Collaborative Tools Project

+Sara Perry  wanted to use Google Hangouts to quickly and easily record seminars for students that can't make it in person and to help with promoting the work of the Archaeology dept.  We decided on using  minimal tech intervention . No requirement to use a certain presentation tool. No microphones etc. Many presenters are easily spooked by extra technology, especially when speaking,  but we also want this to be an easy enough process that Sara will be able to make sure it happens without needing any preparation.   This cheap and cheerful approach also guides the aesthetics of the video, we aren't planning to add titles, idents, logos etc. We tested a MacBook Pro that was close to the presenters pedestal and found the internal mic in that was "good enough" for a small presentation room.  We did buy a cheap webcam and a long USB cable so that we didn't have to use the camera on her laptop. This means the video capture can "step back" a little a...

Last night, Alice Watterson   (Glasgow School of Art)  presented Digital Dwelling at Skara Brae to a packed room K/111, Kings Manor, University of York about her collaboration making digital reconstructions. Here she is (above ) from the "stage" with Sara Perry. Alice was also watched by a roomful of researchers at Southampton University, who tuned in to the Hangout and managed to ask questions in a short Q&A at the end. We're still experimenting with how to get the best from Google+ Hangouts whilst keeping the recording process speaker-responsibility-free and technology-minimalist  in that we don't want the speaker to have to do anything special to be streamed, and we also don't want Sara, who hosts the seminars to have to set up heaps of scary equipment. We may have to compromise though. For example, if the speaker would be willing to send us their slides beforehand and willing, instead of using Powerpoint - to use the Hangout tool...