DDI Programs for 2008-2009
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New programs
Transitional programs
New programs:
Video-enhanced Web collaboration
Many programs, independent academic and research projects and working groups involve participants from around the country and the world. Many of these groups’ communication needs could be addressed easily by support for Web-based video collaboration. This pilot project enables participants to communicate live with partners around the world without the need to reserve video-conferencing facilities in advance or be dependent on the technical support usually required by video conferencing.
Goals
- Enhance community, build relationships and facilitate communication on demand
- Evaluate the feasibility of the self-service (low threshold) model for remote partners using Web-based video conferencing
- Develop Duke best practices for use of Web-based video communications locally and with remote partners
- Develop use cases for use by Duke faculty and IT support staff to provide guidelines for use of Web-based conferencing versus other technology solutions
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Enhanced loaner pool for digital video production
Faculty and student participants in digital video production projects need easy access to a diverse pool of equipment. This project adds two new types of video-recording equipment to DDI’s standard loaner pool of miniDV cameras to address production needs at the lower end of the spectrum and reduce tape-based media costs. Low-end video recording devices enable quick or “one-off” recordings, for direct upload to YouTube or a similar service. Hard-drive based digital video cameras make it easier to edit and transfer video recordings than the current miniDV cameras and require no costly tape-based media to purchase.
Goals
- Broaden the adoption of digital video production for academic use
- Develop more diverse use cases for video production along a spectrum from “one-off” recordings to high-end content production with a long shelf life
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Enhancing accessibility and distribution of digital video content
This project provides increased access to the increasing wealth of content created at Duke and in the larger academic community. Organizing and tagging media will assist faculty in the creation of thematic groups of media to achieve their research and teaching goals.
Goals
- Make it easier for faculty and students to find, share and describe academic digital video content online
- Explore how the use of small wireless mobile devices enhance curricular use of academic digital video content
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Enabling individual video editing and content creation
While the amount and use of digital video academic content increases at Duke, many faculty and students do not have the ability to create screen-capture tutorials or manipulate and excerpt digital video content on their own computers. To make it easier for faculty and students to prepare digital video content for their courses, DDI will provide them with easy-to-use tools that facilitate the creation of screen-capture tutorials and the (re)use of existing digital video content available through iTunes U and many other sources.
Goals
- Increase faculty self-reliance and flexibility by providing multimedia editing tools on faculty and student computers
- Improve the ability of faculty to adapt existing content to their curricular needs
- Enable faculty to create reusable learning materials through the creation of tutorials and demonstrations using screen-capture software
- Spark creativity around an empowering technology of easy-to-use and compact video cameras that allow participants to capture video spontaneously
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Easy-to-use lecture and event recording and streaming kits
Although DukeCapture provides a way to record most classroom-based lectures and events, a number of events take place in locations where existing technology solutions are not readily available or at times when IT staff are not on duty. A low-barrier, simple way for self-service recording or live streaming of lectures and events makes this technology available to a broad range of faculty and courses. This program makes video-recording and live-streaming kits (to include a camera and custom-configured laptop) available for short-term loan to Duke faculty, staff and students. It includes guidelines in the use of Duke-based video services (DukeStream, iTunes U, etc.) as well as commercial applications such as YouTube when appropriate. The kits are designed for maximum ease of use. Extended training is not necessary.
Goals
- Evaluate the feasibility of the self-service model for event and lecture recording
- Broaden the availability of lecture and event recording equipment to more faculty, students and courses
- Make it easier to record and distribute digital recordings and live presentations of lectures, performances and other campus events.
- Develop Duke best practices and a set of guidelines for “do it yourself” event capture and recording.
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Exploring high-definition video
This project makes high-definition (HD) video equipment and editing tools available to Duke Studios on a rental basis, for use in a small number of exploratory, proof-of-concept projects to explore the utility of this technology for academic uses. The addition of recording kits (to include an HD camera and a laptop configured for HD video process) to the loaner equipment pool based in the Teaching and Learning Center will help Duke explore the use of this emerging technology in academic projects. Applications are considered for classes whose curricular needs warrant the creation of HD video content and whose proposed uses fit with overall university and departmental academic and strategic goals.
Goals
- Explore the benefits of HD academic video versus video produced through standard video production methods
- Develop a better understanding of best practices for using HD video for academic purposes
- Explore use of HD video production for academic purposes
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Transitional programs:
In the 2008–2009 academic year, DDI will continue to provide direct support for the following programs while they continue in the pilot phase (Wimba) or are transitioned into regular operational support and budget processes at the appropriate level.
Wimba Voice Tools
The Wimba Voice Tools pilot will continue in 2008–2009.These-easy-to use tools integrate with Blackboard and allow Web-based audio recording directly from the computer desktop—all you need is a microphone and a Web browser. The pilot has been very well received by faculty and has already become important for curricular activities in writing, language and nursing courses, with interest growing in other disciplines, as well.
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Tablet PC loaner program
We will continue to make available a small Tablet PC loaner pool in 2008–2009, in order to allow faculty to explore next-generation tablet PC functionality and to facilitate evaluation of tablet PCs in preparation for departmental computing budget requests for the next fiscal year. Applications will be accepted beginning in mid-July 2008 for a small general loaner pool (available to faculty outside of languages) and for two loaner tablet PCs that will be managed by the language labs (for faculty in languages). We expect these computers to be available to selected applicants no later than the week before the fall 2008 semester begins.
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Mobile digital content (iPod) project
The Mobile Digital Content (iPod) Project will remain available to students and faculty in the 2008—2009 academic year. DDI will continue to offer student loaner iPods and faculty iPod grants using established request procedures; these programs will continue using the current pool of fifth-generation iPods/Belkin microphones as long as supplies last. We will also seed selected departments with a small pool of dedicated fifth-generation iPods for course work during the academic year, to address intensive equipment needs while operational budget requests are being prepared for FY10.
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Grants to enable recording of instructional content
DDI will continue the small-grant program that allows faculty members to request professional-quality recording and digitization of significant academic events.
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