We have written before about the benefits of lecture capture, but most classrooms on Columbia's campus do not have built in hardware to record and publish lectures. At the same time, the cost of hand-held video recorders and flash memory has plummeted to a price-point that is attainable to most departments and some individuals (~$100 will buy a good, used video recorder and large capacity SD card in most places). Despite the relatively low-price, sometimes purchasing equipment (no matter how inexpensive) is not an option.

Columbia faculty, fret not! You may have a viable digital media recorder on your desk or or in your pocket right now. Many laptops, cell phones, and digital cameras can record high-quality video in compressed formats that are compatible with--and can be directly uploaded to--services like YouTube.

New York's photo-superstores regularly sell 4GB SD cards for under $10, which will capture a full hour of high-quality video on the pocket-sized digital cameras that many of us already own. In addition, many laptops have a built-in camera and microphone. With some free software (e.g. Apple's Quicktime player, Jing, Audacity, or Myna just to name a few), faculty can record video, desktop, or audio quickly and easily. These tools can be used within the classroom to capture all or part of your lecture as you deliver it.

CCNMTL also offers podcasting services in 204 Butler Library. If you have time to deliver your lecture outside of the classroom (before or after the class session), you can use Screenflow in the Faculty Support Lab to record, package, and distribute audio-synced slides in the same amount of time that it takes you to deliver the lecture.