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By Kylee
As most schools closed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more parents realized the advantages of educating their children at home. Despite the reopening of most schools, the number of American families who decided to homeschool at least one child grew from 5.4% in 2020 to 11.1% in 2021. This is a positive development because if homeschooling is done correctly, students who go through it tend to develop significant life skills, such as time management and well-roundedness, making them more likely to excel in higher education and succeed in their chosen careers.
Technology played a significant role in this changing view towards homeschooling as most classes conducted during the pandemic were done online, mostly through video streaming. As such, to ensure that streaming for homeschooling goes smoothly, parents need to ensure that their children have the best tools for it as well. Here are some things that you can use for a smoother video streaming experience for your homeschooling needs.
A High-Quality Audio Set-Up
Arguably, sound is one of the most important element when it comes to streaming as this directly transmits the ideas that you want to convey to your audience. To optimize the audio quality of your stream, you need to invest in high-quality equipment. These can include a microphone, as built-in microphones of laptops are not going to cut it. Also, if you are going to use additional audio equipment such as speakers, you would need to look for the best sound card for streaming.
A Decent Video Streaming Camera
The camera that you choose plays an important role in ensuring that your video streaming goes smoothly. A decent camera for live streaming provides great audio-visual clarity and detail, without which your streaming might end up being subpar and distracting to viewers. As such, cameras of smartphones generally do not work for streaming as they come with a host of network quality issues.
When choosing a camera for video streaming, you need to consider various factors, including its compatibility with your set-up, its streaming resolution, its frame-per-second (FPS) count, weight, size, maneuverability, and image quality. For a homeschooling set-up, experts often suggest the use of an external webcam that is capable of recording at 1080P.
A Capable Computer
Most of the time, phones and tablets can work for video streaming. However, PCs and laptops will give you an entirely different streaming experience, especially when it comes to homeschooling. PCs and laptops have faster processors compared to phones or tablets, which in turn minimizes video lags. As well, you can use a wired internet connection for your PC or laptop, which gives faster and higher-definition video recordings.
Depending on your budget, there are several things that you need to consider when choosing a computer for streaming. These include the computer’s CPU, storage, random access memory (RAM), connectivity, and ports for external connections. Of course, you don’t have to buy the most expensive equipment out there as long as you know which specifications to prioritize. For example, since you are streaming mostly for homeschooling, you need to make sure that your computer has a decent enough CPU and connectivity.
These are the three most important equipment that you can have for a video streaming set-up for homeschooling. With these, you will ensure that your streaming and learning experience goes smoothly.