5 Free Programs to create Screen recordings

If you are looking to make a screen recording, there are so many free programs about there that you can use.  Here are my top five.  They are roughly in order of my favorites (it's hard to pick a favorite!)  I've listed some features of each and will include links to more in depth tutorials on each. Let me know what your tool of choice is. 

• Loom
• web based and downloadable program
• freemium (teachers can get the premium version for free)
• camera and screen options
• option to highlight cursor and annotate the screen
• Screencastify
• web based (extension for Chrome or Edge)
• must have a Google account, option to connect to Google Classroom to accept video assignments
• Free or paid options
• 10 video limit for free version, 30 minutes per video
• Ability to add interactive questions
• option to annotate the screen, highlight the cursor and add stickers
• camera and screen options
• Powerpoint
• desktop version only (paid)
• unlimited time
• no annotation options
• Screencast -o- matic
• web, tablet, and desktop versions (options to upgrade for premium features)
• option for screenshots and annotations
• 15 minute video limit
• connects with variety of LMS
• QuickTime
• Mac only
• Desktop only
• option to connect iPhone or iPad to record that screen

Zoom gets a new feature -- Immersive View

I am so excited that Zoom now has an Immersive View!  Microsoft Teams has had something similar to this and I was always a little jealous.  So quick overview of what immersive view is.  It's a way to bring participants into a virtual room that actually looks like a room.  There are options that look like classrooms, board rooms, picture galleries, and much more.  You'll need to play around with it to see how it works.  To access immersive view, you can click on the icon in the top right where you can change from gallery and presenter view and now there will be a new option for immersive view. 

Some things to note:

• you have to be on version 5.6.3 or higher (so check for an update and encourage your students to as well)
• participants with an older version of zoom will see the normal view
• most views can have up to 25 people shown, but some allow for less (if there are more than 25 the others will appear at the top of the screen)
• it does not work in breakout rooms
• a shared screen will take over for the immersive view
• as of right now, recordings will look as they always do.

Zoom has a help article if you want more information.

Easily make screen recordings (with or without your face)

Screencastify if one of my favorite screen recording tools. A few quick notes before I talk about it more; you have to be using the Google Chrome browser, have a Google account and the free version has a recording limit of five minutes.

 

To start you'll visit the Screencastify web page and install the extension.

Once you have installed the extension, you will see  pink arrow that represents Screencastify.  To get things going you will have to click on it and activate your account.  You will have to agree to some permissions and then you'll be ready to go!  

You have three options to making a recording: desktop, tab or webcam.  Desktop and tab recording are similar.  In both cases you will be recording your screen.  The desktop option allows you to record everything one your screen no matter what window it is in.  The tab option gives the option to record just one tab in your browser.  This means that anything that doesn't happen inside that one tab won't be in the recording.  For both of these, you have the option to add in your webcam in the bottom corner of the screen.  This allows the view to see you as well as your screen.  The last option is webcam and this is what it sounds like.  You will be using your webcam and anything in front of it will be recorded.

Once you are done with your recording it will be saved for you in Google Drive.  Now you have the option to share it with others, embed the video, do some simple editing or download it to use or edit elsewhere.

Now that you know how to make recordings, what will you record?

How to use Screencastify for free screen recording

Screencastify is a Chrome extension (meaning that it only works on in the Chrome browser) that allows you to record what is happening on your computer screen.  While there are a number of other screen recording tools that you can use, this one is my favorite.  Let's take a look at its features:

• you can record a browser tab, your whole screen or just your webcam
• you can add your webcam into a browser tab or whole screen recording
• it can record offline!
• drawing tools to annotate
• spotlight tool to call attention to something
• highlights your mouse clicks
• recordings save in Google Drive
• option to upload directly to Google Classroom or YouTube
• export recording as an MP4 (video file) or an animated GIF
• basic video editor

As I mentioned earlier, this tool is free, but there is a limit of 5 minutes per video.  If you want the ability to record longer videos the paid version is $29 per year.  In addition to the extended recording time the paid version also give you additional editing features. 

It's honestly a very easy program to use and I think you can figure it out by just playing around with it (that's what I recommend for most things), but they do have some training resources that you check out as well.  Plus you can earn a fun badge and certificate if you take the whole training courses. 

Turn any video into an assignment

Edpuzzle is a website that you can use to take any video and turn it into an assignment.  This is especially useful if you are using the flipped classroom model.  In a nutshell, Edpuzzle lets you embed questions, audio and notes into the video.  You then assign the video to your class and you get a ton of analytics such as who watched the video and who struggled or did well.  Students can re-watch the video as many times as they need at their own pace, while you can easily check their progress from your account.

