Information on how to narrate PowerPoint lectures

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Dear [name]

There are a number of ways you can add audio to a lecture. Camtasia is the most popular among faculty it seems. There is an open source version of it as well, called CamStudio, for Windows only. If you decide to proceed with Camtasia/Cam Studio:

  • Software: Are you a Windows or a Mac user? Camtasia recently came out with a version for Mac, but the Windows version (Camtasia Studio) is much more mature and is easier to use, especially for narrating Power Points. You can purchase Camtasia at https://store.techsmith.com/education.asp: $99 for Mac Version, $179 for Windows version. CamStudio, for Windows only, is at http://camstudio.org/. I've not used CamStudio much. (I'm a Mac user. You can install Windows on a virtual machine on a Mac though.)
  • Voice: You'll need a microphone - either external or built-in.
  • Video: Some instructors like to add video as well, so that students can see the instructor's face as he or she is talking. Many laptops have built-in cameras or you can purchase an inexpensive webcam.
  • Instructions: Instructions for creating a PowerPoint in Camtasia Studio (the Windows version), written by Dr. Cary Engleberg are available at https://open.umich.edu/wiki/images/8/81/Creating_a_Narrated_PowerPoint_in_Camtasia_Studio.doc. His instructions cover adding audio and video using a webcam.
  • Example: Prof. Peter Woolf's Chemical Engineering lectures are examples of video narrated lectures done with Camtasia: https://open.umich.edu/education/engin/che466-fall2008/lectures.html

A couple of my coworkers also use a free alternative to Camtasia, called Jing. It's by the same company as Camtasia: http://www.techsmith.com/jing/free/. It works on Mac too. It limits you to 5 minute video segments. You can't use a webcam video with the free version, but if you pay $15 for the pro version, you can get that functionality.

A couple instructional YouTube videos about Jing:

Screencasting - Creating a Narrated PowerPoint with Jing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npMuCWOvmVE

How to use Jing (the free Camtasia) to Create a Video using PowerPoint http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlEyU5U10VE&feature=related

Are you looking to make this an open educational resource (OER): https://open.umich.edu/share/? If yes, we would be delighted to publish it on our Open.Michigan site.

I hope that helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.

Regards, [name]

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