Guides for students: projects and how to do them

Tried and trusted techniques that you, and your students, can implement using the tools we already have available. Guides and expert support is available to help you understand how these techniques can help you, blueprint and implement your designs, and get help fast when operating them. All of these ideas can be used by teachers and students - for example, as part of assessed student projects. For more information on any of these, why not join the Arts Digital Teaching and Learning teams space and Ask a Question in the help channel. Click on this link to join and go direct to the Q&A channelLink opens in a new window.

Topics:

podcasting | interview experts | brainstorming | online whiteboards | collaborative editing | student projects | make a video

1. Make a podcast

Podcasting has become incredibly popular because its an easily accessed format, which can be downloaded and listened to anywhere and at anytime. It's especially good if you want your students to be deeply immersed in the story you are telling or a discussion between academics. It's also a good format for student projects. They can use it to practice writing and speaking narratives, without the added complication of imagery (provide images as accompanying files if needed). Or they can create an interview or discussion based podcasts as a form of inquiry-based learning. Note that you should ensure a transcription of your podcast is provided, so that everyone can access it regardless of sensory capabilities.

Advice from professional podcast producer Emma Brown (TEALFest 2021 presentation).

Using audio as a medium for teaching and learningLink opens in a new window (guide with advice on hardware and software by Robert O'Toole).

Using Audacity (free software) for digital storytellingLink opens in a new window (video by Clare Rowan of Classics).

Audacity software downloadLink opens in a new window (for ITS managed PCs, access it from the software centre in Windows).

LAME encoderLink opens in a new window (add-on to Audacity for exporting audio as MP3 files for online).

Podcast chapter markersLink opens in a new window (YouTube video)

 Use Word Online to transcribe audio files.Link opens in a new window

2. Record an interview

Learning is enriched when constructed by a range of experts, exploring detail in greater depth, making connections across topics and disciplines, and giving alternative viewpoints. This is especially effective at helping students to understand the whole-curriculum, to make descisions about module choices and pathways, and situate modules within the bigger picture.

You can invite people to Teams meetings who are not members of the University (just add them to the list of invitees using their email address).

Lecture recording with Microsoft Teams and Stream (record an interview as a Teams meeting).

3. Make a poster

Watch the recording of a workshop on designing academic posters by our design expert Adela Glyn-Davies.

4. Brainstorm with Padlet

Padlet is a visually attractive and beautifully simple way to record, organise and share ideas fast, including video, audio, links and web pages.

Use this with a group of people as a way to crowdsource. They contribute ideas to a single page, seeing them appear immediately. They can then comment and vote on ideas (you can switch this, and lots of other features off). We have a Warwick license for this, so you can create as many padlets as they like.

Padlet guideLink opens in a new window (from Warwick Ac Tech).

5. Sophisticated shared whiteboards

Miro is one of the best collaboration tools we have used - in fact one of the best applications ever! Use it to created and share whiteboard spaces which can extend as much as you need. Organise content into frames. Link to frames to provide instant access to specific topics. Add text, images, video, audio, web pages, annotations (works brilliantly on tablets), and diagrams. Miro includes hundreds of diagram templates, including all of those used in create work, design, business, planning, and project managemet. You can even create your own templates so that they can be reused across lessons, by students in their own work, and by your colleagues. Export Miro boards as PDF (e.g. for assessment purposes).

Miro is free for education, although that does not give a 100% guarantee of its availability at all times.

 Using Miro in Teaching (by Robert O'Toole).

 Guide to using MiroLink opens in a new window, including getting an educator or student license (Warwick Ac Tech).

6. Edit documents together

Teams is part of the Microsoft 365 suite (which includes Office). All Microsoft-based documents (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) shared through Teams are, by default, editable by all team members. This means that you can, for example, share your lecture slides, and include blank or templated slides for the students to collaborate on in the lecture, beforehand or later. There are many possibilities! You can also link directly to any file (and any other kind of thing, including channels, messages) in Teams. The system also includes many other apps that can be used collaboratively, such as Planner for shared task lists managed using the Kanban approach.

Collaborate on documents in Teams.

Kanban plannnig technique in Planner.Link opens in a new window

7. Student digital humanities and creative projects

All of the techniques described above may be used by students in their own projects. In addition, we have systems and resources dedicated to digital storytelling and working with databases.

 Understand copyright and what it means for your projects, find copyright free and royalty free content.

 ITS recommended video editing software, including free softwareLink opens in a new window

 Clare Rowan (Classics) talks about her experiences of introducing digital storytelling into her modules.

 Audio Recording for Digital Storytelling - Guidance notes.

 Using WeVideo for Digital Storytelling.

WeVideoLink opens in a new window (online video editing software).

 Guide to using WeVideoLink opens in a new window (by Clare Rowan).

 Story center materials for digital storytelling.

 Embedding Skills development into seminar activity. Philosophy through Film - video featuring Karen Simecek (Philosophy)

 Gale Digital Scholar Lab (intro presentation)Link opens in a new window.

8. Make a video

There are three distinct levels of sophistication in video making:

1. Record a presentation into an online video streaming platform - quick and easy, little or no traning required, but with little or no scope for editing and using a wider range of media, titles and effects. OK for when the content is simple and editing will not be required. Can be done with a laptop, desktop, phone, or tablet with its in-built mic and camera.
2. Use timeline-based video editing software designed for non-specialists - relatively easy, can be used by someone with good IT skills without specific traning, allows for more detailed editing, combining shots, multi-camera edits, a range of media, titles and effects. Good for when you want to achieve professional results at low or no cost and with little time spent training.
3. Use professional standard timeline-based video editing software - requires significant training and support, for a high level of precision in editing and the full range of professional features and media (including 360^o video). Good for transferable student skills. Good if you need professional results.

Example tools and processes appropriate for the three different levels are:

1. Basic: echo360, eStream, Powerpoint (record audio and talking head video into slides, then upload to Stream), Microsoft Stream, Youtube.
2. Medium: Microsoft Video Editor (Windows 10), Apple iMovie (Mac, iPad, iPhone, free), OpenShot (all platforms, free), ShotCut (all, free), WeVideo (all). iMovie is the best of the available tools, but limited to Apple hardware.
3. Advanced: Final Cut Pro (Mac, approximately £200 with the pro apps for education bundle including Logic Pro and other tools), Adobe Premiere (all platforms, an expensive Adobe Creative Cloud monthly subscription is required).

Support for these tools within the University:

1. SCAPVC has dedicate support for its students.
2. For other Arts students, chat to Robert O'TooleLink opens in a new window to get support.
3. The Academic Technology Team provides limited support for these basic techniques: echo360, eStream, Powerpoint, Microsoft Stream (very limited support).
4. No support is available for middle-level tools.
5. No support from IT or AV. Some Arts Faculty courses provide Final Cut or Premiere facilities and support for their students, and have dedicated equipment.

Screen recording software as an alternative approach offering more features than the basic level:

1. For Apple computers, Screenflow (approx £80 with education discount) provides high quality screen recording, timeline based editing, and sophisticated effects, using a simple interface and workflow. This is often the fastest route to high quality results.
2. Camtasia does screen recording with timeline-based editing and a good range of tools (Windows, £147 per user with education discount).
3. Many other screen recording apps are available, for all platforms, some of which are free.