To deliver content, hold office hours, or host meetings in a live (synchronous) format, Brock supports the use of the following video conferencing tools.
Universal Capture
Universal Capture can be used to record your screen to capture any content you would like to share, including but not limited to: lecture slides, syllabi, videos, audio clips, websites, articles, and/or other documents. Universal Capture provides the option of capturing your desktop or your webcam, or both, simultaneously. Everyone with a BrockU account can download Universal Capture, there are both PC and Mac downloads available.
Videos created with Universal Capture are stored in your online library at echo360.ca and can be easily embedded on Sakai in Lessons, Forums, Assignments, Resources, and Announcements using the Embed Echo360 Media button.
Echo360
Echo360 is our campus-wide video streaming platform. It accepts audio and video files in nearly every format, such as from Universal Capture above, as well as MP4, MP3, and MOV, among others. Echo360 can embed content on Sakai in Lessons, Forums, Assignments, Resources, and Announcements using the Embed Echo360 Media button.
With the Echo360 library hosted online, videos uploaded here and linked to Sakai do not count towards your Sakai site quota which can be a concern with the large size of video and narrated PowerPoint files. Additionally, for users with bandwidth and data constraints, the ability to stream and not download Echo360 videos is a benefit.
Echo360 also generates an automatic transcript that can be turned into video captions, returns robust statistics for video usage to instructors, and has student response functionality for asking questions and polling students within a video.
Everyone with a BrockU account has access to echo360.ca. Instructors can simply click on the Echo360 icon anywhere in Sakai, they will then be prompted to agree to a privacy statement before their account is automatically created through the Brock Authentication system. Students can go directly to echo360.ca and create an account with their Brock email. Content that you add to Echo360 remains connected with your account and will continue to be available to you for future projects or courses. Individuals outside of Brock University can view Echo360 videos that have been created with a public embed code.
PowerPoint
Microsoft PowerPoint, as part of the Office365 suite of tools, has built-in audio and timing recording functionality which allows instructors to narrate their own PowerPoint presentations. Instructors can use the same slides they already have, record audio, and then export this file in a video format (MP4 or MOV) using the recorded timings and narrations. Once your PPT has been exported as a video you can share it on Sakai (using the Echo360 Embed Media button) or other platforms.