Teaching Tech Update

I’ve had a couple of requests to share information about the audio-visual set up I use to project live demonstrations on the wall. It makes teaching things like beadwork much, much easier!

My primary goal with tech equipment is that people can very clearly see and hear what I’m doing. A secondary consideration, albeit a very important one for a traveling teacher is weight.

Projector – Casio XJ-A141

OK – so I love this projector. There is no lamp to burn out as it has a laser/LED hybrid system. It has super amazing color and clarity, even in a non-darkened room. You can switch the “mount” orientation so it looks right side up to the students even though it’s filming your hands upside down, and you can flip it for left handers as well. I would recommend ordering it from theProjectorPeople.com. these guys have the best customer service ever! 

Tripod – Giottos RT8150

This is the lightest weight tripod I could find and is working fine so far. It’s probably not the best tripod to use if you also want to use it for a nice and heavy camera – but it suits my purposes perfectly. I am finding that I like to tape the legs to the table so that I don’t bump it over.

 Video Camera: Sony HDR-CX190

This camera weighs almost nothing so there are no tipping problems with the tripod. It gives my students fabulous close-ups that are clear and focused. It also zooms out very well. I have to reach up and click the screen every once in a while when it powers itself off, no big deal. I can zoom in or out very easily. The hardest thing to learn is to keep my handwork on the screen – I tend to move around a lot.

lavalier mike – audio-technica pro 88w

 

http://www.magellans.com/magellan-s-tweakers-portable-mini-speakers

Speaker – I had a little tiny set that I wouldn’t recommend yet. They squalled if I got too close with the volume turned up on my mike and didn’t quite do the job well enough. They were OK but not what I’m looking for yet.

Sue Bleiweiss says her shock-box works amazingly well. I have a really great speaker at

home but it weights 4lbs and is larger than I like.

All of my equipment must fit into my rolling briefcase – it is a briggs & riley that looks closest to this one. I feel like it’s my most important piece of equipment.

the projector, my ipad, and my macbook air fit in the front pocket and all the rest, including cables and by big camera fit into the back pocket. It fits under the seat – even in a puddle jumper so I NEVER have to check it. Never ever. In one puddle jumper it did have to go under the seat sideways – but it it still fit. It was worth every penny – B&R luggage is extremely well built (I am still using a 20+ yr old carry on) and has a life time guarantee. The frames protects your stuff.

So. There you have it. Let me know if you have any brilliant tips or tech for me. What have you seen in a class that has worked well?