Most EDHD students have the following camera options available to them, each has pros and cons. The best solution for you depends on your classroom environment, equipment availability, and your tech comfort level.
PHONE
Pros: Availability, familiarity, and ease of use.
Cons: Default settings create unnecessarily large video files. Many students do not have room for large video files available on their phone. There is liability and risk by having the phone out in the classroom (theft, damage, personal info, etc.). Some students have difficulty transferring files from their phone to their computer due to the large files, lack of experience, or one/both being out of date. Some students incorrectly record in portrait orientation instead of landscape.
Note: The EDHD Technology & Resource Center circulates tripods and phone mounts.
ZOOM CAMERA – CIRCULATED BY THE TRC IN 215 EDUCATION BUILDING
Pros: Ease of use, high quality microphones, , small/unobtrusive, and capacity for over 7 hours of video. They come in a kit with stand, 2 set of batteries (each set provides 90 minutes of recording time), and everything needed for file transfer. The camera records in landscape.
Cons: Limited availability with 125 cameras available and students lack familiarity with camera equipment.
LAPTOP
Pros: Availability, automatically records landscape, and no file transfer is necessary.
Cons: Audio is usually poor due to placement of the mics on many laptops and they are intended for subjects within a couple feet of the screen. Some students do not have room for large video files on their laptop. Liability and risk of having laptop out in the middle of the classroom (theft, damage, personal info, etc.). Laptops have limited room placement options.
Tablet (similar to phone pros/cons)
Pros: familiarity and ease of use.
Cons: Default settings create unnecessarily large video files. Liability and risk of having the tablet out in the middle of the classroom (theft, damage, personal info, etc.). Some students have difficulty transferring files from the tablet to their computer due to the large files, lack of experience, or one/both being out of date.
NOTE: Note: The EDHD Technology & Resource Center circulates tripods and tablet mounts. We also circulate iPads with about 30 in our inventory.