Edpuzzle offers free online courses to not only help you understand how to best use Edpuzzle in your classroom, but also includes topics such as the flipped classroom, gamification, project based learning, twenty-first century learning and much more.  What's even better is that they are offered on the Edpuzzle platform so you can experience what your students will. 

Making a Screen Recording using PowerPoint

Screen recordings can be so helpful.  I find myself making them at least once a month to show a colleague how something is done.  It is also helpful to record directions for students especially when teaching a new skill.  It's much easier to have students refer back to a video of me instead of repeating myself over and over during the same period.  The easiest way to open the screen recording tool is to locate the box that says "Tell me what you want to do" and type in screen recording.

Once you click on Insert Screen Recording, PowerPoint will minimize that the following box will appear. 

You will want to click on select area and highlight the area you want to record.  You can choose to record part or all of the screen.  You can then select or deselect Audio depending on if you want audio also recorded.  If the box is gray, then it is selected.  You can do the same for Record Pointer.  Once you are ready click on the red Record button.  You will get a 3-2-1 countdown and then your recording will start.  The box will disappear and your screen will be recorded.  When you are done with your recording you can either move your mouse up to the top of the screen and the box will appear again for you to stop the recording.  You can also press the windows button, shift and Q at the same time to stop the recording.  

The recording will now appear on a side of your PowerPoint presentation.  You can right click on it to save the video, but you also have the option to do some editing. 

The editing that you can do is pretty basic, but the most useful feature is the ability to trim the video.  To access this, click on Playback in the Video Tools ribbon and then you will see Trim Video.  You can only trim to beginning or ending, but it's helpful to get rid of the extra stuff that you accidentally record.

I hope this helps you in your screen recording endeavors.  Leave a comment if there is something else that you would like to learn about.

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An online classroom preloaded with videos, worksheets and activities

If it hasn't been totally obvious so far, I love using technology in my classroom.  I especially love sites and programs that allow my students to work independently as I can customize learning more and students can work at their own pace.  I recently learned about Study.com and think that it fits the bill of how I want my classroom to run.  I can engage my students with videos, quizzes, worksheets, and activities all online!

There are also videos and instruction for you as the teacher.  You can learn more about incorporating technology in the classroom or brush up on content material (great if you are teaching something new!).  Plus you are able to find worksheets and classroom activities that you can use offline.   Take a look at the video below to get an overview of what Study.com can do for you as a teacher.




Be an Effective Teacher | Study.com's Teacher Plan 


 I suggest checking it out if you are curious about what it's like.  Study.com is also offering my readers 20% their first month if you join via this link.  If you aren't ready to join, try out the free trial to get a sense of what it's like.

Do you think this is something that would be helpful to you? 

A new way to make slide shows - PhotoPeach

I recently found out about PhotoPeach so I figured I would test it out and wanted to share my experience with you.  PhotoPeach allows you to take images and turn them into a slide show.  You can also include captions and quizzes in your slideshows as well.

The basic steps include uploading your images, rearranging them in the order you want, adding a title, setting a speed, adding optionally adding descriptions and music.  Descriptions are captions for each of the slides. You can go in and edit these afterwards to change what they say or choose to have the caption centered or at the bottom of the image.

Captions can be quizzes - a little sound appears when there is a question associated with an image.  The viewer have several seconds to answer the question and then they are presented with the right answer.  As the teacher you don't see a record of the students answers, but it can be a nice review.  I especially like the idea of having students come up with these questions and making these slide shows on their own and then sharing them out with the class.

Once you are done you can share it on Facebook, MySpace (do people still use this?), Twitter, via e-mail or grab the embed code to put on your website or learning management system.  You can set your slide shows to be unlisted, public or by invitation only.  There is another option to download, but that is a paid option.  Other paid options include using more than 30 pictures in your slide show, set transitions between photos,

Removing all of the related videos from YouTube

Showing a YouTube video in class is great.  There is so much awesome educational content on there and the videos can really add to your lessons.  What isn't always great is the related content videos that show up on the side.  Sometimes I wonder how YouTube thinks that what they are showing is actually related to what I am watching.  Often times it's not inappropriate, some some times it is and you don't want that.  Even when it isn't inappropriate, kids will always look at the related content and ask to watch that video next.  There are a few different website that will allow you get ride of those annoying related content videos.


Watchkin is a site that will allow you to both search for YouTube videos and also watch YouTube videos without any of those sidebar add.  It's very simple to use; you just copy and past the URL into the site and you are good to go!  If you have a topic you are interested it you can also use Watchkin as a search engine to find videos to watch that will play without the annoyances.


ViewPure is very similar to Watchkin is that you can paste in a video URL or search for a video.  In addition to getting ride of sidebar ads and related videos, it also hides the comments.  There is also an option to create a clean URL to the video. You can create a URL like viewpure.com/BabyDebate instead of youtube.com/watch?v=_JmA2ClUvUY.