Voice reinforcement microphones are used to amplify the instructor's voice within the classroom.
With face covering requirements, many have expressed concerns about speaking loud enough to be heard by all students in larger spaces. We will be adding microphones to several larger rooms, but cannot provide vocal reinforcement microphones for all classrooms.
Voice reinforcement microphone plan:
- Several larger classrooms and lecture halls within the College already have lapel microphones available (CBB 101, 105, 261, 265, CCC 101, Sci D101, Sci D102).
- Rooms which normally seat 65+ students currently do not have a microphone will have a lapel microphone added (CCC 213, 227, 303, 321).
- Rooms with a normal seating capacity of 64 or fewer students will not be provided with voice reinforcement microphones.
In testing, we found that most face coverings do not hinder speech enough to require voice reinforcement in classrooms which normally seat 64 or fewer students. Face coverings which significantly muffle your voice will hamper the sound received by the microphone, reducing it's effectiveness.
If you feel you will need voice reinforcement in one of the classrooms which is not planned to receive a microphone, please contact the College Support Team member for your area. Please be aware our resources will be limited.
Voice capture microphones are used to capture the instructor's voice for use with online in Zoom or Kaltura Capture.
We hope to outfit all classrooms in-use this fall with some ability to capture the instructor’s voice for use online:
- Rooms which normally seat 48+ students will be outfitted with a dedicated voice capture microphone. We ordered three different types of microphones depending on the needs of the space (shotgun, boundary, and wireless lapel) and will provide a guide on their use in the coming weeks.
- Rooms which normally seat 47 students or fewer will rely on the web camera to capture the instructor’s voice.
These options will be attached to the computer via USB for use with Zoom, Kaltura Capture, or any other recording software. The capture of student voices in the classroom may be possible with different mic/room configurations but is not guaranteed. In most rooms with voice reinforcement microphones, these will be separate microphones.
There will be three options for capturing handwriting for use with Kaltura Capture of Zoom:
Document Camera
We have connected all document cameras to the computers via USB. This will allow them to be used as a web camera input in Zoom, Kaltura Capture, or any other web conferencing or recording software. Dark, felt-tipped pens or sharpies work best. Ball-point pens and pencils are not recommended. A small whiteboard beneath the document camera could also be used in place of the paper, but these will not be provided in the rooms.
In rooms with Samsung SDP-860 cameras, the document cameras can also be displayed directly on the room’s AV system so that both the online and in-person students can see the writing. Unfortunately, the newer Elmo cameras will not output simultaneously to USB and the AV system. How to best use the Elmo cameras for both in-person and online students is something we are still working out.
Image quality and legibility can be quite good when used with Kaltura Capture. However, quality when used with Zoom is lower (even when HD video is turned on) but still ok.
Graphics Tablet Monitors
Some rooms will be equipped with graphics tablet monitors with an active stylus which will allow for highly detailed writing directly on the screen. This results in a high-quality image when shared through Kaltura Capture or Zoom.
These monitors will be mirrored with the projector allowing the writing to be presented to the students attending in-person. PowerPoint integrates well with these displays.
These will be present in all of the large spaces we have converted into classrooms (see Large Space Classroom Conversions page for list of rooms). We will also have a few monitors to install in specific rooms as requested, contact your CST if you are interested in these.
Marker or Chalk Boards (in rooms with lecture capture systems)
In rooms with dedicated lecture capture systems, capturing handwriting on the marker board is an option. Although these systems have dedicated capture hardware that can be used, they also appear on the computer as a web camera for direct use with Kaltura Capture or Zoom.
Capturing handwriting on the board with a web camera is not recommended. In testing we found that the resolution of web cameras are not sufficient to capture most handwriting on chalk and marker boards with good legibility. Additionally, in the standard mounting location, web cameras will typically receive a high amount of glare on marker boards. Unless great care is taken, capturing handwriting on the board with a web camera will place the on-line students at a significant disadvantage and therefore we are recommending against this option.
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