Recording yourself teaching

[Gerry Seymour]

I was thinking the other day I'd love to consistently record what I say when teaching, so I can remember the parts I wanted to document (sometimes I say things really well, mean to add them to an article for future students, then forget what the heck I said). Anyone have any thoughts on how to manage that without having to pay attention to a recording device during class? In an ideal world, I'd be mic'd up with a lavalier/lapel mic, but I can't see how that would ever work out. I'd strangle myself with the wire and end up with plastic shrapnel in unpleasant places. And the space isn't mine, so I can't even consider (even if it weren't expensive) installing mics in the room.

I think there's not a good answer to this, but I thought I'd toss it to the MT folks, and see what kind of foolishness it starts.

 

[dvcochran]

I was of the impression there are some good mic accessories for smartphones that bring the sound in like a boom mic. Or have 2-3 standard mics at different locations around the room to capture the sound. We do this similarly for capturing data. I can see any mic you wear getting distorted from the rolling around and being rubbed on.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

If you do, share some of the videos! I'll pretend to be doing you a favor by giving you feedback, but secretly I'd also be mooching off your knowledge.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I was thinking the other day I'd love to consistently record what I say when teaching, so I can remember the parts I wanted to document (sometimes I say things really well, mean to add them to an article for future students, then forget what the heck I said). Anyone have any thoughts on how to manage that without having to pay attention to a recording device during class? In an ideal world, I'd be mic'd up with a lavalier/lapel mic, but I can't see how that would ever work out. I'd strangle myself with the wire and end up with plastic shrapnel in unpleasant places. And the space isn't mine, so I can't even consider (even if it weren't expensive) installing mics in the room.

I think there's not a good answer to this, but I thought I'd toss it to the MT folks, and see what kind of foolishness it starts.

I made a few recordings in my dojo a few years back. I used a simple Kodak movie camera on a tripod. Seemed to work OK, but I did it when the dojo was closed and no background noise. With no one manning the camera, there was only one point of view and no zooming in, etc. Sorry, that's all I got.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I'd love to consistently record what I say when teaching, so I can remember the parts I wanted to document.

In the pass 2 years, I have recorded almost every class that I have taught. I can then edit it afterward if needed.

Here is a discussion that in

- theory, you should always break your opponent's grips.
- reality, sometime it can be difficult to do so if your opponent has strong grips.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I was of the impression there are some good mic accessories for smartphones that bring the sound in like a boom mic. Or have 2-3 standard mics at different locations around the room to capture the sound. We do this similarly for capturing data. I can see any mic you wear getting distorted from the rolling around and being rubbed on.

There's really not time to set up mics around the room (I can only get in about 15 minutes before class), and with fewer than 3, there will always be a direction that's un-mic'd. Any decent directional (boom) mic would work for that, but needs a separate recording device for each, or a multichannel feed into a PC (to avoid timing issues garbling the combined feed).

I agree about the worn mic. It'd be the perfect fix, if I wasn't actually DOING something.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

If you do, share some of the videos! I'll pretend to be doing you a favor by giving you feedback, but secretly I'd also be mooching off your knowledge.

I'm unlikely to get around to actually videoing it. I haven't even made videos of the stuff I specifically intended to make videos of. But if I manage audio and it makes sense without the video, I'll share.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

In the pass 2 years, I have recorded almost every class that I have taught. I can then edit it afterward if needed.

Here is a discussion that in

- theory, you should always break your opponent's grips.
- reality, sometime it can be difficult to do so if your opponent has strong grips.

My simplest classes cover about a 30-foot linear span (from a spot on the training floor, to the heavy bag). If I have multiple groups of students, I'd probably be all over the place, with lots of student/mat noise in the way. I can't see how I'll manage to get decent audio, much less video, from a single point. That's why I'm asking for folks' input, in case there's a solution (even a partial one) I haven't tried or thought of.

 

[Danny T]

I use the camera on my phone on a tripod. Works well.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

If you teach anything new that day, you should record it. You should just record

- yourself if it's solo drill.
- yourself and your partner if it's partner drill.

You only need to record 2 times from different angles.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

If you teach anything new that day, you should record it. You should just record

- yourself if it's solo drill.
- yourself and your partner if it's partner drill.

You only need to record 2 times from different angles.

I've never managed to remember that in the moment. The only recordings I've managed were outside of class. I've carried a tripod and my phone to class for more than 2 years, and literally never once remembered to pop it up when I was teaching something I wanted a video of. I need someone to stand in the corner and throw something hard at me when I start something new, so I'll remember to record it.

That's why I'm trying to figure out a way to just capture all of the audio. I'm not sure there's a good solution, though.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I will let my students to tell me whether I should record a new teaching material or not. If something is new, they will say, "We should record this." It's my student's responsibility to record my stuff. They then put on dropbox and I can download from there.

One student always brings a recorder and set up tripod for every class. I don't make it as my job. I make it as student's job. If they want a copy of my video, they should put effort to obtain it.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I will let my students to tell me whether I should record a new teaching material or not. If something is new, they will say, "We should record this." It's my student's responsibility to record my stuff. They then put on dropbox and I can download from there.

One student always brings a recorder and set up tripod for every class. I don't make it as my job. I make it as student's job. If they want a copy of my video, they should put effort to obtain it.

Ah. Not an approach I'd personally take in this case. The recordings are for me, not for the students...unless I decide I want to provide them. Maybe if I ever have enough students to pass the responsibility around a bit.

 

[jobo]

In the pass 2 years, I have recorded almost every class that I have taught. I can then edit it afterward if needed.

