UD Capture / Lightboard Studio

or The Lightboard is a glass “chalkboard” filled with light that you write on with special markers. It’s for recording video lecture topics.  You face toward your viewers, and your writing glows in front of you.

Michal Herzenstein demonstrating the Lightboard at the Faculty Commons at UD Jack Baroudi demonstrating the Lightboard at the Faculty Commons at UD Mary Mclane demonstrating the Lightboard at the Faculty Commons at UD

The UD Capture Lightboard Studio offers faculty the ability to create high quality, compelling recordings of themselves delivering content by writing “in the air” while on camera. The experience is almost the same as writing on a chalk board but your back is never to the camera. You can always maintain your presence on camera along with the ability to point and refer to material already on the screen.

In addition, you can overlay PowerPoint slides with text and graphics and annotate on them in real time.

The Lightboard was developed at Northwestern University and is open source hardware.

How it works

The Lightboard is between you and the camera. You write normally on the glass to deliver your lecture content. The image of your writing is automatically flipped to be legible to the camera. No need to learn how to write backwards! Foot pedal controls give you the flexibility to start and stop the recording as well as switch to your computer to show Power Point slides. Everything is recorded in real time without the need for editing or post production so your time is well spent. Staff are always ready to assist you.

Recording tips

  • Before you arrive, please see our IT-ATS Studio Recording Guide for information about how to prepare & what to do when you arrive.
  • Plan to wear dark (not black) clothing so your writing will stand out better.
  • It may be helpful to practice on a piece of paper the location of yourself in relation to your writing (left or right).
  • Create a single PowerPoint image to use as a title screen for your presentation. It should list the topic, your name and title along with your college and department. You can begin your recording with this slide in real time.
  • If using PowerPoint slides for the first time, plan extra time to practice.
  • If using PowerPoint overlays, plan a location for yourself on screen so the slide isn’t on top of you.

Location and hours

The UD Capture Lightboard studio is located across the hall from the ATS main office (Pearson 115). To request a tour, or to checkin before your scheduled recording session, please check in with us in our main office space in Pearson 116. You can schedule a recording session Monday through Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm, depending on availability.

Schedule a time

To schedule a time to use the Lightboard for recording course content or for a demonstration of the capabilities, please contact us by emailing udcapture-info@udel.edu or by calling 302-831-0640.  Note: If you will be late or need to change your appointment, please call or email as soon as possible.  Late arrivals past 15 minutes may not be accommodated.

Demonstration

This demonstration video features three University of Delaware faculty using the Lightboard to record short lecture videos.

 

UD Custom Light Mounts

UD Lightboard Light MountThe UD IT-ATS team devised a way to use off the shelf LED lighting bars with the Lightboard to light the talent being recorded. We used four readily available LED Shop Lights from Home Depot and mounted them to the Lightboard using a custom designed 3D printed bracket that attaches to the 80/20 aluminum channel. For best strength, print the light mount with 100% infill. A parts list is below.