A screencast is basically a video of your computer screen with audio. Many people, business, school district are creating screencast and uploading into the Internet. Screencast are being utilized to teach individuals how to search or create.
I used screencast-o-matic to created my first screencast. OMG, this program was sooooo easy to use! You're able to record up to 15 minutes. (Tip: Make sure you test the microphone before making the official recording.) Once recording is done, you can publish to Youtube or save as video. Con: the free version allows you only 15 minutes of recording time. If you decide to go Pro, its only $15 a year. With Pro, you get longer recording time, no watermark, publish to other programs, editing tools, and other additional features.
In this screencast, I'm going to show you the steps to select and download books using Overdrive Media app. I also provided a link to my screencast (just in case).
http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cDihqiivEw
For my second screencast, I tried Adobe Spark, but quickly gave up. It was NOT as easy as screen-o-matic. Con: In order to create a video, I had to upload pictures in each frame of the video. Honestly, too much work and my students will get frustrated. Don't get me wrong, this app has some great uses. For example, students can create a book trailer, storytelling, etc. However its not what I needed.
Also, I tried Jing. It was not too difficult to use. But then my opinion is biased. (I really love screen-o-matic!) Once I created an account, I began creating my video. The video was easy to create. The difficult part was embedding the video. I searched for tutorial videos and help button. I must be skipping a step because my video is not showing up. I'm providing the link for you to see.
http://www.screencast.com/t/h28oAgYMQq
Con: to publish video, you need to download another program (screencast.com)
Explain a website is another app to use for creating screencast. I looked for the iPad version; however, I couldn't find it. I'm actually interested in this app. It has many features I can use in my classroom. This app will allow me to create a screencast from my iPad. Also, I can edit or annotate items on the webpage. Once you're done, you have the option of loading, saving, or exporting. There are more exporting options here than screen-o-matic.
Final thought: Out of the three, screen-o-matic is my final choice. I will definitely be using this app in my class. Overall, the program was easy to use! Also, publishing the video was hassle free. If I need to create a picture tutorial, I will use Adobe Spark.
This is a social media app in which users share privately or publicly photos or videos. Instagram can be used in conjunction with Facebook. There's additional app to use to make your photos more alluring. This is a awesome app to share or promote the school, library, individual classes, or grade levels. I use Instagram for my personal use ad post family photos. *Normally my account is set at private. However, I will only keep my account public for a week.
Vine
Another social media app in which users can upload or see short 6 second videos. I'm not to crazy about this app. However, its a very popular app that my students use. I'm going to have to think about how to integrate in my classroom. Just a thought, I might have the students act a scene from a book.
I also loved Screencast-O-Matic. It was the first one I tried and super easy, it may have ruined me for the others I tried. :)
ReplyDeleteI had a difficult time embedding my Jing, as well. It took longer for me to search the web and find how-to's for loading the Jing video than it did to make the screencast. So that was a major con for me.
Oh my gosh! That is such a great idea to show parents how to use Overdrive. I am getting so many great ideas from everyone. I need to keep a list of all of these uses for Screen-o-matic.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff Cynthia! This was such an amazing screencast. It's so important to advertise the use of these electronic resources for outside of library use. Your screencast makes it easy and fluid to do. And when things are easy to do they get used. Awesome job again.
ReplyDeleteI ran into the same problems with the other two. With screen-o-matic how did you not mess up as much! I totally messed up a lot, even though you could go back and fix it. I didn't but I love your screencast.
ReplyDeleteGreat screencast! I also made one on Jing that shows how to use online resources, but felt rushed to try and get all the information done in a 5 minute recording. I plan on doing another one on Screencast-o-matic.
ReplyDeleteGood idea to search for tutorials-- people are always refining technique, and that's the best way to keep up with that!
ReplyDeleteYour Vine video was cute. It gave me the idea of having students video something at home, post to Instagram, allow classmates to watch, and have them write about their inferences. Great job!
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