Screencasts

Screencasts allow you to capture video of your computer screen while narrating what you are doing.  I had so much fun with this assignment!  I recorded over and over again until I finally decided that I am not an actress and it would never be what I considered "perfect".  I am an everyday teacher, just trying to spread some wealth of knowledge, hoping to reach someone.  And in order to do that, I just need to get the point across, not necessarily perfectly.

I looked at three different screencast websites.  Here is my take on each of them:

1.  Screencast-o-matic

This site does not require you to login or create an account to get started.  Literally, you can click a button and work away!  They offer a great demo video that walks you through the steps quickly.  You begin by dragging the screen to the area that you want recorded.  Then, you simply press record and it starts your countdown.  You are able to have full control of whatever you are doing at that point and show your viewers anything you want.  You are able to pause and restart your screencast and save as a video file, which is great!  Screencast-o-matic allows you 15 minutes of recorded screencast time.  It was super easy and I highly recommend using this site!

Check this one out that I made on how to search our school database, Destiny Quest.

2.  Screenr

I tried to use this site, but unfortunately they retired the site on November 11th due to Java Script issues.

3.  Jing

Jing was also a quick download  and then it puts a little ball at the top of your screen for you to easily manipulate the screencast.  When you first begin, there is a interactive step by step tutorial for how to use Jing and the features.  It was easy to follow and great that it was interactive.  Just like Screencast-o-matic, you begin with drawing your screen area that you want to be viewed.  You can capture an image or a video with an easy click.  This site was also super easy to use.

Here is a screencast that I made using Jing to teach students about PebbleGo

PebbleGo ScreenCast

Honestly, it is hard for me to choose which one is my favorite, as they were both very easy to use and manipulate.  I am going to go with Screencast-o-matic because you can access it easily and begin right away.  Students would be able to do this with little to no instruction to create their own screencasts.

Happy  Screencasting!