Take a peak at the graphic to the left. This adorable sun lingers at the top of your screen, waiting patiently to capture the perfect image. Each of the three descending bubbles has a unique job. From left to right (1) Capture, (2) History, and (3) More. For the sake of simplicity, let's stick with the first [and most exciting!] bubble...can you say CHEESE?
Step 1: Click on bubble 1. An adjustable grid will appear for you to set the parameters of your picture. Once you have secured the appropriate area, simply click on the grid. Voila! You've just taken a screenshot!
Step 2: Now, another set of bubbles will appear in the lower left-hand corner of your screen. Click on the "Capture Video" bubble (second one from the left). A pretty snazzy "3, 2, 1" warning will appear and then you and your kiddos are on the air! As Richardson (2009) recommends, try developing some sort of script/guideline for what you'd like to say in order to keep your screencast under 5 minutes. Not to worry, you can pause and/or delete if necessary.
Step 3: If you're pleased with the final product, go ahead and save it to your computer. You may also share your screencast via Screencast.com - simply follow the prompts. Easy as 1-2-3!
To sum up in the event I lost you, screencasting allows you to capture any image of interest on your screen and then add audio narrations....
Now if we're still on the same wave length, you're probably left wondering how this application can be used strategically in the classroom. I'm envisioning myself sharing "tutorials" on any number of tricky concepts. How about a multi-step math problem? It would be pretty advantageous for my kiddos to have a link to a screencast where they can review directions and/or prompting directly from the horse's mouth! Or, what about having the students attempt to annotate their own work? Could be a fantastic platform for self-reflection and peer feedback. Are you seeing the possibilities?
Dear Andrea,
ReplyDeleteIt would be a good idea to demonstrate Jing in class, but I am not sure if we can download it in the network center. I have it installed on my laptop. I use it occasionally, but have found other tools that I like better. If I just need a screen shot and some annotating, I use Awesome Screen Capture, which seems faster and more efficient. I will use Jing if I want to create a quick screen capture with a quick video. I know some teachers like Jing a lot, and it is a good start for screencasting.
Thanks for the suggestions, Judy! I'll have to check out Awesome Screen Capture for future reference.
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