This brought back so many smiles, I’m going to make another Giving Tuesday donation to Carroll:)
Originally published in April 2018.
What is the “best” screen-casting software? It depends on
- How much are you willing to spend?
- How much learning time do you have?
- What are your particular needs?
- What operating system are you using?
- Do you want a lot of bells and whistles?
- The day of the week (as software is constantly changing).
As I continued to “declutter,” refocus, and wind up and wind down, I discovered over 50 screencasts that my students and I made and stored on Vimeo or YouTube. At the time, I was learning about Jane Hart’s technology learning tools and experimenting with screen casting as a teaching/learning tool. Below are some of my adventures and misadventures with screen-casting software, along with the informed opinions of my student research assistants — whose advice I always seek. The videos are also a record of my getting older!
Here is an assortment of those earlier productions that might interest alums or, especially, former and present student assistants. I may use the footage in an e-book examining the relative strengths and weaknesses of iMovie, Capto, ScreenFlow, Camtasia, and “TOBenamed later.”
I’m moving toward trying Facebook Live. Time to review what we’ve learned about screen casting and discover how the process has advanced since we last wrote this:
When swamped, I encourage my student research team to use their creativity to surprise me. Here is their preliminary work on an e-book we are writing to guide students to the software we are using. I am delighted by their work. For other guides to Screencasting tools, see Richard Byrne’s excellent compilation on his Free Technology for Teachers blog.
As a student research team for Dr. Simpson, we always try to find the best software for the task at hand, which helps us be as efficient and successful as possible. Here, we will compare three screencasting tools we have become familiar with over the past few weeks: ScreenFlow, Voila, and Camtasia. All have the same purpose but have differences. The best screen-casting tool depends on the type of screencast you want to make. We will show you screen-casting examples from each of the different software. When we used Voila to create a tutorial on using SurveyMonkey, we realized we were missing some additional necessary software. We could not hear our voice recording in our video without the extra software. As a workaround, we converted our video to ScreenFlow. To resolve the problem with Voila, Tia, Arianna, and Dr. Simpson later downloaded the necessary additional software, which automatically appeared when we requested to record using a microphone.
Once this software was installed, we ran a trial video to ensure sound could be heard—success, at last. Having discovered how to use Voila properly, Dr. Simpson asked his research team to make a video comparing Voila to the one made with ScreenFlow. Voila is a powerful screen-casting app that can be downloaded to your iMac, iPhone, and iPad. Since Evernote is getting rid of the software Skitch, this new feature was created in its place with more features that are very beneficial. When using this app, you can take a screenshot of your entire home screen or capture a specific section with the different screenshot tools. You can also overlap multiple screenshots in the software. In addition, if you would like to record your voice or anything on the computer while using the device, you can do a recording. After you have taken the recording, it will open up in Voila, and you can trim your new video and have the recording play over the screen casting. One flaw of Voila is that you must download an additional app to have noise with your recording. You must also export your recording to an app like iMovie to complete and edit it.
Voila allows you to edit your screenshots in multiple ways. Some excellent features that Skitch doesn’t have are the ability to add stickers to your screenshots and a spotlight to a specific part of the screenshot. The spotlight helps a section you select stand out, blurring the rest of the screenshot’s background as much as you would like. Another feature you can do that Skitch can’t is blur in different ways. You can do motion blurs, static blur, pixellated blur, etc. Also, you can use various kinds of arrows in Voila to lead someone from one spot of your screencast to another to show them instructions, like where to go from point A to point B, etc. Voila allows you to marquee the pictures as well. This means that, with any shape they have or you create, you can place it on a specific part of the screenshot and duplicate it. So, that part you’ve chosen can be bolded or put in another screenshot. Below is an example of the different effects and borders available to us in Voila.
ScreenFlow is one of the first screencasting tools we have used as a team since the announcement of Skitch’s discontinuation. ScreenFlow is the most straightforward screen-casting tool of the three when recording directly. When creating your screencast, you can open as many or as few screens as you like while recording. There are also options to have a window showing you as you create your recording. ScreenFlow is primarily used for Mac users, whereas Voila and Camtasia can be utilized on many different types of computers. The best way to start and end your videos in ScreenFlow is to use short keys, which also work in Voila and Camtasia.
In addition, Voila offers many perks. Instead of just creating screen-casting recordings, you can also create snapshots of your screen. They have many editing options for both photos and videos. You can edit your screenshots and images in your library. Voila has the best organization for the pictures and screen-casting videos you create. They have many folders you can use to organize your creations, with easy access. One cool thing you can do is, while in Voila, there is a button to go to the web. In reality, you do not need to leave the application to take screenshots of a particular webpage you would like to add to your screencast, which also helps maintain organization.
