I decided to use the opportunity to webcast to explore and advertise my
activities outside of education. I used the opportunity to broadcast
from the theatre that I am currently performing in. Step number one was
getting permission from all the appropriate people to run the webcast.
I had to make sure that the PA Playhouse board was ok with the project
and were willing to allow me to use the private wifi. I also had to
make sure it was ok with the production staff of Company to be filming
as we were prepping for a performance. After receiving the green light
from all the appropriate channels, I began trying to set up the project.
Since I knew I wanted to be able to walk around the playhouse, I knew
that I would need to be able to broadcast from my iPad. I needed to
find out what webcasting programs I could use to broadcast this way. I
looked into Google+ Hangouts and also UStream. In the end, Ustream was
the better option as I could easily broadcast from my iPad. Using my
iPad allowed me freedom of movement but also to easily transition the
camera from front view to back view. I tested the equipment at the
playhouse on tuesday prior to my friday evening proposed broadcast. The
test went incredibly well. The feed seemed to be working well and I
was able to have two friends tune in and comment in the social stream as
I was testing. I advertised my broadcast using Facebook which allowed
me to easily link my Ustream channel to the memos during the days prior
and also to continually update as I was leading into the broadcast.
When my broadcast day arrived, I was definitely nervous. Not only had I
already worked all day, but now I was thinking about the broadcast and
the show I was going to have to perform in in a few hours. Once I got
set up I ran a last test run that seemed to go well. Unfortunately as I
was preparing to broadcast, a massive storm system rolled into PA.
This was only a minor problem but did cause some interruptions in my
broadcast due to wifi issues cause by the storm. Once I got going, the
webcast went really well, I had about 6 different people tune in while
live although no one used the social stream/chat options. I also had
several people tune in to watch the recorded webcast.
In general I think it went really well, the technology did was a
success and super user friendly once I learned to use it. Although upon
viewing the recorded video I did notice there is some delay in the
audio and video feed. It would be a really neat to work on a project
like this in the classroom. It would be a way for the students to
broadcast from outside of the school. We could broadcast and record
field experiences or even allow students to bring their outside
activities into the classroom through recorded broadcast. It might also
be a neat way of highlighting sports and other activities outside of
the classroom. Below you will find the link to my recorded broadcast.
It is in two segments due to the connection losses caused by the storm
and wifi.
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