Screencasts, Screen capture
On this page:
What are they?
Screencasts/ Screen captures record what happens on a computer screen so that it can be played back at a later date. Some screen capture tools also allow for annotation (both text and audio) so that you can make these more educationally valuable. They can be thought of as a podcast of a users screen. The Educause Learning Initiative’s (ELI’s) 7 Things You Should Know About... series contains a useful guide to Screencasting (PDF).
How can I use them with my students?
Screen casts are especially valuable in training contexts where you want to help student learn how to use a particular tool or piece of software by showing them how an expert uses them. They also allow students to study the materials presented this way at their own pace at a time that suits them. Can be used to provide feedback on assessment as a tutor shows what they are marking and narrates the reasons for their comments
Examples
An ALT-N article on Using Wink to create software presentations by Athina Chatzigavriil and Julie Voce.
Where can I get them?
The best of these tools allow for capture annotation and quite sophisticated editing to make for a better quality learning experience.
- Profcast - for Macs.
- BB FlashBack - for Windows.
- Camtasia. While this is a commercial product an earlier version of the software 3.0 is currently available free.
- Adobe Captivate.
Free tools in this space include MW Snap and Wink
You can find a list of screen capture tools on the Website of the Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies.
What else do I need to know?
Watching screen casts can be a very passive activity and simply recording what happened on screen during a presentation can produce very poor quality learning materials. Usually recordings made with their eventual use as a screen cast in mind are more likely to be successful.
