Screencasting: Make your presentations do the talking!

2/5/09
Presented by
Mitch Lambert & Chris Carman
Theodore Roosevelt High School
Kent, Ohio
What is screencasting?
captures what is
displayed on a
computer screen
  accompanied by
explanatory
commentary
  …just a fancy term for
recording a movie of
your computer screen
to a file that others
can view
 
Possible uses for screencasting:
as a recording of a
classroom lesson
  as standalone tutorials,
software demos, or
orientation
  to clarify complex
technical concepts
  to teach demonstrate
how to use a piece of
software or a web
service
 
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2/5/09
Podcasting vs. screencasting
Podcasting:
  audio only
  good primarily for
aural learners
  can be played in
almost any media
program
  generally easy to edit
after recorded
Screencasting:
  audio and video
  good for visual and
aural learners
  generally played in
web browsers
  more challenging to
edit after recorded
Why screencast?
more engaging and
interactive than written
instructions and static
photos or illustrations
  the screencasting
medium can
communicate what
otherwise cannot be
explained easily, if at all
 
Why screencast?
(continued)
  the
use of audio, text, and video appeals to
different learning styles
  relative ease of use and lower cost tools can
help people share information in an intuitive
and effective way
  can easily be published and distributed via
blogs, tags, video hosting services and
social media services, giving them greater
social relevance
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2/5/09
Why I screencast:
increased
communication with
students
  accommodates multiple
learning styles
  students who miss a
class due to illness can
stay with the entire
classroom discussion
 
Why I screencast:
(continued)
when things get
complicated, students
can see it more than
once
  having the screencast
available on the web
24/7 can help save
time and provide "just
in time" access to
students and parents
 
The quote that sold me:
“I'm a visual learner, so listening to my favorite
bloggers takes more mental energy to absorb than
reading their blog entries. When I click on a library
tutorial and see static pages of text, I rarely even
bother to read it. When I see a movie that
illustrates step-by-step how to accomplish the task,
I am more likely to stay for the show.”
- Meredith Farkas, February 28, 2005
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2/5/09
A thought:
If a picture is worth
a thousand words,
maybe a movie is
worth a thousand
pictures...
Screencasting equipment:
Required:
  computer
  microphone
 
wired or wireless
screencasting software
  Internet connection
 
Optional:
  headphones
  SMARTBoard
  drawing tablet
 
instead of SMARTBoard
The screencasting process:
Record presentation
Convert video to SWF
Upload to blog or web server
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2/5/09
Software packages tested:
I experimented with three different programs:
  Bulent’s Screen recorder
  Shareware - $40-80 to register
  http://www.thesilver.net/
  Camstudio
  Freeware – open source
  http://camstudio.org/
  SMART Recorder
  Free – included with SMARTBoard software
  http://smarttech.com/
  Can also be used without a SMARTBoard
Bulent’s Screen Recorder:
Pros:
Cons:
Most options
  With the Movie Lab
software you can do
almost anything you
imagine
  Can record separately
and synch the audio
  Can convert to multiple
formats
 
 
Costs much less than
Camtasia, but it isn’t
free
  Until it’s registered, it
leaves 4 watermarks,
one in each corner
  Its options make it
inherently a bit more
difficult to use
CamStudio:
Pros:
Cons:
It can record to AVI video
file, straight to SWF, or
convert between them
  It’s free
  It’s relatively simple to
learn and use
  It does many things but
the interface stays simple
  It comes with its own
lossless codec that
produces crystal clear
results with a much
smaller file size
 
 
It can’t record audio
directly from internal
audio (i.e. if your
presentation has
sounds)
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2/5/09
SMART Recorder:
Pros:
Cons:
The simplest and
easiest interface to use
  It’s free
  Many educators already
have the software
  It can be used without
a SMARTBoard
  It flat-out works!
 
 
AVI video file must be
converted to SWF for
posting
Some screencasting tips:
  I
use a wireless mic for recording lessons
where I’m more interactive with the
students (I move around quite a bit).
  For complex lessons (or multiple day
lessons) I make a shortened screencast
(the video can be paused) that is very
focused and not so large.
  I tried recording the audio separate and
then syncing it. It worked, but it was a bit
too much work for me.
Web resources:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
http://screencastingprimer.wikispaces.com/primer
Screencasting primer
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/digitalmedia/
2005/11/16/what-is-screencasting.html Another primer
http://labnol.blogspot.com/2005/05/screencasting-to-helpyour-mom.html Primer and review
http://www.shambles.net/pages/staff/screencast/ Review
of software
http://www.donationcoder.com/Reviews/Archive/
ScreenCasting/ Review of software
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6ZuktL23XI8 Teacher tutorial
of BSR and Recorder
http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?
viewkey=90f19c78c75bd1e06f21 Tutorial of camstudio
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