Here is a discussion that in

- theory, you should always break your opponent's grips.
- reality, sometime it can be difficult to do so if your opponent has strong grips.

you have the best dojo and love 5h3 bag stand

 

[JR 137]

My teaching mentor recorded me while I was student teaching. We were in a high school gym and all she used was an iPhone. No problem with the sound. If it worked without any sound issues in s space that large and loud (we had one of those curtains separating two classes going on), I don’t foresee it not working fine in a dojo. And she didn’t follow me around closely.

No harm in trying it without any mics or other equipment. If it doesn’t work for some odd reason, a cheap camcorder on a tripod or sitting on a desk/shelf should work just fine so long as everything fits in the frame.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

My teaching mentor recorded me while I was student teaching. We were in a high school gym and all she used was an iPhone. No problem with the sound. If it worked without any sound issues in s space that large and loud (we had one of those curtains separating two classes going on), I don’t foresee it not working fine in a dojo. And she didn’t follow me around closely.

No harm in trying it without any mics or other equipment. If it doesn’t work for some odd reason, a cheap camcorder on a tripod or sitting on a desk/shelf should work just fine so long as everything fits in the frame.

The issue is partly directionality, I think. If I set it up someplace, I'm going to end up facing away from it more often than not. I've tried that in the past, and it works fine when I'm talking to the class. But it missed nearly everything I said to individual students or small groups (because I wasn't talking as loud, of course). A camcorder with an external mic (using a directional mic) might do a bit better, but that doesn't come as cheap (most inexpensive camcorders don't allow for an external mic, and the directional mic is another $100 minimum). Since the nature of the training is that folks are always working in groups of 2-3, and often each group is doing something different from the group next door, there's a lot of stuff that doesn't get picked up from 30 feet away. With someone following, they could manage to mostly keep near enough to pick up a fair amount of what's said to small groups.

I started this thread to see if anyone had an idea I hadn't come up with, because my own conclusion had been that having someone follow along was probably the only way to get decent audio on everything, and that's not something I'd be able to do for every class. It'd work for a seminar, or for a class I know I'm covering something I want to capture, but not as an everytime thing.

It may be I just have to wait until I can spring for some more expensive equipment. I'm already picking up a decent cheap recorder for recording the corporate training I do, so I'd just need to add a directional mic to test its ability to capture at the dojo.

 

[Kung Fu Wang]

I started this thread to see if anyone had an idea I hadn't come up with, ...

I only record the technique. I don't record my teaching or my class. I'll ask my students to repeat the partner drill over and over, I then record it twice from both sides.

 

[Yokozuna514]

I was thinking the other day I'd love to consistently record what I say when teaching, so I can remember the parts I wanted to document (sometimes I say things really well, mean to add them to an article for future students, then forget what the heck I said). Anyone have any thoughts on how to manage that without having to pay attention to a recording device during class? In an ideal world, I'd be mic'd up with a lavalier/lapel mic, but I can't see how that would ever work out. I'd strangle myself with the wire and end up with plastic shrapnel in unpleasant places. And the space isn't mine, so I can't even consider (even if it weren't expensive) installing mics in the room.

I think there's not a good answer to this, but I thought I'd toss it to the MT folks, and see what kind of foolishness it starts.

I think unless you are planning on making a series of teaching videos you may be overthinking this idea. I understand the desire to remember the delivery of a particular idea to a class but I suspect that the delivery has also a lot to do with how engaged the class is. In other words, what is said in one situation may or may not work well in future situations given that the audience may be different. If something you said is very well received I suspect you will remember how it was said and can note it down afterwards. You may already do this but I thought I would offer this comment for all it is worth.

I have taken to recording certain portions of my classes to give students an idea on how they are progressing over time. I record things that I feel are important for students to see about their practice so when we review it, I can point to the exact moment of where the improvement should be. We may do this 1 or 2 times in a class and I found it is far superior then using mirrors or just verbal feedback. I have also been recorded teaching and performing. So far it hasn't been used against me.

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

The issue is partly directionality, I think. If I set it up someplace, I'm going to end up facing away from it more often than not. I've tried that in the past, and it works fine when I'm talking to the class. But it missed nearly everything I said to individual students or small groups (because I wasn't talking as loud, of course). A camcorder with an external mic (using a directional mic) might do a bit better, but that doesn't come as cheap (most inexpensive camcorders don't allow for an external mic, and the directional mic is another $100 minimum). Since the nature of the training is that folks are always working in groups of 2-3, and often each group is doing something different from the group next door, there's a lot of stuff that doesn't get picked up from 30 feet away. With someone following, they could manage to mostly keep near enough to pick up a fair amount of what's said to small groups.

I started this thread to see if anyone had an idea I hadn't come up with, because my own conclusion had been that having someone follow along was probably the only way to get decent audio on everything, and that's not something I'd be able to do for every class. It'd work for a seminar, or for a class I know I'm covering something I want to capture, but not as an everytime thing.

It may be I just have to wait until I can spring for some more expensive equipment. I'm already picking up a decent cheap recorder for recording the corporate training I do, so I'd just need to add a directional mic to test its ability to capture at the dojo.

A simpler option would be: record you teaching/talking, but when they split in groups take a minute of it to go around and record each group, then let a group with 3 rotate who holds it. Or put the camcorder/camera/whatever done at the front of the class, and make an announcement that whoever wants a video of themselves to look back on, set up the camera for that class to get them.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

I only record the technique. I don't record my teaching or my class. I'll ask my students to repeat the partner drill over and over, I then record it twice from both sides.

I'm specifically trying to capture my teaching at the moment. Capturing the technique I can do outside of class time - I just need someone I can throw. Or I can capture it during class, if someone is doing it well enough for me to record. But neither of those are what I'm trying to get right now.