To be completely honest, I was actually nervous at the thought of completing a screen cast. After watching my professors conduct meetings and tutorials using it, I thought there is no way I am going to be able to figure out that complex tool. I was pleasantly surprised to find that could not be farther from the truth.
I used the platform Screencast-o-matic, and o-matic it was! My first experience was creating a tutorial for blabbarize, an Internet tool that uses the combination of a still picture, an animated mouth, and a microphone to deliver content. Blabbarize.com is very simple to use and is a great tool for student introductions or even content delivery. I selected blabbarize.com for the first tool because it is a fun tool, but also for its ease of use. I thought this would be a good way to give teachers content and make them feel confident while following along with the screencast.
Additionally, screencasts are a great tool for reiteration. It is important to instill confidence in whoever you are teaching, but the great thing about screencasts is thy can be paused, rewound, and repeated; therefore screencasts are handy tools when introducing a more complex or yearlong project. As surprising as it may be, students tend to procrastinate at times. If they are given a yearlong project, that is due at the close of them semester, they may need a refresh course of the specific content required for the project, by the time they get around to doing the project. That is a time when screencasts are useful. They can view the screencast at any point, and work on the project bit by bit throughout the semester, or watch it closer to the end of the semester, when they start the project and work all night to finish what should have been worked on all year.
Screencasts also provide a sense of community. Any time an event such as open house or meet and greet is offered, there will be parents who cannot attend. There are even times when the teacher themselves cannot be at the event. A screencast would be the next best option for getting to know the parents, and delivering the classroom expectations. A screencast offers more than an email or newsletter, because the parents get to hear your voice, and possibly even see your face, which humanizes the teacher, and make parents more comfortable. Even if it is not used for such a monumental introduction, screencasts can be used to touch base with parents about projects or other things going on in the classroom. It not only make them aware of all the learning going on, but if the students’ needs assistance outside of school, the parents will have a deeper understanding of the content.
Mentioned above are just a few of the ways screen casting can be incorporated into the classroom. There are numerous other beneficial ideas that increase engagement, students learning and community. With the ease of use combined with the practical application, it is advantageous to incorporate screencasts into the classroom.
Check out my screencast below to see how easy it is to use Blabbarize.
I used the platform Screencast-o-matic, and o-matic it was! My first experience was creating a tutorial for blabbarize, an Internet tool that uses the combination of a still picture, an animated mouth, and a microphone to deliver content. Blabbarize.com is very simple to use and is a great tool for student introductions or even content delivery. I selected blabbarize.com for the first tool because it is a fun tool, but also for its ease of use. I thought this would be a good way to give teachers content and make them feel confident while following along with the screencast.
Additionally, screencasts are a great tool for reiteration. It is important to instill confidence in whoever you are teaching, but the great thing about screencasts is thy can be paused, rewound, and repeated; therefore screencasts are handy tools when introducing a more complex or yearlong project. As surprising as it may be, students tend to procrastinate at times. If they are given a yearlong project, that is due at the close of them semester, they may need a refresh course of the specific content required for the project, by the time they get around to doing the project. That is a time when screencasts are useful. They can view the screencast at any point, and work on the project bit by bit throughout the semester, or watch it closer to the end of the semester, when they start the project and work all night to finish what should have been worked on all year.
Screencasts also provide a sense of community. Any time an event such as open house or meet and greet is offered, there will be parents who cannot attend. There are even times when the teacher themselves cannot be at the event. A screencast would be the next best option for getting to know the parents, and delivering the classroom expectations. A screencast offers more than an email or newsletter, because the parents get to hear your voice, and possibly even see your face, which humanizes the teacher, and make parents more comfortable. Even if it is not used for such a monumental introduction, screencasts can be used to touch base with parents about projects or other things going on in the classroom. It not only make them aware of all the learning going on, but if the students’ needs assistance outside of school, the parents will have a deeper understanding of the content.
Mentioned above are just a few of the ways screen casting can be incorporated into the classroom. There are numerous other beneficial ideas that increase engagement, students learning and community. With the ease of use combined with the practical application, it is advantageous to incorporate screencasts into the classroom.
Check out my screencast below to see how easy it is to use Blabbarize.