OBS for education?

OBS is free and easy to use. We were able to attach 4 cameras (HDMI capture, Web cams and iRuin) to my laptop and live stream a performance live to YouTube with instant camera angle changes and splash screens – great for virtual open evenings, performances and dynamic lectures. However: Getting good sound on OBS took a little learning and skilling up. Need to remember that anyone can be watching – although the URL can be hidden and shared only with paying audiences and those signed up to watch it for example. Need to monitor live comments….

Why use Blogger in education?

Blogger works with Gmail account – most students have a Chrome sign in and it works as part of that. We found that we can post some script form Facebook videos and embed YouTube videos to it. Students finding it very good for formative and cumulative portfolio work. Should produce something that could be shown to an employer or HE – learning professional online presentation skills Can be a career route, professional Bloggers can attract sponsorship. DRAWBACKS: Students sometimes share the pre-post page link (which can’t be viewed by anyone else) rather than sharing the blog URL In theory, anyone can search and find their Blogs; students need to practice online etiquette, e-safety (personal details) and professional presentation – HE looking at poor grammar and spelling for example: good lesson to learn though.

iRuin

iRuin phone as webcam. Appears as an alternative cam that can be switched in Zoom/OBS – good for an alternative view close/up although you can link an iphone in the screen sharing facility anyway…. iRuin works fairly well on Strode_business – not sure about BYOD. It can drop out and can be a little delayed through the WiFi or it can be excellent – depends upon the bandwidth and traffic I suppose. Perhaps good as part of a set of tools.