Tools that Can Enhance the Way You Teach
Screencasts are a digital recording of computer screen that
captures what is taking place on the screen.
You use voice-over narration to demonstrate how to use a specific
operating system, software, or website features. Personally, I had never created a screencast
until today. The only exposure I had to
screencast is when I went to YouTube to watch a video on how to operate a
software or when my professors use it to explain coursework. I am very excited that I learned how to
create one. As a first year librarian,
I am definitely going to be incorporating it this upcoming school year. I explored the following screencast making
programs.
Instagram and Vine are both social media apps that we are very popular in our society today. Both apps can be used to enhance the way teach in our classrooms and can be used as a tool to communicate tasks with our students.
Screencast-o-matic was fairly easy to use. They have videos to guide you with creating
your own screencast. This was a plus
because I had never created one before.
For my assignment, I created a screencast on how to create a quiz on
Kahoot! I chose this because it is an
engaging, interactive way to evaluate what your students has learned and what they
still might be struggling at, while your students are having a blast taking the
quiz. Click on the word Kahoot or watch below.
I used Jing to create my second screencast. I was just as easy to use as
screen-o-cast. I like that it is limited
to five minutes because sometimes we can get to wordy when trying to explain
things. I like how it downloads a
toolbar as a sun on top of your screen.
It is ready for you to use anytime.
I made a screencast to show students how to use Wordle. It is a simple program that students can
create an image using vocabulary terms. Click on the word Wordle or the link below to access the screencast.
Instagram
Instagram is an
online photo-sharing, video-sharing, and social networking service app for our
smartphones. You create a profile and have a newsfeed. People who follow you can see your newsfeed and
people who you follow can see theirs as well.
It is a fun way to share photos and videos with friends and family. You are able to filter your photos and link
to Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. I have
had an Instagram for quite some time, but do not post very often. As an educator, you can feature student of
the week, you can share student’s successes, you can promote books, you can use
it for writing prompts. The ideas are
endless. As educators, we can creatively
use and integrate this program in our classroom or library. Click on Instagram to view my profile or look below.
Vine is an app that is similar to Instagram. Vine is a video sharing app that can share
six second video clips. You will need to
download the app to your smartphone. Vine
is an easy app to use. The first time
you are using it to create a video, it guided you through each step. You are
able to hold your finger on the screen and record short clips of
something. Then you can compile them to
make a six second video. In the classroom or library, Vine can be used to make
announcements, model how to execute a task, design mini book trailers, tease of
an upcoming unit, create how-to videos, a way to take notes during an
experiment instead of just reading about it, and you can make videos of
characters in a story. Those are just a
few ideas on how to integrate Vine in your classroom. The Vine video I created is of my children
and cousin doing flips on the trampoline.
They enjoyed me making a video of them. Look below.
As I used both Jing and Screencast-o-matic, I feel like both
were easy to use. It comes down to your
preference when creating a screencast. If you want to record a longer screen
cast, Screencast-o-matic has a record time of 15 minutes and Jing only has 5
minutes max. Screencast-o-matic
highlights the mouse movements and Jing does not. I do however like that Jing
has a toolbar that is easy access on your screen anytime. Using Jing, you have to install the software
and Screencast-o-matic is web-based. The one thing I could not figure out is how to make the Jing video come out on my blog page. You
are able to show both easily as soon as you done creating the screencasts. I am excited that I learned how to use both
of these. I am really excited with all the
technology I am learning in this class.
WOW!!! Your page is wonderful. I love the use of your graphics and the videos. I love that you used Kahoot, I completely forgot about that and need to remember for any upcoming lessons. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour Vine shows the stop-action feature very well. Those were some awesome back summies, too!
ReplyDelete