What if something goes wrong?

Many people have initial concerns that they will somehow ‘do it wrong’. But as they start to use the technology, they find it surprisingly easy. Almost the only thing that a lecturer can do which will adversely affect a recording is to forget to turn on the microphone.

There has been a lot of effort put into making eduStream a robust, streamlined system with built-in failsafes, however occasionally faults occur at a system level.

Worst case – failed recording

Despite all of our care, occasionally a lecture may fail to record. Causes can include:

• a power failure during or prior to the lecture
• a lecturer forgetting to turn on the microphone
• a failure in some part of the eduStream system, eg a computer crash.

If a lecture fails to record, CEDIR staff will:

• notify you promptly, so that you can take any necessary steps such as rescheduling quizzes
• keep you informed of any new information, eg what was the cause of the failure, and what has been done to avoid it happening again
• give additional training if needed, eg with the microphone.

Your options for how to proceed include:

• rerecording the entire lecture (using a portable MiniDisc)
• rerecording a summary of the lecture
• using the event as an opportunity to record a special lecture for remote students with information relevant to them
• finding some other substitute instead of rerecording, for example extra printed materials, or an extra tutorial
• use a previously recorded lecture (if available).

If a lecturer has elected to keep a copy of the streamed files on CD-ROM, the files could be reused as a backup strategy in future years.

Other issues

Most other issues are fairly minor, and can be easily resolved with the help of eduStream staff.

Early in the session, students should be provided with information on how to set up their home computer for eduStream. This information is available online at http://cedir.uow.edu.au/edustream/student/ and from CEDIR staff. Students can also email edustream@uow.edu.au for technical support if they are having access problems, including problems with access from home.

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