Streaming video enjoyed popularity prior to COVID, but the need for distance-learning, along with the fear of personal contact, caused a huge surge in streaming equipment and services over the past couple of years.
To that end, the discipline became a large part of the Digital Video Technology Program at Florida Panhandle Technical College in Chipley, Florida, and Instructor Paul Goulding embraced the need for streaming to enhance his video offering.
‘We sent our students home with computers and cameras’, says Goulding, ‘immediately following the mask and distance learning mandates, and for that reason we did not miss any class time and our students were able to fulfill their lesson plans in a timely manner’.
Goulding maintains that the huge need for inexpensive streaming equipment and software was a boon to the digital video industry, and one which continues to pay dividends.
‘The distance learning phenomenon was beneficial to the streaming industry, from simple Zoom-type conferencing to more complex multi-camera production’, says Goulding, ‘and we continue to benefit from the affordable technology spawned as a part of the occurrence, both in the ‘pro’ and ‘prosumer’ market.
The FPTC video students have live-streamed several large Washington County, Florida School District events over the past several years, including Black History Month celebrations, and the offering has been warmly acknowledged and accepted.
The FPTC Digital Video Technology class students spent Monday, January 30, 2023 building streaming scenarios and setups, making use of the aforementioned equipment and discovering affordable alternatives to previously expensive studio gear, as seen in these photos of and by FPTC students.
