-consuming post-production.

5. You can use PIXLR to create visually pleasing overlays with OBS, and then you will have dynamic scenes for your videos.

6. You can follow along with Video 14 in the online course to see exactly how to set up your next OBS video recording environment.

Now it's time to really dig into what OBS can offer educators. Let's get started!

In this video, you will learn how to optimize your webcam video. I also include tips for getting comfortable on camera and connecting OBS to Zoom.

Taking a step back from your lecture capture and content creation process to reflect on storytelling capabilities is helpful. Before you spend too much time creating content, consider taking a moment to reflect on the online materials you are creating. Post-production software, for example, can allow you to stitch together multiple video clips and edit out parts of a video that didn’t work during a recording session. In a perfect world, there is no need for post-production because the videos that you recorded using a live production software like OBS have come out beautifully. But it will take time before you can create videos in a live setting that are usable on a consistent basis.

It’s worth noting that all of the videos recorded for the online course that accompanies this book were shot in one take. For some of the videos, you may have noticed that I added short examples after the original lesson had been recorded. You should consider balancing the idea of simply starting over from scratch, and using post-production software to fix an issue with a recorded video. As you start learning how to create video content for your online courses, first think about starting over and trying to capture the essence of your video in a live setting. Yes, it is nice to be able to add finishing touches to a video once it has been recorded, but the core message of your presentation may deserve a second take entirely. If you believe that you have the best possible recording, and still want to enhance your video, then it’s time to use a video editing software such as iMovie, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, or EZVid.

Focus on Storytelling

At a high level, you are beginning to become a visual storyteller and trying to help your students learn through engaging content that you created. One of the great things about storytelling is that there is a proven storytelling method that can be broken down into several important parts. From an educational perspective you are the guide, and the student is the hero. The videos that you create are an important asset that you can use to position yourself as the guide in the minds of your students.

The Classic Story Outline

1. A Character (This is your student)

2. Has a Problem (This is the characters challenge)

3. A Guide (This is you)

4. A Plan (This is your lesson plan)

5. A Call to Action (This is the assignment you make)

6. Has a Success (This is the successful completion of your course)

7. Or has a Failure (This is the failure of your course)

8. 
   

You can think about storytelling in reference to Star Wars. For example, Luke Skywalker is the hero. Luke meets Obi Wan Kinobi who is Skywalker's guide. Without Obi Wan, Skywalker is unable to achieve his destiny of becoming a jedi master. In storytelling, a hero generally meets a guide, who helps the hero overcome obstacles on the way to a successful outcome. Successful stories personify each step along this journey in great detail. Educators can learn to tell compelling stories that their students will fall in love in and out of the online classroom.

Consider personifying a villain in your storytelling. Perhaps the villain in a story about math education is a person who steals money from the hero because the hero does not know how to properly count. Perhaps the villain in a social studies course, is a government official who proposes unjust policies because they are unaware of the effect of these policies on human society. Properly personifying a villain will help your students understand what they are up against and prepare to overcome it.

Key Takeaways:

1. Storytelling is an important part of video-making.

2. In your online lessons, you are the guide. The students are the heroes.

3. Try adapting your video-making style to incorporate classic storytelling methods that help students connect to the content.

Drake Finney, a high school teacher taking online education with his students to new heights, explains why educators shouldn't be afraid to try new things. Finney has a list of tips you can review to learn about what is working in online education.

In this video, Drake shares why educators need to set expectations for online learning just like in the classroom.

Drake explains the way he uses supporting video clips in his classroom to bring his online sessions new life.

Drake shares how listening to your students can be very helpful.

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The benefits of email are incredible. Here's why you should be using email to check in with students.

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Learn how to make your online education courses more memorable.

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