November Learning: Expanding the Boundaries of Learning

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Show your students how to become directors, publishers and producers. Help them create authentic, content-rich tutorials for their classmates and audiences around the world.

Screencasting is a quick and easy-to-use tool that can help you create slick demonstration tutorials in any subject area, using any computer application. The software allows you to record a movie of what you are doing on a computer. Along with your movie, you can record voice-over audio to provide a series of instructions.

Consider the possibilities. Students in math class can generate tutorials on how to solve problems. Students in Social Studies can create tours through the National Archives or any museum. Science students can be guided through simulation exercises. Teachers can demonstrate step-by-step instructions on how to get started with any software application. Screencasting can be used with any computer application and in any subject area.

Once your screencast “movies” are recorded, they can be published in a variety of ways. They can be embedded in other media such as PowerPoint slides or iMovie. Content can be burned onto cd’s that students can take at home and share with their families. Here’s an example of a young student using a screencast to explain proportions: http://www.screencast.com/t/QOhJHLBmoht

Getting Started
To get started you will need screencasting software and a mic. (Check to see whether your computer has a built in mic or whether you will need to plug one in.) There are several software options available for purchase and some that are free. Popular titles available for purchase include:

Free Options

Below we will introduce you to two of these free options.

Screencast-o-matic
Screencast-o-matic (http://www.screencast-o-matic.com) is a free web based tool. There is no need to install any software and you can use this tool from any machine. To create a screencast you don’t need to have an account on their system, but we highly suggest you create one. Account holders have the ability to store screencasts on the Screencast-o-matic site.

To register visit http://www.screencast-o-matic.com and select “My Screencasts” at the top of the page. Create your account and then go back to the main page. Once your account is created, click the “Create” button.

You’ll be prompted to choose a capture size. We recommend sticking to 800×600. Also choose sound and mouse options here. Once you’ve chosen your settings, click “Go!”

You should see a black frame on your screen. This is the portion that will be recorded. You can drag this frame around by clicking and dragging the black bar at the bottom.

When the frame is set, click the red circle to start recording. Go through your demonstration. As you are recording, you can pause and play back what you have done at any time. Click the record button again to pick up where you left off.

When you’re finished, click the “X.”

You’ll now be taken to a new window where you can preview your movie, give it a title and description, upload and/or export. Any movies that you upload will be saved in the “My Screencasts” area. Each can be shared through a link or email.

Follow this link for a tutorial of Screencast-o-matic:
http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cii3lYtk

Jing
Jing (http://www.jingproject.com) is fairly new to the web and we love it. Unfortunately, we are not 100% sure whether it will become a pay-for-use product as some point. Onsite developers refer to Jing as an “experiment” and are unsure of the end result. Until they figure that out, it is worth giving it a try.

Go to the Jing website to download and install on your computer. (There is a PC and Mac version). PC users will be asked to install Microsoft.NET Frameworks 3.0. Please note the Microsoft.NET installation may take some time.

Once the software is installed, a yellow ball icon will nest on the top of your desktop. Whenever you would like to create a screencast movie or take a screenshot, put your cursor over the yellow ball and select “Capture.”

You may drag your cursor over a portion of your screen you wish to capture or click on the title bar of any open window or application. If you are looking to just capture one screenshot, click the photo button and the shot is taken. If you want to create a screencast movie, click the video button. You will get a countdown and then the recording will begin. Once you are finished recording, simply click stop.

Jing will allow you to record up to 5 minutes of video. Please note that you cannot edit your work once it is complete.

Once you’ve captured your screenshot or screencast, select the share button to automatically store your file into a storage area at screencast.com. Storage is free during the duration of this project. Now that it’s stored, you can obtain a link to your file that you can put on a website or blog or send in an email. You might also choose to download it to your computer.

If at any time you want to get to your library of saved files, or if your want to adjust Jing’s preferences, you can do so using the Jing icon on your desktop.

Click on the Video Tour link on the front page of the Jing site to see a tutorial of how it works.

Your Screencast Library
Once your screencasts are recorded and stored, you will want to think about how you are going to share them. There are a few options. You can download them all and store them on a school server, keep them stored in an online storage container or burn them onto cd’s.

If you are planning to keep them online, consider organizing them by category on a single webpage. Another option is to post them on your blog or wiki. Blog categories or categorized wiki pages help viewers find what they are looking for with greater ease and are they are searchable.