Do-It-Yourself Media Loaner Equipment

The CTL offers a selection of basic video equipment that instructors can borrow to create high-quality content for their courses. This service presents an excellent opportunity for instructors to innovate and elevate the production value of their video and audio materials, enhancing the overall learning experience for their students.

Camcorder

What types of media projects would I use the loaner equipment for?

Equipment can be used to produce flipped classroom lectures, guest interviews, podcasts, lab demonstrations, and other types of instructional media.

What equipment is available through the CTL’s loaner equipment service? 

We provide a range of equipment and accessories designed to complement your mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets, computers, and handycam recorders. Our offerings are categorized into four main groups: HD Camcorders, Camera Accessories, Microphones, Tripods & Holders, and Lights. All our equipment and kits are portable, user-friendly, and convenient, making it easy for you to enhance your recording capabilities on the go.

Who is eligible to borrow the CTL media equipment?

The loaner equipment is available to Columbia instructors who are creating content for their Columbia courses. 

How can I borrow the media loaner equipment?

Please consult a CTL Learning Designer and complete the Media Equipment Loaner Form. 

How far in advance do I need to submit the form?

The form should be submitted at least one week in advance, and you can borrow equipment for up to two weeks. 

Are there tutorials and guides to help me learn how to use the equipment?

Yes, we provide “Quick Start Guides” for each piece of equipment, which include both video tutorials and detailed documents. These resources are designed to help beginners quickly and effectively learn how to use the equipment.

Who should clients contact if the equipment is faulty or in need of technical support?   

During checkout, please double-check that the equipment you are borrowing is in good condition. If the equipment is faulty or you need technical support please email ctl-media@columbia.edu.

What are the penalties involved if something is damaged, lost, or stolen?

We are loaning the equipment in good faith that clients will be responsible for the equipment.

How should I prepare for a recording session?

Plan for your recording location, on-camera subject, and interview questions or script well in advance. See our Do-it-Yourself Media Resource page for best practices. You can also reach out to a CTL Learning Designer for more information.

Plan for a test recording session before your actual recording. Play back your recording to see if it meets your expectations. Use headphones to monitor or playback the audio.

What are my options to save my recordings?

Recordings are generally automatically saved to an SD card in the camera or to the internal memory on your device.

Recordings can be saved or backed up to an external hard drive or thumb drive or to cloud services such as your Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox.

What are my options for editing a video?

Here are some popular and user-friendly video editing software applications, both free and fee-based: iMovie, Adobe Express, Vimeo, Youtube, and Panapto. These options cater to various needs and skill levels, ensuring you can find the right tool for your video editing projects.

Reserve one of the CTL’s DIY Studios to edit your video using iMovie, Adobe Premiere, or Camtasia if you don’t have access to an editing app on your personal computer.

Once I’ve completed my recording and editing how can I make it available and accessible to students?

Panopto is Columbia’s video recording, editing, and streaming solution that integrates with CourseWorks. Review CTL’s Video Best Practices and Columbia’s Panopto webpage for more information.

Be sure to consider accessibility before using media in your course. Captions, transcripts, and other considerations like video length and naming convention make learning materials accessible to all of your students. To learn more visit the CTL’s accessibility resource page. 

Want to learn more about the CTL’s DIY services?

To learn more about the Media Equipment Loaner Service,the DIY Studios, and how to prepare your course content for recording please contact columbiaCTL@columbia.edu.

For a more extensive list of common questions please reference our FAQ Frequently Asked Questions