Production Process
At the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), we can produce lecture materials for online and blended courses in a variety of formats. Behind the scenes, a lot goes on to ensure that students have accessible, high-quality, and engaging content. Our instructional designers, web developers, technical writers, medical illustrators, and audio and video specialists collaborate with subject-matter experts to produce state-of-the-art content for academic courses at the Bloomberg School and massive open online courses, or MOOCs.
Faculty are partnered with an instructional designer, who will facilitate the production process with the CTL production teams. During the production process, faculty also work with audio or video producers when they record a lecture. Several teams then process the lecture at CTL before sharing it with learners. View a snapshot of the full production cycles that are required for our teams to do their behind-the-scenes work: from recording and editing through quality confirmation. All of this happens before any lecture materials are considered ready for students.
It is important to discuss production plans with your instructional designer, who will have valuable insight into the best approach for your course and content. CTL supports production projects for fully online and blended courses, but for production support for other course types or special projects, please contact your instructional designer, who can put you in touch with the right resources.
Content Produced by CTL
CTL can produce many types of content, including videos, audio recordings, and audio-narrated slide presentations. We are able to do so by adhering to production cycles that consider all of our processes, teams, and related resources. A brief overview is provided below, but you can learn more about what we do, including a video demo reel and a tour of our audio studio, on our Recording with CTL page.
The first step for faculty is to decide the best format for the content they are trying to share. To do this, start first with the objectives and the experience of the students:
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What is the purpose of the content in the student's learning experience?
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How does it build on or contribute to other content in the course?
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How is it tied to the assignments or assessments in the course?
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Do students need very specific details?
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Will visuals help students process the content?
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Could a guest expert lend credibility to a topic?
Audio + PowerPoint
This traditional online lecture format features a slide deck with synchronized audio narration. The audio team can also produce instructional podcasts like storytelling narratives, interviews, and long-form conversations.
For this type of recording, faculty or their guests (subject matter experts) first contact their instructional designer to schedule a consultation, and then schedule the recording with the CTL audio production team and work remotely or in-studio with an audio producer.
Video
Videos do not rely on slides but instead feature the speaker(s) on camera discussing content. They can provide valuable enrichment to a course’s content, deepening and solidifying student learning. CTL offers options for several kinds of videos:
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On-location interviews
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Cellular bonding (broadcast from anywhere)
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360 immersive videos
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Direct messaging and lecture intros
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Mixed-media green screen
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Live events
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Live simulation
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Scripted short films
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Expert interviews with Skype
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On-location tours
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Live streaming
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Lightboard instruction
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Ride-along videos
For these recordings, faculty contact their instructional designer to schedule a consultation and recording with the CTL video production team.
Production Cycles and Timelines
The details of what faculty should be doing during each phase of the recommended lecture production cycle can be found on the Recommended Faculty Timeline for Lecture Production page. At the same time that faculty are getting their courses ready, there is a lot of coordination going on behind the scenes at CTL. Visit the CTL Production Teams page to learn what we do beyond our instructional designers' interactions with faculty to get the course content ready for students.
A summary of Recording Timelines is also available.
Overview of AY 25-26 Production Cycle
The "Time Frame" in this overview represents the calendar dates approaching the term for which the final production must be ready for students. Term opening dates are based on the official BSPH Academic Calendar.
