wolever/browsercast

An IPython notebook plugin which facilitates lecture recording and playback.

BrowserCast is an IPython Notebook plugin which allows IPython Notebook notebooks to be set to audio, creating a screencast-style presentation in the browser - a browser cast.

Status: BrowserCast is under active development, and should work well enough that you can use it to create useful presentations! It is currently implemented as a bookmarklet instead of a "real" Notebook plugin, but that will change soon. To give it a try, see: http://wolever.github.io/browsercast/

Traditional screencasts talking about BrowserCast:

• Why is BrowserCast cool? http://youtu.be/OAIyHgbi5rM
• Creating a presentation with BrowserCast: http://youtu.be/UhHRuPPFWtE
• Old proof-of-concept demonstration: http://youtu.be/CYxZq4rZw0c

Usage

As a Python package

When loaded as a Python package, BrowserCast will be packaged along with the notebook and will be usable by anyone who loads the notebook.

To load BrowserCast from a Python package:

1. Install it: pip install browsercast

2. Open an IPython notebook (hint: ipython notebook, then "New Notebook")

3. Run:

   import browsercast
   browsercast.load()
   

4. Follow the on-screen instructions to get started!

As a bookmarklet

When loaded as a bookmarklet, BrowserCast will only be usable for the session it was loaded from (although the BrowserCast metadata will be saved to the notebook, so the cell timings will still be usable in future sessions):

1. Install the bookmarklet from: http://wolever.github.io/browsercast/
2. Open an IPython notebook (hint: ipython notebook, then "New Notebook")
3. Click the bookmarklet to load BrowserCast
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to get started!

During Development

The simplest way to use BrowserCast during development is to pass browsercast_js and browsercast_css arguments to browsercast.load().

1. Get a copy of the source code: git clone git@github.com:wolever/browsercast.git

2. Install the package in development mode: python setup.py develop

3. Open an IPython notebook (hint: ipython notebook, then "New Notebook")

4. Run:

   import browsercast
   browsercast.load(browsercast_js="url:files/browsercast/browsercast.js",
                    browsercast_css="url:files/browsercast/browsercast.css")
   

FAQ

Q: What about recording audio in the browser too?

A: Unfortunately the APIs aren't great at the moment, and Audacity is a very good tool for creating and editing audio.

Q: Can people watching a browsercast interact with the IPython notebook?

A: In theory they can, but there are some technical challenges that make it unlikely to be properly supported.