Recording a lesson without a second camera
The usual setup for a lesson is a computer, a webcam, capture software and an evening of editing. If the thing you are teaching is on a phone or tablet, none of that is necessary — the device records itself and you at the same time.
Why the face matters in a lesson
A voice over a screen is a manual being read aloud. Students stay with a person: they read whether you are about to say something important from your face, not from the cursor. It is the same reason a recorded lecture with a talking head outperforms slides with narration.
Where to put yourself
Bottom corner, on the side the content is not. On a tablet in landscape there is room to be larger than you would dare on a phone. If you write or draw on screen, put yourself on the opposite side from your writing hand so the bubble never covers what you just wrote.
Say it once, in one take
The temptation is to record perfectly and edit the mistakes. Do not. A lesson with a correction in it — "sorry, the other one" — is more trustworthy than a seamless one, and it takes twenty minutes instead of an evening.
Sound
If the lesson has app audio in it, keep the two tracks separate so a loud notification or a video clip does not bury your explanation. If it is only your voice, a single track is simpler and the file is the same size.
Length
One idea per recording. Three six-minute recordings are watched; one eighteen-minute recording is started. Naming them by what they teach rather than by lesson number also means students can find the one they need.
Can students see my notifications?
Yes — the recording captures the screen, banners included. Turn on Focus before you start.
Does it record if I lock the device?
No. Keep it awake for the length of the lesson.
