Software for Screencasting
Captured from Scott Klemmer's
HCI class on Coursera.
Because screencasting is on the leading edge of eduction, many companies have developed software to help you create screencasts. On this page, I will briefly give an overview of a few of the most popular or effective programs for creating screencasts. As I have stated on this site elsewhere, I am a freeware evangilist. I advocate the liberal and directed use of freeware technology to enhance education in all formats: onsite, hybrid, and online. Many companies offer proprietary screencasting software. To use these types of software, educators or educational technologists will need to purchase software or access codes. Examples of proprietary soutions include: Camtasia, Captivate, iShowU, AllCapture, and ScreenMimic. Most of these solutions will run anywhere from $50 to $200. They are excellent. Some are intuitive. The dashboards on a couple of these solutions are pretty overwhelming. The above graphic above is of a screencast that was done using Camtasia. Camtasia is a great product. Many schools already have licenses to Camtasia. If your school does, I recommend you use it.
If you've taken any MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses), the interactive quizzes that pop up occassionally in the online videos in Coursera classes are a product of extensions that you can use in Camtasia. The videos progress bar contains little yellow breaks. Those breaks are automatic pauses where learners can check their understanding of the video content. While in most Coursera classes these quizzes are for self-analysis, with a little coding, they can be set to self-grade and automatically export to the grade book in your Learning Management System (Desire 2 Learn, WebCT, Moodle, etc.) There are many tutorials in Camtasia and on youtube that will show you how to do this. These are great ways to break up longer educational videos into more digestable, user-friendly chunks. For an example of what these Camtasia produced video learning quizs look like check out the screenshot below of a Camtasia produced quiz. In the preceding text, I shared some of what is possible with this software. Click here for a great webpage that describes the 13 best freeware screencasting tools.
If you've taken any MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses), the interactive quizzes that pop up occassionally in the online videos in Coursera classes are a product of extensions that you can use in Camtasia. The videos progress bar contains little yellow breaks. Those breaks are automatic pauses where learners can check their understanding of the video content. While in most Coursera classes these quizzes are for self-analysis, with a little coding, they can be set to self-grade and automatically export to the grade book in your Learning Management System (Desire 2 Learn, WebCT, Moodle, etc.) There are many tutorials in Camtasia and on youtube that will show you how to do this. These are great ways to break up longer educational videos into more digestable, user-friendly chunks. For an example of what these Camtasia produced video learning quizs look like check out the screenshot below of a Camtasia produced quiz. In the preceding text, I shared some of what is possible with this software. Click here for a great webpage that describes the 13 best freeware screencasting tools.
Tipcam
I have tried many of the 13 freeware programs discussed in the hyperlinked URL above. Of all those products, I had the most success with TipCam. I was introduced to TipCam by cnet. It has a four Star editor's rating (out of five). It is certified malware free. Even though it is an older product, it has a great easy to use interface. I recommend it in training sessions, during informal discussions with faculty members, and anytime I have a chance. I tell inquiring faculty members that if you could make a 'mixtape' or a compliation CD, then you have all the technical skills you need to produce a screencast. Some advanced features of TipCam is that is allows for zooming in on content. Some shortcomings of the feature is that it records primarily in flash. So your recording will have limited viewing on Apple products unless you upload your recording to www.youtube.com. However, if you are uploading a longer recording (over 12 minutes), I recommend that you use google chrome. Flash video is compressed. I have found that I can upload even longer or large batches of videos to youtube using chrome and TipCam in minutes. I love TipCam's easy to use interface and quick upload. I also like the fact that TipCam allows me to preview a cached version of my video before it makes me decide to save it. In short, I highly recommend TipCam. Some basic, but more detailed instructions about using tipcam are included as a pdf file below. The last thing I will stress about TipCam is that it is free. Even if you have Camtasia at work, you probably won't have it at home. So what if it is a snow day or your child is sick? What if you need to do a screencast over the weekend? Can you get into your school? Will you go up to the school on a Saturday? If you are familiar with TipCam, you can make a screencast anywhere your computer is.
Screenr
Screenr is a screencasting solution from Twitter. Screenr was designed as a compressed vidoe codec to be used in conjunction with mobile sites. Screenr limits users to five minutes of video. I like Screenr for short explanations of websites. I know some instructional designers who only use a couple of screencasting options. Camtasia for things that need to look very professional, and Screenr for everything else. I recommend having at least one freeware product that you are familiar with. Screenr is a great product.
Hopefully, you found something on this page that will help you as you journey into screencasting. Screencasting is the leading edge of education these days. I encourage you to join the screencasting revolution and get started sharring your thoughts with others using one of the software and hardware options described on these pages.
Hopefully, you found something on this page that will help you as you journey into screencasting. Screencasting is the leading edge of education these days. I encourage you to join the screencasting revolution and get started sharring your thoughts with others using one of the software and hardware options described on these pages.
tipcam_handout.pdf | |
File Size: | 429 kb |
File Type: |