This section provides tips on how to prepare and record an interactive lecture that will serve the learning needs of both face-to-face and distance students.

The second part provides tips on leading PBL sessions including with students located remotely.

Aids to learning

Storytelling and interactivity

A useful approach is to use a story or scenario format by basing your presentation on a description of an individual case. It will make the learning more real and memorable for students and the presentation will be easier for you to design and deliver. Locate facts, concepts and procedures in your example and then in a bigger context where appropriate. Using an actual case you are familiar with allows you to show your enthusiasm for the subject which will energise the audience keeping them listening and interested.

Structure

Your lecture will still require clear structure to ensure you cover all the relevant concepts, procedures and related areas of understanding.

Grab students' attention with your opening

Open your lecture with a provocative question, startling statement, unusual analogy, striking example, personal anecdote, dramatic contrast, powerful quote, short questionnaire, demonstration, or mention of a recent news event.

Unfamiliar terms

Include a glossary slide for key definitions and technical terms.

Closing your lecture

Don't allow your lecture to trail off or end in mid-sentence because the time is up. A well-planned conclusion rounds out the presentation, ties up loose ends, suggests ways for students to follow up on the lecture (summarised on your slides or handouts), and gives students a sense of closure.

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Delivery techniques

Rehearse. Because your lecture will be recorded for distance students, if at all possible rehearse aloud to an audience or present to a chair. Rehearsal is NOT reading your presentation. You need to hear how things sound. Reading aloud allows you to experiment with vocal techniques and you could record a portion so that you can hear how others will hear you. Rehearsal allows you to estimate how much time your lecture will take.

Don't talk into your notes (or facing your slides). Highlight sections in your notes to allow you to find key sections and print your notes in a large point size. Alternatively use the notes feature of PowerPoint in a similar way.

Vary the pace at which you speak. Students need time to assimilate new information and to take notes, but if you speak too slowly, they may become bored. Deliver important points more deliberately than anecdotal examples. If you tend to speak quickly, try to repeat your major points so that students can absorb them.

Using a microphone. Ask students whether they can hear you. Try not to let the volume of your voice drop at the ends of sentences. Speak in a normal voice and do not lean into the microphone. If you naturally move around a lot when presenting use a lapel microphone.

Pause. The pause is one of the most critical tools of public speaking. It is an important device for gaining attention. Pauses can be used for emphasis, before or after a key concept or idea. Planned pauses also give you and your audience a short rest (allowing you to take a sip of water and students to stop and think). Try to avoid vocalised pauses such as ‘um,’ ‘well,’ ‘you know,’ ‘OK,’ or ‘so.’ Silent pauses are more effective.

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Checklist for effective recordings of live lectures

• State the objectives of the lecture and give a quick overview of content and sequence so that all, especially distance students listening remotely, can understand the structure. If the lecture covers different topics introduce each section clearly (Now I will discuss… ; firstly, secondly, finally).
• Speak clearly and audibly and project your voice. Don’t fade away at the end of sentences.
• Vary your voice in volume or pace to avoid a monotone presentation and to emphasise important concepts.
• Personalise the presentation with anecdotes, humour, quotes, and personal examples respond to questions from the audience by repeating or rephrasing the question for the benefit of others in the audience and those listening to the recorded version.
• Remind students of unfamiliar definitions during the lecture.
• Use pauses carefully, to enhance the effectiveness of your delivery such as when stating a major result, raising a question or showing a complicated figure.
• Build in interactivity to ensure students are actively listening (e.g. ask students to think of their experience in this area; recall the three key points, pause and then confirm the three points).
• Ask questions or rhetorical questions and make sure you allow students time to contemplate.
• Present a summary of the main ideas.

And remember, don’t

• Try to say too much (use the 80/20 principle when designing your lecture because it's far more important for learners to get the key elements than be exposed to everything).
• Forget to announce the objectives for the lecture or podcast.
• Repeat just what is on your slides without elaboration.

This material was adapted from Tools for Teaching by Barbara Gross Davis; Jossey-Bass Publishers: San Francisco, 1993. Read more at http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/delivering.html

Feedback and suggestions from 2009 UNEMSA students was also considered when preparing these resources.

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Student access to recorded lecture files

Your lecture will most likely be recorded as a podcast. Podcasting is a form of audio broadcasting on the Internet. The lecture file will be saved onto UNE’s Media server and then posted into units in myUNE. Students can log in to myUNE, download the recordings and listen to them on their computer or save them to their own player to listen to at their convenience.

