A simple Powerpoint Trick to move your course online

In light of the recent move to online courses, this post is in alignment with the advice provided by TEL Team at Bath in an effort to decode the differences between the four recommended application/software and provide easy hacks to deliver lectures quickly and effectively.

There are four main softwares or applications lecturers/tutors could use: Moodle,  Microsoft Teams Meetings, Adobe Connect and Re:View (Panopto) [listed in accordance of priority]. Whilst Moodle is the most prevalent and familar application for both students and staff, TEL encourages "staff continue to use Moodle for the vast majority of their teaching delivery during this period", which is great for both students and staff!

Each of these softwares have different functions and this section will briefly explain the main differences.

First, Moodle allows for learning materials such as lecture notes and presentations to be uploaded for students to access. It also allows interaction with discussion forums and assessment with quizzes etc.

Whereas, Microsoft Teams Meetings is like Skype but with better functionality. It allows for upto 250 people to join. All Bath Staff and Students have access to it and doesn't need an additional software to be downloaded, it can simply work from your browser (eg: Chrome, Edge, FireFox, etc), here is a link to how to create a Teams Meeting. However, a note of caution, if your audience is scattered in different time zones then it is worth-considering whether a live session is most effective when compared to a recording that can be watched at a later, more appropriate time.

The next application on the list, Adobe Connect, is similar to Microsoft Teams however, slightly more sophisticated in its functionality. The software allows up to 50 people to meet virtually using video, text chat or audio.  It allows people to share presentations, share files or share desktops. It also provides opportunities for interaction via tools, such as hands-up and polling [Refer to this Case-study for more details]. This could work well for formative or summative assessments of Student Presentations, online demonstrations via desktop or video, group work – online collaboration between students, revision or exam preparation sessions for students etc. It gets used for a variety of purposes when the participants can’t all meet in person.

Finally, Re:View (Panopto) has two purposes, one to record live classroom lecture (which at the moment might not be possible), second acts like a Dropbox for videos. TEL strongly advises lecturers to NOT UPLOAD videos on the Moodle page as it might slow the page and make it difficult to create a backup. Therefore, using Re:View to upload large files is recommended.

Given that different softwares have different purposes, this Powerpoint hack might help you to deliver your lectures effectively whilst adhering to the TEL guidelines.

 Three simple steps:

1. Record voice over your PPT Slides.
2. Upload this file to Re:View Panopto.
3. Share the uploaded presentation with your students.
   

1. How to record voice over your presentation?

1. Select Slide Show > Record Slide Show.
2. Select if you want to:

   • Record from Current Slide

   • Record from Beginning

     Source: Insert Videos in Powerpoint

Once this is done, there are two options: either save it as Powerpoint or as a Video. Upload this saved PPT or Video to Re:View (not Moodle) since Re:View CAN handle large files, while Moodle CANNOT.

2. How to upload this presentation to Re:View Panopto?

1. First Login to the Re:View Portal
2. In the main portal page, navigate to the folder you wish to import your content into from the folder section on the left-hand side of the screen.Select Create > Upload VideoMore pictorial instructions here: Uploading to Re:view Panopto

3. How to upload the Panopto link to Moodle? 

Now, that the file is uploaded in Re:View Panopto, how do you share it with your students? Quite easy frankly. Simply:

1. Under the uploaded File, click Share button. 
   
2.  When sharing with entire cohort, type the SAMIS cohort – ensure that the year prefix is correct, e.g. 1920 for the 2019-20 cohort.

• Alternatively, type the name, username or email address of a University of Bath staff member or student to email them a shared permission link.
  More pictorial instructions here: How do I share a recording?

Hope this helps! Leave a request below if there are any queries or suggestions for other how to guides you might want us to cover.