Screencasts are a great tool that can be used in the classroom to teach students how to do something on the computer. I found screencasts to be very helpful during the pandemic when students were home and did not know how to access assignments online. I could send out a video or post it in Google Classroom so that they could go through the steps with me. Screencasts can also be used in the classroom to show students how to find sites for research or how to create something for a project. The possibilities are endless.
Screencast-o-matic
I downloaded and tried out the screencast-o-matic app on my computer. This app is free but you can pay to upgrade and get better options such as unlimited video time. I found this app to be easy to use. You can record just your screen, just your camera, or both which I found to be a nice feature especially working with kids who may want to see your face while you talk. I also like that it allows you to record up to 15 minutes for free. It also gives you several options of where to upload your video when you are finished. There are easy to use editing tools that allow you to customize and perfect your video.
Screencastify
The other app I chose was screencastify. I used this app often during the pandemic when we were all online. This is also a free app with the option to upgrade for a fee. This app allows you to record your desktop, browser tab, or webcam. This app also gives you the option of recording your webcam and screen at the same time. Screencastify only allows you to record a video up to 5 minutes for free, to record any longer you have to upgrade. This app also has easy to use editing tools to perfect your videos. You have a few more sharing options with this app. As a teacher I like that you have the option to share straight to Google Classroom which is nice because we use Classroom all the time and this makes sharing easier.
Overall, both of these apps are great and easy to use. They are very similar but the biggest difference is the length of the video that you can record for free. I could probably limit my videos to 5 minutes for some things but I like having a longer time with the other app. Also Screencast-o-matic was much easier to embed on my website. Screencastify was much more difficult and I was only able to post the link. Therefore I chose Screencast-o-matic as the app that I liked the best.
Here is my screencast using Screencast-o-matic showing students how to access and use Pebble Go and Pebble Go Next.
Here is a link to the video of how to use the Sora App using Screencastify. Click here.
I enjoyed your post! Screencastify is the screencast website creator I became familiar with at the beginning of the pandemic. I was able to construct recordings of how to access specific websites or how to work on particular tasks with the visual aid of the video explaining to my students the assignment in detail.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed watching your screencasts over Pebble Go and Sora. Our district has Sora, but I have not had the chance to become familiar with it or advertise it to my students. Pebble Go is something I have always wanted to use and see many librarians using this in their lessons. I also, liked screen-o-matic the best. I have always used loom, but after experimenting with something else, I don't think I will go back to loom. I felt screen-o-matic offered more features than loom and the 15 minutes recording time is not a deal breaker.
ReplyDeleteGreat Screencast. I also really enjoyed Screencastify. Very simple to use and during the pandemic was when I learned how to use it as well. If we can use a piece of technology during that time, then we have definitely succeeded.
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