Time Frame | Summer Institute | Summer | Term 1 | Term 2 | Winter Intercession | Term 3 | Term 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
16 weeks | 02/04/2025 | 03/10/2025 | 05/05/2025 | 07/02/2025 | 09/12/2025 | 09/30/2025 | 12/01/2025 |
NEW Course Recording Deadline (Suggested) | 02/28/2025 | 04/04/2025 | 05/30/2025 | 07/31/2025 | 10/03/2025 | 10/17/2025 | 01/09/2025 |
12 weeks | 03/04/2025 | 04/07/2025 | 06/02/2025 | 07/30/2025 | 10/10/2025 | 10/28/2025 | 12/29/2025 |
Audio Recording Deadline* | 03/31/2023 | 04/28/2023 | 06/26/2023 | 08/31/2023 | 10/31/2023 | 11/30/2023 | 01/31/2024 |
8 weeks | 04/01/2025 | 05/05/2025 | 06/30/2025 | 08/27/2025 | 11/07/2025 | 11/25/2025 | 01/26/2026 |
Video Recording Deadline* | 04/30/2025 | 05/30/2025 | 07/31/2025 | 09/26/2025 | 11/14/2025 | 12/05/2025 | 02/20/2026 |
4 weeks | 04/29/2025 | 06/02/2025 | 07/28/2025 | 09/24/2025 | 12/05/2025 | 12/23/2025 | 02/23/2026 |
2 weeks | 05/13/2025 | 06/16/2025 | 08/11/2025 | 10/08/2025 | 12/19/2025 | 01/06/2026 | 03/09/2026 |
1 week | 05/20/2023 | 06/23/2025 | 08/18/2025 | 10/15/2025 | 12/26/2025 | 01/13/2026 | 03/16/2026 |
Opening Date | 05/27/2025 | 06/30/2025 | 08/25/2025 | 10/22/2025 | 01/02/2026 | 01/20/2026 | 03/23/2026 |
*Recording deadlines are listed for existing online courses, but bulk content for new courses needs to be produced sooner. For new courses, please consult with CTL's Assistant Director, Learning and Innovation: Kathy Gresh (kgresh@jhu.edu).
Overview of AY 24-25 Production Cycle
The "Time Frame" in this overview represents the calendar dates approaching the term for which the final production must be ready for students. Term opening dates are based on the official BSPH Academic Calendar. Faculty considerations during this same cycle can be found on the Recommended Faculty Timeline for Lecture Production page.
Time Frame | Summer Institute | Summer | Term 1 | Term 2 | Winter Intercession | Term 3 | Term 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
16 weeks | 02/06/2024 | 03/11/2024 | 05/06/2024 | 07/03/2024 | 09/12/2024 | 10/01/2024 | 12/02/2024 |
NEW Course Recording Deadline (Suggested) | 02/29/2024 | 03/29/2024 | 05/31/2024 | 07/31/2024 | 10/11/2024 | 10/11/2024 | 01/10/2025 |
12 weeks | 03/05/2024 | 04/08/2024 | 06/03/2024 | 07/31/2024 | 10/10/2024 | 10/29/2025 | 12/30/2024 |
Audio Recording Deadline* | 03/29/2024 | 04/30/2024 | 06/28/2024 | 08/26/2024 | 10/31/2024 | 11/08/2024 | 01/24/2025 |
8 weeks | 04/02/2024 | 05/06/2024 | 07/01/2024 | 08/28/2024 | 11/07/2024 | 11/26/2024 | 01/27/2025 |
Video Recording Deadline* | 03/29/2024 | 05/31/2024 | 07/31/2024 | 09/27/2024 | 11/15/2024 | 12/06/2024 | 02/21/2025 |
4 weeks | 04/30/2024 | 06/03/2024 | 07/29/2024 | 09/25/2024 | 12/05/2024 | 12/24/2024 | 02/24/2025 |
2 weeks | 05/14/2024 | 06/17/2024 | 08/12/2024 | 10/09/2024 | 12/19/2024 | 01/07/2025 | 03/10/2025 |
1 week | 05/21/2024 | 06/24/2024 | 08/19/2024 | 10/16/2024 | 12/26/2024 | 01/14/2025 | 03/17/2025 |
Opening Date | 05/28/2024 | 07/01/2024 | 08/26/2024 | 10/23/2024 | 01/02/2025 | 01/21/2025 | 03/24/2025 |
*Recording deadlines are listed for existing online courses, but bulk content for new courses needs to be produced sooner. For new courses, please consult with CTL's Assistant Director, Learning and Innovation: Kathy Gresh (kgresh@jhu.edu).
