Documenting a class session with video and photos

This is not going to be a detailed instruction manual for the specific equipment we use; we'll do that part in person.  This is an overview of the procedures for video- and photo-recording a class session.  The other critical documentation for every class session is field notes (addressed in a separate post).

Videography

1.  Arrive at 8am so that you have time to get things in order before class starts at 8:30.  Our technical assistant will have charged the cameras and put fresh batteries in them and in the microphones.  The first order of business is to decide where to place your microphone for your session (and thus where to point your camera, since the camera should record the same people that the microphone is recording).  There are two normal options:

• Have an individual person wear the microphone.  The important advantage of this option is that if and when the participants get out of their seats, which happens regularly in this class, the microphone goes with them.  Here are instructions for recruiting a microphone wearer.
• Set the microphone in an unobtrusive spot on the table (for example, poking out from under the computer monitor).  The important advantage of this option is that the participants tend to be more comfortable with it.

Check with the instructors and fellow scholars to decide what's the best plan for your session.

2.  Position your camera so as to see the mic wearer well.  Often a shelf of windowsill works best.  Always plug in the camera when you can, to preserve the battery for when you need to be mobile. 

3.  Once you are set up, do a sound check, start recording, and find a place to settle in and take field notes.  It's tempting to have a "scholars' table" in the back of the room.  However, this can look a little intimidating (a wall of laptops staffed by people with big headphones on).  Consider integrating yourself into the classroom differently.

4.  This is the kind of class where participants are likely to get up and move around.  When they do, you will need to grab the camera and microphone receiver (these are both small) and follow them as best you can, be that out into another room or whatever.  Leave the tripod connected, but disconnect the camera's power cord as well as the wireless headphones (the "base station" for those is big and clunky).  Have other headphones handy (keep earbuds in your pocket?) so that you can still listen.  

If your group is stable in the new location, you may be able to set the camera down.  Frequently, though, when you are going handheld, you can't take field notes.  If the action is a whole-class activity, it may be effective for one scholar to hold the camera while the other takes field notes.  If not, just do your best to summarize what you saw when you get back to your laptop.

Still photography

1.  Photograph every white board the teachers produce, if possible - all the groups, not only the group you are observing.  There is often a "gallery walk" or a break during which you can take photos.  To photograph a white board, hold it upright (to avoid glare from the ceiling lights) and include the table number in the frame of the photo.  The date and time are recorded automatically by the camera.  

2.  Photograph the front board when something significant is on it.  Breaks are usually the time to do this.

3.  If you think of it, take "promotional photos" as well as data photos - pictures that show the course and/or the EPSRI in action.  We use these on brochures and posters describing the programs.