Provide video feedback to students while you are walking them through their paper

Screencast-O-Matic

Screencasting, or capturing what you do on your computer or tablet in a video format while you narrate your actions, is one of the many benefits modern computer technology has provided to today’s educators.

There are numerous free screencasting tools available, and one of the longest standing mainstays is Screencast-O-Matic. You can use it as a web app, or download a version for your PC or Mac. The free version of the tool limits you to 15 minute videos and does not permit editing (but you can get editing and unlimited video length for a meager $15 a year! -- or talk to Pam about getting this for free for course-related use).

Screencasting can be used to do so many things! Here’s a few ideas for different ways you can use screencasting for teaching:

• Open a picture, or several pictures, and talk about them. Maybe you want to share the works of a favorite artist or photographer, or pictures of some geographic area, or something scientific.
• Open a document and discuss it – a section of an ebook, a paper, an article, whatever!
• Navigate a favorite web site and explain what’s available there – this could be a museum’s online site, a science site, a news resource, or one of so many other awesome online resources.
• The old classic … narrate over a Powerpoint slide deck you use to deliver a lesson in class.
• Show students how to solve a math problem (you can use a tool you draw on, like MS Paint or Educreations).

The ways you can use screencasting for teaching are truly unlimited!