Using your Ipad to record student presentations for formative feedback

A quick question for staff with iPads.

Do you want to record student presentations, group work etc., to provide formative feedback?

If the answer is yes, the following describes a simple way of achieving this with the technology in you pocket (ish).

The Elevate Team have tested the following in a couple of different scenarios, and it works really well.

• Samson Meteor USB Microphone – £64.61 - href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samson-METEOR-Meteor-USB-Microphone/dp/B004MF39YS/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1349955184&sr=8-12"


• Adjustable Tablet Tripod - £40.00-ish - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adjustable-Tablet-Tripod-Stand-iPad/dp/B0088LEEPU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1349863473&sr=8-2"


• Apple iPad Connection Kit - £22.00 - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apple-iPad-Camera-Connection-Kit/dp/B003K1EYM6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1350657551&sr=8-2

The photo illustrates how it all connects (excluding the tripod, and a USB extension cable).



When testing we were seeking a system which had:

• Minimal work for the person recording (so the lecturer could click the button and continue with the other things they needed to do).


• The audio quality was good.


• The presenter was not surrounded by technology, or had software running in the background which conflicted with what they wanted to use.


• The recording could be quickly uploaded, edited and available to discuss with the student.


• The technology meet these requirements, and we've had positive feedback from the staff we tested this on.


• The workflow included using the camera app on the iPad so we can upload directly to our YouTube (unlisted) account. Meaning they could quickly edit using YouTube (if required) and provide the URLs on the individual recording.

From our perspective the upload and distribution is really important. This has been a big stumbling block with other workflows involving camcorders. Therefore, by empowering the staff to be able to do this in the room is a very important motivator.

So, what problems did we encounter? Well, firstly, storage on the iPad (you will need to clear some space for the files), and secondly a wi-fi problem meaning the upload to YouTube needed to be done when we where back in the office. So we'd suggest no significant problems.

Where next for us? We are looking at connecting a USB hub to allow more than one mic to be included, and will look for other software to see if we can reduce the size of the video file.

If you have any questions, please email the Elevate Team (elevate@ucs.ac.uk)