This page details recommendations regarding equipment suitable for recording and real-time education from the home office.

Topic page: Online teaching 

See also: Teaching from home

Norwegian version: Hjemmekontor - utstyr

You do not need expensive and specialized equipment to make a suitable recording with your PC / Mac. Normally, you can manage with simple equipment that many people already have at home or work. Most of the equipment recommended here can be purchased from the NTNU online store for PC equipment.

Microphone

Audio will always be the most important part of a web meeting or video recording. The built-in microphone on the PC makes it easy to pick up noise from the surroundings. A good and affordable solution is to use a USB headset.
 

• Logitech H650e headset
• Jabra Speak 710 MS Conference speakers are suitable if you do not want to wear a headset or are more than one person recording sound at the same time.

Camera

Most newer PCs have a good enough webcam for both meetings and teaching videos. However, an external camera offers some added benefits. First and foremost, the quality of the picture is better, and it works much better when you do not have ideal lighting conditions - which is often the case in your home office. But an equally important advantage is that it is easy to position the camera. The camera on the PC will often film from the bottom-up, which can be an unfortunate angle.
 

• Logitech C925e Webcam
• Logitech BRIO is a slightly better webcam with 4K resolution (not in NTNU web shop)

 Cellphone

You can also record with a mobile phone. This can be an appropriate solution if you need to film something physically in the room other than yourself or you need to move the camera along the way in the filming/recording. One example is recording lab exercises and the like. A common challenge in filming with a mobile phone camera, is that the microphone picks up a lot of noise from the surroundings. If you have wireless earbuds with a microphone, this is an easy way to get much better sound quality without compromising mobility.

• Mobile phone stand, e.g. Joby GripTight ONE Magnetic
• Wireless headset

Prepare for Recording

Create a home studio

If you use a laptop to record, the camera is often placed very low in relation to the face. Consider purchasing a webcam or positioning your PC higher. Also, make sure not to have too much clutter in the background (personal photos etc), the focus should be on you.

Take notice of the light sources in the room. Back lights can be disruptive and reduce the quality of the recording. Windows and natural light should not be included in the camera image.

Get Started

Test the equipment and tools before starting a recording or teaching session. Making a recording is often time-consuming, and it is tedious to have to do it repeatedly because the microphone was off or in the wrong position.

Making a test recording first can be a good routine. Before conducting a real-time teaching session, it is always advantageous to have tested and evaluated the tool first with colleagues or students, so you do not have to experiment too much with a large group of students.