Screencast-O-Matic is a screen capture utility that you can use to create videos of your screen. It is a great choice for creating videos for your students or adding video components to your instruction. Screencast-O-Matic is a Java application that can run on Windows, Mac OS X or Linux without being installed.
This software has the largest feature set of the free screen capture utilities that are available.
- It is cross-platform
- Has a 15 minute capture limit
- You can upload videos to Youtube
- Export to a variety of formats (FLV, MP4, AVI)
Screencast-O-Matic also has the ability to record from your webcam. Other free screencasting tools will only capture the screen but you can use this one to create videos with your webcam to create a personalized touch.
Using this tool is easy as the prerequisites are basic computer skills and a Java enabled web browser.
This type of software can be used in all types of instruction at any level. It is great for online classes, mini-lectures, software tutorials and demonstrations. It can also be used by librarians or on the help desk to demonstrate how to do a specific task. Compared to a text writeup or a series of static screen shots it is a real time saver.
Not only is this a valid teaching tool but something very similar is already being used by a guy named Salman Khan to post short lessons on all types of topics online, in fact he was featured on the Colbert Report a week or so ago. All his lessons are screen captures and his voice so I think you're onto something here.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really neat idea. It could be applicable in my classroom for absent students. A lot of times just a set of class notes is not enough for students. If you could record the steps used to go through each problem in real time, I think it would be extremely beneficial for students. How cool!
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