CourseStream Tips and Strategies

CourseStream Tips

Wear something that has a collar or lapel so that the microphone can easily be attached.
Wear solid colors that have little to no pattern in them. Colors such as blue, brown, yellow, and purple tend to come across well on camera.
Understand when you should and shouldn't mute the microphone during class.

Avoid wearing herringbone types of blazers or suit jackets. It will cause jittering in the video and make it look like your jacket is moving.
Avoid wearing anything that has a very tight or intricate type of design or plaid.
Avoid wearing anything that has narrow contrasting type of stripes.
Avoid wearing a white shirt/blouse or blazer. The white bounces back the light and the lens has trouble compensating for this.
Avoid low cut blouses, as camera angles may make blouses appear lower cut than they are.
Avoid wearing material that may be metallic or reflective. Again, a light issue causes it to reflect back towards the camera.
The microphone picks up even the smallest sound. Avoid wearing accessories that might make noise while you are presenting, including watches that beep on the hour, bracelets with charms that may clang together, etc.
Always remember to mute your microphone once you've ended your lecture. This will help you avoid capturing any unnecessary chatter.

Do not block the visual with your head or arm, and center it properly under the camera.
Make sure that your visuals are legible and properly displayed.
When presenting visuals, leave them on for a longer time than you would in a face-to-face situation as it takes more time to view things online (images may not be as clear). This will ensure that off-campus students have time to take notes from your visuals.
Use a thick, dark felt-tip or marker when writing.
Try to write as neatly as possible.
Make sure to preview your materials on the document camera before class begins.

When using computer applications such as PowerPoint, makes sure the smallest font size is at least 20 point. This is 20 point font.
Use sans serif fonts, such as Helvetica, Arial, or Verdana. These fonts are easier to read online.
When opening a browser, smaller fonts might appear unreadable in the recorded lecture. Adjust the font size but selecting Zoom in the View menu of your browser's toolbar.
Digital documents show in Microsoft Excel, Access, and Word may be difficult to see when shown as part of a CourseStream recording on the web.
- Enlarge fonts as much as possible when creating documents to show in class. Larger font will make documents clearer to online viewers.
- When pointing out specific parts of the document during a lecture, it's good practice to change the Zoom to 200%. You may find the Zoom function under the View menu of your document.