In this session, we will introduce you to the free video streaming tool Open Broadcast Software (OBS) and show how it can be employed as a free online lecture tool for streaming and recording your online classes.
As the demand for video casting and capture grows with online classes, so too do the options to deliver it. Traditional software, such as Camtasia and Movavi, have provided excellent entry points for educators to develop and capture content. These offerings have proven to be easy to use and effective in developing historic recordings and video editing. However, the changing dynamics of course content delivery and the platforms of retrieval of historic content often leave students with older material on devices ill-equipped to receive the content. Today’s students need quick content delivery in real-time that can be easily stored and retrieved for learning reinforcement from a variety of devices, including mobile.
In addition to addressing the needs of students, our approach provides the flexibility for educators to create a variety of content suitable for many disciplines. We use open source software, available on a variety of operating systems for all of our content creation. The result is professional looking content that is engaging and accessible for students and flexible for content creators.
In this session, we will introduce you to Open Broadcast Software (OBS), a free and commonly used program to record live video gameplay. We will show how we are adapting the software for application in an emerging online program at Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. We will provide examples of how we have live-streamed and captured lectures with OBS on our private YouTube channels. In addition, we will be providing a simple step-by-step procedure that anyone can follow to start creating content in minutes with the software from just a simple laptop.
Our demonstration will include the use of simple production techniques using content from a variety of sources including video cameras, any software application on your computer, scrolling text or images, eBooks, presentation slides, handwriting and digital pen annotation. One of the biggest benefits to our approach is streaming or recording from several sources simultaneously for a fully engaging digital environment for students. This is analogous to the experience students have in the classroom from a video projector, whiteboard and instructor body language.
Using this approach, live-streamed lectures are recorded and saved for students to reference in the future—anytime and from anywhere via YouTube's well-established collection of apps and services. The videos can even be augmented with closed captioning and post-production editing to clarify where necessary. The excellent content delivery functions of OBS can be easily supplemented with simple to use, yet high quality production tools, of which we show several including: inexpensive green screen technology, seamless scene transitions, multi-window displays, volume leveling, ambient noise reduction and live chat with participants.
At the conclusion of the session, attendees will be able to easily download, install and begin working with OBS software on YouTube or with recorded and saved videos stored locally or on a learning management system. This session would benefit anyone who is teaching an online class with live video and/or computer capture needs and is applicable to all audience levels and disciplines.