Potentially any media player will play the podcasts, but UNE recommends that students install iTunes (available here). The reasons iTunes is recommended rather than other players is that iTunes allows you to subscribe to podcasts (the player will automatically download new podcasts) and is available for both Windows & Mac.

Alternatively files may be added directly to online units as a link to the recording. The Teaching and Learning Centre give instructions on their Open2Learning web site.

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Add narration to a PowerPoint

For a PC:

1. Plug in your microphone and open up your PowerPoint presentation.
2. Go to the slide that you would like to add narration to and select ‘Slide Show’ and then ‘Record Narration’ from the menu. This will open the ‘Record Narration’ dialog box.
3. To ensure that the microphone is working properly, click on the ‘Set Microphone Level’ button. This will launch the Microphone Check box – to test your microphone, begin speaking into the microphone and if you see a green bar then everything is working okay. If not, you may need to adjust your microphone settings.
4. To ensure that your narrations are embedded in your PowerPoint file, you want to make sure that the box beside ‘Link Narrations’ is NOT checked. If it is checked, please uncheck it.
5. Click the ‘OK’ button to begin recording your narration. You will be asked if you want to begin narration from the present slide or from the start of the presentation. If you want to record all of the narration in one shot, select ‘start of the presentation’ and if you want to record the narration for one slide at a time, select ‘present slide’.
6. Narrate your slide.
7. If you are recording the narration for a single slide, press the 'Esc' button on your keyboard. PowerPoint will ask you if you want to save the timing with each slide. Click 'Yes' to accept. Repeat steps 2 to 7 for the rest of the slides in your presentation.
8. If you are recording the narration for the entire presentation, click your mouse button or press the spacebar to go to the next slide and continue with your narration and continue until you have completed the narration for all your slides. Once you have finished recording your narration, press the 'Esc' button on your keyboard. PowerPoint will ask you if you want to save the timing with each slide. Click 'Yes' to accept.
9. If you want to re-record a narration, go to the slide that you want to re-narrate and follow steps 2 to 7.

For more detailed information or for instructions on adding narration on a Mac, please see http://www.its2.uidaho.edu/cti/tutorials/audio/powerpoint_narration.htm

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Copyright considerations for ilectures and podcasts

At its simplest level, a podcast can be a recording of a lecture or your personal message to students. However, the technology has the potential to deliver sound, multimedia, images and text. Such materials when not owned by the University are referred to as third party materials or third party copyright materials.

Third party copyright materials can generally be played, performed or shown in a class or lecture setting for educational purposes, but recording and reusing them in a podcast may require additional copyright compliance considerations such as permissions, warning notices or the observance of quantity restrictions.

Here are some copyright considerations for various types of content.

Lecturers’ presentations
Typically a podcast includes material that is created by a lecturer, such as the lecture presentation itself. Copyright in this instance will generally be owned by the University or the presenter of the lecture.

University generated content
University copyright can be recorded and made available to students via podcast, however before you use material produced by another section of the University, there are some additional considerations, such as seeking clearance for your particular use (see http://www.une.edu.au/copyright/une-owner.php.

Student contributions
Should students appear in the presentation – for example performing, responding to or asking questions - you need to ask their permission. This could be a simple matter of letting the students know at the start of the class that the lecture is being recorded, so they can make a choice about participating.

Students’ work, such as essays, musical compositions and art works should be included only with their express permission, preferably in writing.

Copyright material of third parties
In addition to University copyright, podcasts may also include copyright material that is owned by third parties. It may still be possible to include material that fits into the following categories but there will be additional copyright compliance considerations:

• the copyright owner has given permission for the use
  http://www.une.edu.au/copyright/permission.php

• an exception applies, such as for fair dealing http://www.une.edu.au/copyright/fairdealing.php or Special exception http://www.une.edu.au/copyright/section200ab.php;

• the statutory licence Part VB (http://www.une.edu.au/copyright/part-vb-licence.php) applies, allowing you to include literary, musical, dramatic or artistic works in your podcast;

• the statutory licence Part VA (http://www.une.edu.au/copyright/part-va-licence.php) applies allowing you to include content from television or radio broadcasts in your podcast

• the amount is considered an insubstantial portion http://www.une.edu.au/copyright/insubstantial-portion.php

• the source material is Free for Educational use http://www.une.edu.au/copyright/copyright-free.php

• the Tertiary Music Licence applies (http://www.une.edu.au/copyright/music-copying.php) for music from purchased CDs and other sound recordings.

NOTE: Regardless of the content of the podcast, podcasts must only be accessible to staff and students of the University by an authenticated website such as the unit’s online presence in Blackboard.

Enquiries and suggestions to: Berenice Scott - bscott3@une.edu.au

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