Camtasia is more similar to Voila in terms of software complexity. Camtasia is used more for the video aspects of screencasting. You can add many transitions or text boxes as you go. One cool thing about the other transitions is that they can fade in and out at any time in your screencast. This helps create a more exciting and organized screencast. One thing Camtasia has that neither Voila nor ScreenFlow has is the ability to layer videos and pictures into one screencast. Also, Camtasia is available on both Macs and PCs. Camtasia lets you record a video with its software, which is then automatically available for editing. One does not have to save the video and then download it into another program to edit. The Media, Annotations, Transitions, and Animations categories are on the upper-left side of Camtasia. The Media button allows one to access all videos recorded with Camtasia or download videos saved on the computer. Under the Annotations tab, text bubbles, arrows, shapes, highlights, symbols, or keyboard keys can be added to the video. These options come in multiple colors, which can be adjusted in the video to different sizes and locations. The Transitions tab allows one to add effects at a video’s beginning or end. Animations can also be added to the video to zoom in or zoom out, fade in or out, tilt left or right, and even create a custom animation. As a side note, if one uses the zoom-in feature to return the video to its original state, a zoom-out animation must be used. The other features one can apply to the video are Video FX, Audio FX, Cursor FX, and Gesture FX. To change the screen’s color, add a glow, a device frame around the video, and many more features under the Video FX tab. Audio FX lets you adjust volume and pitch, reduce background noise, and change the clip’s speed. Cursor FX will highlight, magnify, or spotlight the cursor’s location throughout the video. One can underline right- or left-clicks using the computer mouse during the video. Under the Gesture FX tab, one can double-tap, pinch, and swipe certain areas during the video. Each feature can be customized to appear for different lengths and at other times throughout the video. Camtasia has two lines of recordings at the bottom to edit. The first line is the Webcam recording, and the second line is the screen video. If you want to add an effect to the entire video, such as a transition, it must be applied to both lines.
I am “rediscovering” teaching/learning tools tonight, specifically Skitch (for screenshots and annotating screenshots, ScreenFlow for screencasting, and YouTube.
How do you use YouTube? How might it serve as a learning resource in your job? What are its unrecognized or under-utilized capabilities? Here is what student research assistant Lizzie wrote when I asked her how she used it.
Uses of YouTube: YouTube is an online platform with multiple uses. When working at Dr. Simpson’s office, I often use YouTube for background music. YouTube not only has music but also educational videos, silly videos, podcasts, and more. Since my time at Carroll University, I have had multiple professors post YouTube links in their slide shows and assign YouTube videos as assignments for students to watch at home. When I struggle with a specific piece of software, I can go to YouTube and search for what I need in the search bar. Multiple videos that follow step-by-step instructions on the task I am looking for will pop up on the screen. YouTube is also valid for posting videos. Dr. Simpson has posted videos with his student research assistants and discussed specific issues. I have watched others’ podcasts on YouTube discussing a problem we are dealing with in class or a particular software we are trying to use, such as SPSS.
In class presentations, students must post a visual image or video on their slides 90% of the time. YouTube is beneficial in this circumstance. One can find specific media coverage of an issue on YouTube, as well as scenes from past TV shows, news broadcasts, and radio shows. A great example of how YouTube is helpful in my field, psychology, is research. YouTube has multiple videos of famous studies conducted in the past, such as Pavlov’s Little Albert and the Bobo Doll study. All these videos are accessible to people like us on YouTube. YouTube is a great source, not only for education but also for others to express themselves. There are many podcasts on YouTube of people’s life stories. Some of them involve people dealing with issues such as cancer and mental health problems. However, there are podcasts of people discussing their experiences skydiving, cliff jumping, being in a different city, making covers of songs, etc. People in the 21st century are becoming “YouTube famous” through their podcasts. Many famous singers, like Justin Bieber, became famous by starting on YouTube and working their way up. In addition, people will post weekly updates about their lives on YouTube and gain millions of fans through this method.
An example is a couple named Cole and Savannah, who have a YouTube channel and post videos of their lives every other week. YouTube is a fantastic media source. YouTube allows people to find music they are interested in, express talents they want to show the world, share their life stories, educate others, and stay up to date on specific issues. I highly recommend YouTube as a source everyone should explore, as it offers a wide range of options for the public.
Wikipedia provides excellent resources (and online support) for incorporating Wikipedia assignments into courses.
